Around the end of the year, just about everybody is flush with cash. Now I’ve never encountered this mythical “13th cheque” that I’ve heard my friends boast about, so I can only assume that it’s a sequel to a really fantastic Antonio Banderas movie. Point is, the final quarter of the year is usually reserved for the biggest guns that a game studio has in their arsenal.
The blockbusters of summer, the tentpole franchises that studios bankroll to the tune of many millions of dollars in terms of marketing alone. Imagine then, the current super-powered arms race between movie studios and comic book movies. Imagine if you will, seeing Justice League, Avengers: Infinity War and Hellboy 3 rocking up on the exact same weekend to battle it out.
I’d cream my pants with enough explosive force to usher in a new extinction-level event for the planet, but the point is that October 27 specifically is going to be an absolutely insane day for anyone who wants to choose just a single game to have on launch day. It’s pretty much like having a James Bond villain asking me which testicle I’d like to keep before he smashes in all three of them with a heavy knotted rope.
Just look at the October schedule:
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar (PC, PS4, Switch) – October 3
- Forza 7 (PC, Xbox One) – October 3
- Star Wars: Battlefront 2 pre-order beta (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 4 [Ed Note: Yes, this is a beta, but still might eat up all your gaming time]
- Star Wars: Battlefront 2 open beta (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 6
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 10
- The Evil Within 2 (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 13
- Gran Turismo Sport (PS4) – October 17
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole – (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 17
- Elex (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 17
- WWE 2K18 (PS4, Xbox One) – October 17
- Destiny 2 (PC) – October 24
- Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon (PS4, PC, Switch) – October 24
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 27
- Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) – October 27
- Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 27
- Fallout 4 VR (HTC Vive) – October
Mad, right? I’ve got a novel idea regarding the October slate: Maybe it’s wise to shelve the FOMO and just be patient for a bit. Hell, I only just recently got Shadow of More Doors for a steal on Xbox One and that was properly brilliant stuff. I’m also banking on several of the October releases playing chicken, steering off the October road and taking a January/February detour.
While I doubt that Shadow of Mordor will delay itself a second time and that Ubisoft is confident enough to keep Assassin’s Creed locked into its release date, I’d bet easy money that Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and The Evil Within 2 decide to not take a chance with sales fate. Who do you reckon will blink first in October?
Last Updated: July 14, 2017
Raidz19
July 14, 2017 at 15:33
O_O oh snap.
For some reason I have no FOMO for any of these (although I still want to play them all!). Thank goodness says my bank account.
BUT I’m extremely excited for all the reviews. This list has some Big potential
Original Heretic
July 14, 2017 at 15:55
Come October I’ll STILL be playing the games in my backlog (side note: backlog. *shudder* sounds very dirty) so I won’t be buying ANY of these at release.
I am a patient man, I can wait until they drop in price.
Kromas Ryder
July 14, 2017 at 16:08
Most likely will be too busy with Fortnite.
Matthew Holliday
July 14, 2017 at 19:01
Why is WWE on that list?
Peter Pan
July 17, 2017 at 07:38
Middle-earth: Shadow of War (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 10
South Park: The Fractured But Whole – (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 17
Destiny 2 (PC) – October 24
Assassin’s Creed: Origins (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 27
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 27
That’s me!
Pieter Kruger
July 17, 2017 at 09:07
Definately picking up:
Forza 7
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Middle Earth: Shadow Of War
The Evil Within 2
Assassins Creed: Origins
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
All will be optimised as definitive versions on my incoming Xbox One X! I’ll be dropping A LOT of cash from October onwards…. ???
Justin Hoar
July 17, 2017 at 13:52
With all the slow months we get with game releases, I still don’t get why a lot of companies want to release mainly in October and November. I get Christmas is just around the corner then, but with this amount AAA titles and their ever increasing prices, the over-saturation can’t have that much of a positive effect on their revenue. Come the end of the year, we will hear stories of a few of these games under-performing, I’m sure of it.