PlayStation Store: October 2026’s top downloads

PlayStation Store: October 2026’s top downloads https://ift.tt/Khl9Tc6

It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, and free-to-play games topped last month’s download charts. In October, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 led the PS5 charts in the US and the EU, and BeamNG.drive landed in the top 3 on both charts. Meanwhile, Hard Bullet dominated the PS VR2 charts.

Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?

PS5 Games

US/Canada	EU
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
BeamNG.drive	EA Sports FC 27
EA Sports FC 27	BeamNG.drive
Phantom Blade Zero	Phantom Blade Zero
Madden NFL 27	Minecraft
NBA 2K27	PEAK
Peak	Enshrouded
Star Wars: Galactic Racer	Star Wars: Galactic Racer
Ace Combat 8: Wings Of Theve	Mafia III: Definitive Edition
Minecraft	Planet Zoo 2
College Football 27	Grand Theft Auto V
Halloween	The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival	Arc Raiders
Marvel’s Wolverine	Ace Combat 8: Wings Of Theve
Enshrouded	It Takes Two
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse	NBA 2K27
Final Fantasy Resonance	Cyberpunk 2077
Minecraft Dungeons II	Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival
ARC Raiders	Minecraft Dungeons II
Grand Theft Auto V	Resident Evil 4

*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included

PS4 Games

US/Canada	EU
Red Dead Redemption 2	Red Dead Redemption 2
Batman: Arkham Knight	EA Sports FC 27
Gang Beasts	Batman: Arkham Knight
Marvel’s Spider-Man	A Way Out
Minecraft	Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy
Resident Evil 6	Unravel Two
Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy	Mafia Trilogy
Middle-earth: Shadow of War	Gang Beasts
A Way Out	Minecraft
Resident Evil 5	Need for Speed Heat
Need for Speed Heat	Bloodborne
Mortal Kombat X	The Forest
Mafia Trilogy	Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Detroit: Become Human	Resident Evil 6
Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection	Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Injustice 2	Detroit: Become Human
inFAMOUS Second Son	Resident Evil 5
Star Wars Battlefront II	Dying Light
Ultra Street Fighter IV	Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
The Forest	Star Wars Battlefront II

*Naming of products may differ between regions

PS VR2 Games*

US/Canada	EU
Hard Bullet	Hard Bullet
Horizon Call of the Mountain	I Am Cat
Into the Radius 2	Beat Saber
Beat Saber	Horizon Call of the Mountain
I Am Cat	Job Simulator
Job Simulator	Into the Radius 2
Among Us 3D: VR	Among Us 3D: VR
Bootstrap Island	Swordsman VR
Gorn 2	Flight Simulator Delivery 2025 VR
Zero Caliber Remastered	Pavlov

*PlayStation Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included

Free to Play (PS5 + PS4)

US/Canada	EU
Once Human	Fortnite
Call of Duty Warzone	Once Human
Fortnite	Call of Duty Warzone
Roblox	Roblox
College Football 27	Rocket League
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege	Minecraft
Rocket League	eFootball
Minecraft	Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X
Marvel Rivals	Astro’s Playroom
Apex Legends	Fall Guys

Bringing Jin Sakai back to life for Ghost of Yōtei: Most Wanted

Bringing Jin Sakai back to life for Ghost of Yōtei: Most Wanted https://ift.tt/MxShiT7

It’s been amazing to watch the response to Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition, from photo mode shots to Echoes of Sekigahara* reactions to flawless fights against Nobushige and beyond. But some of our favorite videos we’ve seen since launch feature Jin Sakai in Most Wanted*, and we’ve loved watching people tear through bounties as the returning Ghost of Tsushima.

With all of these great new moments featuring Jin, we wanted to dive into a little bit of the process behind bringing him back for Ghost of Yōtei, including all the tiny details that help make him feel like himself. Here’s some insight from some members of our team who helped bring him back to life.

How Most Wanted opened the door for Jin’s return

With Most Wanted our goal was to create a new way to experience Ghost of Yotei’s combat. We were excited to focus on challenge and mastery in a highly replayable format.

We wanted to give players new opportunities to grow stronger and master specific forms of combat, building on the foundation established in the main campaign. Very quickly the idea of a class-based, roguelike model emerged as a path to achieve these goals and as an opportunity to experience combat from perspectives other than only Atsu.

As the team got excited about the idea, plenty of production and logistical questions emerged about what would be possible. We thought Jin Sakai would fit perfectly in this mode, but we wanted to make sure we could deliver an experience that was authentic to his character. During the initial prototyping of Most Wanted, we started with other characters to prove out the idea and get a better understanding of what would be necessary to bring Jin back.

After an early playtest with Jin, I had a conversation with our Lead Combat Designer, Ted Fishman. The joy of playing with Jin again was undeniable, but something had become clearly apparent to Ted. There wasn’t a partial implementation that would deliver the fantasy of playing as Jin. No, if we were to push forward, we had to bring back all of Jin.

The team understood that bringing back Jin would be an ambitious challenge. It would involve the creation of new art assets, adapting to the evolution of combat mechanics between Tsushima and Yōtei, and much, much more. The requirements grew as we discussed the ultimate fantasy of ensuring Jin could play with all his Stances and use his iconic sticky bomb.

As the scope of the work became clearer, the team’s excitement only grew. Instead, everyone was so excited about the prospect of Jin’s return they continued to identify areas where we could deliver the best version possible, and we are so proud everyone can play that version today. 

–        Parker Hamilton, Systems Design Lead

Adapting Jin’s combat styles to work in Ghost of Yōtei

Playing as Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima, you feel like a master swordsman. It took a lot of collaboration across disciplines to recreate that feeling and bring it forward into Most Wanted. By the end of production though, we were having a blast doing runs as Jin. It was honestly a big relief! It was gratifying to see him finally come back to form after many months.

Jin’s 60+ attack animations, most with their own bespoke kill animations, had to be retargeted to the new character rig, retouched (sorry Mark), and rebalanced for Ghost of Yōtei’s combat systems. Stone Stance’s Piercing Strike in particular decimated everything in Yōtei as originally implemented. In addition, Mark created custom strafe animations for each of Jin’s stances to support the new Focus Attack model (thank you Mark).

We wanted Jin’s perks to play into his classic feel. For example, classic Jin would immediately interrupt enemy combos with a well-timed press of the Block button. The distinction between Parry Deflect and Parry Interrupt didn’t exist in Ghost of Tsushima. In Most Wanted, the Rattling Parry perk causes Jin to deal more Stagger damage on successful parries, causing Parry Interrupt to happen more often. He also has a basket of perks that encourage Perfect Parry.

His unique fighting style is more than that though. Jin’s formally trained Stone Stance is complemented by his ability to dance between katana stances and scrappier tactics like his Quickfire. Empowering Quickfire even directly rewards following up Quickfire with melee.

A bunch of team members including our QA department contributed to filling out his set of perks. As we continued experimenting with the possibilities of Most Wanted, we really embraced the chaos and had a great time finding creative ways of having a great time, even bringing back Jin’s connection with the wind in perks.

Personally, I’m just glad people are having fun with Jin again out in the wild. I saw a clip that was something like, Jin flying through the air in bullet-time, head-shotting an enemy with a Tanegashima, following up with a Sticky Bomb, then a Water Stance flurry which triggered a lightning strike, and it had me beaming.

– Nate Slottow, Programmer

Reviving his animation styles and adding a nod to a cinematic Ghost of Tsushima moment…

When the Animation Team joined Most Wanted, we were ecstatic to bring Jin back into the game. The team was equally struck at the amount of effort we knew it would take to really bring back the whole essence of Jin, considering the amount of production time remaining. The Most Wanted team put an incredible amount of work into making it happen, and seeing Jin back again has been absolutely worth it.

As well as reviving more than 60+ combat animations, the team brought back Jin’s idle actions, which are iconic to his character. Near the end of production, the team had a great idea to incorporate Jin’s rarely seen “bird hold idle” into the Most Wanted menu. The character selection menu gave us an additional way to showcase each character’s demeanor. Jin’s selection animation was inspired by the cinematic moment in Ghost of Tsushima when Jin first recovers the storm blade.

Seeing all the fans’ reactions to Jin’s return has been absolutely awesome. Bringing Jin back to life has been a rewarding experience, and our team hopes everyone has as much fun playing Most Wanted as we’ve had.

–        Mark Wheeler, Senior Staff Animator

…and keeping the character model and armor authentic to the original while adding visual updates

Jin Sakai has become an iconic character and has an equally iconic look. Reviving him to not just his former glory but matching the fidelity of Atsu was a challenge but an exciting one. Jin’s armor was one of the first things brought back. Fortunately, thanks to the stellar work of the artist who initially created it (Emre Ekmekci), a large portion of the model still held up. That left a lot of the hard work on the modeling side handled and the fun of giving it a new coat of paint as the primary challenge. Updating the metal, leather, and cloth to match how it looked during Tsushima, yet still have detail now possible in Yōtei, was a fine balance. I used his old texture files as a reference point to match materials to what they were before then added subtle details on top to push it that last 10%. I wanted to add some wear and age to the armor without disrupting how people remembered it.

Now that the armor was in a place we were happy with, the next hurdle was his face and hair. Skin textures, shaders, facial hair, everything had to be tackled and held next to Atsu to make it feel like they were both made in the same era. This was a challenge: I couldn’t tweak his skin too much or else he would look like a different character, but if I left things too unchanged he would look odd next to his counterpart. Using the same textures from Tsushima as a base, we built up from there, tweaking his skin tone, redness, lips, even his scar to look sharper and more defined. We also baked new normal maps to help push his skin detail a bit further. A lot of intentionality went into bringing him back.

Once everything came together, being able to see him posed in all his glory was a real spark of joy. It was an honor to have a part in bringing this character back to life. Seeing fan reactions to his reveal and their excitement while they fight through bounty after bounty has been a highlight of my career.

–        Nate Ramsey, Character Artist

Redesigning audio, a new take on Jin’s musical theme…and bringing back Daisuke Tsuji

It was so fun to revisit Jin Sakai and revive many of his special attacks. We took great care in reviving iconic moves like the Heavenly Slash, Dance of Wrath and even Jin’s Ghost Stance directly from the assets used in Ghost of Tsushima.

Reviving his musical theme, including the amazing new version we recorded with Justin Johnson on lap steel guitar, was another fun aspect we knew fans would love to hear.

One of the biggest considerations in bringing Jin back to life was his character movement sounds. We completely overhauled the way we handle character movement sounds between Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yōtei so we needed to take Jin’s old sounds and rebuild them in a way that stayed true to the original, while supporting our new, more dynamic animation tagging system. One of our sound designers, Chris Walasek, took all of our assets we recorded for Jin’s iconic Ghost armor and re-designed his movement sounds to match this new system ensuring the transients of Jin’s movement sounds were consistent with our other characters.

We also knew, when first considering bringing Jin into the world of Ghost of Yōtei: Most Wanted, it wouldn’t be possible without the voice of Jin himself, Daisuke Tsuji. Getting Daisuke back into the booth was a great experience as always. He’s a brilliant actor and really fun to riff with. Hearing his takes on the confrontations with each Yotei 6 member brought us big smiles during the recording sessions and even allowed us to sneak a few Jin lines into the main game.

We hoped fans would be excited to play this fun new mode with one of their favorite characters, and it has been a joy watching as they’ve repeatedly struck down the Yōtei Six with everyone’s favorite samurai-turned-Ghost.

–        Rev. Dr. Brad Meyer, Audio Director

We were really excited to work with Daisuke Tsuji again and bring back Jin while staying true to the character. From an art perspective, Jin was originally created for PS4, while Yōtei was built entirely for PS5, so our rendering technology has come a long way. Our goal was to maintain the familiarity of his original design while bringing him forward with the visual fidelity of Yōtei.

This time around, we could push much more detail into his face, hair, clothing, and especially his armor, while keeping the shapes players remember. We also wanted to bring back his iconic imagery and gestures, like the quiet moment before a duel where his thumb pushes the tsuba, and the way he wipes blood from his blade after a kill.

For us, it really came down to honoring Jin while applying everything we’ve learned artistically and technically since Tsushima, and I am so proud of the way everything came together.

–        Joanna Wang, Production Art Director

*Internet connection, account for PlayStation, and patch v.2.0 or later required.

Grand Theft Auto VI pre-download begins November 10

Grand Theft Auto VI pre-download begins November 10 https://ift.tt/SBH4ic7

Grand Theft Auto VI launches November 19 on PlayStation 5, with pre-download available starting November 10. Whether you’re returning to the series or jumping in for the first time, here are a few key steps you can take now to prepare for launch day.

Step 1: Set up your PlayStation account

Make sure your PlayStation account is ready to go before launch.

If you’re new to PlayStation, create an account and sign in on your console. Existing players should confirm their sign-in information and account details are up to date.

How to set up your PlayStation account

Step 2: Pre-order Grand Theft Auto VI

Pre-order Grand Theft Auto VI through PlayStation Store or participating retailers to ensure you’re ready to play as soon as the game becomes available on November 19. Pre-order the Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition to receive an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story.

Visit the PlayStation Store product page for available editions, pricing, and additional details.

Pre-order Grand Theft Auto VI

Step 3: Get ready to pre-download

Pre-download timing will be available to those who pre-order starting at November 10 local midnight. Get ready by clearing a minimum of 212GB of storage space on your PS5. You can also explore options to extend your PS5 storage ahead of GTAVI.

Downloading the game before release means you’ll be ready to jump in as soon as it becomes available. Stay tuned for additional details later this year.

Step 4: Complete your PS5 setup

Players looking to personalize their experience can explore accessories including the DualSense Edge wireless controller, PlayStation Pulse wireless headset, Pulse Elevate Wireless speakers and other PlayStation 5 products.

Learn more about the available PlayStation accessories and find the setup that works best for you.

Explore PS5 accessories

Stay tuned for more

We’ll have more information on Grand Theft Auto VI as we get closer to November 19.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Year Two begins today with Duel Mode, new characters, gadgets and more

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Year Two begins today with Duel Mode, new characters, gadgets and more https://ift.tt/pIS397v

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Year Two is officially launching later today, with more racers, more vehicles, and more courses joining the ever-growing universe of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

In addition, Year Two brings several significant additions to the game, enhancing the already exhilarating experience with more ways to play with friends, gameplay updates to deepen the experience, and new gadgets to master.

We sat down with the development team of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds to get some behind the scenes details about the road to Year Two.

In Year Two, several new features have been added to further expand the ways players can enjoy CrossWorlds, including Duel Mode, new Gadgets, and the Super Slot. How did the team approach designing these additions?

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds dev team: One of the core appeals of CrossWorlds is the ability to discover your own play style and refine how you race as you continue to play and gain experience. For Year Two, our goal was to expand those possibilities even further.

For example, Duel Mode was created to offer a different experience from the standard 12-player races by focusing on the unique strategy that comes with one-on-one competition. By letting players focus on their distance from their opponent and how they use items, races can unfold in entirely different ways.

Gadgets are another feature that allows players to experiment and discover combinations that best suit their personal play style. In Year Two, we’re introducing the Super Slot, a dedicated slot for one-slot Gadgets. The Gadget placed in that slot will have its effects enhanced, opening up even more possibilities for combinations and strategies.

New strategies emerge from both the race rules and the choices players make with customization. With Year Two, we aimed to create a game that continues to offer new discoveries every time you play.

Some eagle-eyed fans might have noticed that one of our bonus exclusives for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition and Season Pass Two first appeared online as an April Fool’s joke… and they’re right!

The Sega Consoles Pack, featuring three vehicles inspired by Sega’s historic consoles, make their debut in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. But turning a video game console into a racing vehicle is no easy feat. We decided to dive in a bit more with the dev team on how they chose to design the vehicles while maintaining the iconic consoles’ identities.

The Sega Consoles Pack features vehicles inspired by classic Sega hardware. What design choices did the team make to evoke a sense of nostalgia?

We incorporated design elements that instantly remind players of each console, such as their colors, shapes, and button layouts. The Dreamcast’s rounded form and distinctive color scheme, as well as the Genesis and Sega Saturn’s angular silhouettes and subdued tones, are all expressed as part of each machine’s identity. We also recreated the Dreamcast’s Visual Memory Unit (VMU) using original reference data from the era.

Rather than directly recreating the hardware itself, we translated rounded forms into fenders and nose sections, while angular lines became body panels and hoods, adding the sense of speed expected from a racing machine. While preserving recognizable colors and components from each system, we also designed around the game’s front-and-rear combination mechanic, incorporating the fun of pairing consoles and controllers into the vehicles themselves.

The Genesis Tower US in particular required considerable experimentation to ensure it wouldn’t obscure the characters or interfere with gameplay while still retaining its recognizable appearance.

We hope players enjoy both the nostalgia of immediately recognizing a beloved console and the surprise of seeing it transformed into a racing machine. More than anything, we hope these machines remind fans of Sega’s longstanding spirit of boldly taking on new challenges throughout gaming history, and that they can still feel that same sense of excitement today.

————-

With a boost of new gameplay mechanics to explore and permanently slashed prices now’s every racer’s chance to hit the racetracks! Get the Standard Edition for $39.99 USD and the Digital Deluxe Edition and Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition each for $59.99 today on PlayStation Store.

Helldivers 2: new poisonous Terminid types, more bug caves spawn across the galaxy today

Helldivers 2: new poisonous Terminid types, more bug caves spawn across the galaxy today https://ift.tt/NtB9jin

Attention, Helldivers.

The Ministry of Truth confirms that a new Terminid strain is skittering across the front lines. Designated the Noxious strain, these menaces are fast, venomous, and fundamentally opposed to Managed Democracy.

Worse still, the bugs have been digging. Terminid cave networks now course beneath more biomes in the galaxy from scorched deserts to frozen tundras. Every planet may have a hive beneath it.

Here is everything a Helldiver needs to know courtesy of the Ministry of Truth:

Noxious Scavenger: small, fast, and full of venom

At first glance these resemble ordinary Scavengers. Their additional vileness becomes more apparent when they skitter in to attack.

Noxious Scavengers are noticeably quicker than their cousins which makes them hard to keep in your sights. Every bite delivers a deadly dose of poison and they are ready to bite again almost immediately. Fortunately, they are fragile. Weapons that reward volume over precision such as shotguns, flamethrowers, and grenades, will make short work of them. Super Earth reminds you that ammunition is cheaper than antivenom.

Noxious Spewer: the big one

Forget everything you know about Spewers dragging themselves across the ground. The Noxious Spewer is a hulking monstrosity that moves with unsettling speed and it is responsible for the webs now draped across the battlefield.

At medium range, watch for its Web Spit. One hit and you lose the ability to sprint, which is exactly what the abomination wants: to slow its prey and close the gap. Beware its bite, which is quick, has surprising reach, and carries a stronger dose of venom than anything a Scavenger can deliver.

While its head is protected by medium armor, its web-filled abdomen has no armor at all. Be cautious when targeting this location, as when the sac bursts in a Web Explosion, it will snare every Helldiver and bug nearby. Super Earth recommends not being caught in the explosion.

Noxious venom: All sorts of bad news

Every Noxious bite inflicts poison, which can cripple the Democratic spirit of even the most stalwart Helldivers. You can track your condition with the new poison icon on your HUD. Super Earth categorizes the poisoning as follows:

Lightly poisoned: Your vision starts to haze, the poison begins to eat away at your health
Heavily poisoned: Damage over time increases, you lose the ability to sprint, your vision hazes, Lady Liberty comes to visit you

Thankfully, your stims will help cure your condition, so ration them wisely. A poisoned squadmate may need that stim to keep going and fulfill your mission.

Caves on more biomes

The Terminids have gone underground and Super Earth is hunting them down. Bug caves are no longer limited to a handful of worlds; they now have a chance to appear across more biomes on the Galactic map.

Inside these tunnels sightlines are short, corners are blind, and fast enemies arrive before you hear them. Absolutely ideal territory for those Noxious bugs. Bring close-range firepower, stay with your squad, and keep a stim in reserve for whoever wandered too far ahead.

Suit up, Helldiver

The Noxious strain want the galaxy wrapped in silk and soaked in venom. Super Earth has other plans, and those plans involve you.

Pack your stims, aim for the abdomen, and remember: arachnophobia is not a recognized exemption from military service. See you in the caves, Helldiver. Remember, a cleaner galaxy starts with YOU, Helldiver.

A cleaner galaxy starts with YOU.

PlayStation Store’s Black Friday Deals 2026

PlayStation Store’s Black Friday Deals 2026  https://ift.tt/smfx4bM

This year, PlayStation’s Black Friday Deals kick off early on PlayStation Store! Starting tomorrow, Wednesday November 4, you’ll find deep discounts up to 75% off*, across thousands of PS5, PS4 and PS VR2 games, expansions, and DLC. 

Below is a small preview of just some of the titles that will be discounted as part of the sale, which runs through to Monday, November 30*. Their discounts, as well as the full list of games included in the promotion, will be revealed on PlayStation Store when the Black Friday Deals begin, so be sure to visit the PlayStation Store page here when the sale goes live to discover the range of games and your regional discounts. 

*Promotion and percentage discount may differ by region. Please check the PlayStation Store Black Friday page for details. PlayStation Store’s Black Friday Promotion begins November 4 at 00:00 AM PST/GMT/JST and refreshes at 00:00 AM PST/GMT/JST on November 16. PlayStation Store’s Black Friday Promotion ends 30 November at 23:59 PM PST/GMT/JST. Certain discounts will end on November 20 at 23:59 PM PST/GMT/JST, before the promotion finishes, and some deals will be replaced with new offers, so please check the item’s product page for more details.