PlayStation Plus rarely puts three games this different in the same month. October brings the official Formula 1 sim, one of the tensest and most unforgiving shooters of the generation, and a co-op free-for-all where a blocky squad takes on giant monsters. There's something for solo players, for competitive players and for anyone who just wants a laugh with friends.

Sony confirmed the October 2026 monthly games on the PlayStation Blog: F1 25, Hunt: Showdown 1896 and Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. They can be claimed from Tuesday, October 6, until Monday, November 2, on every PS Plus tier: Essential, Extra and Premium.

F1 25: the Formula 1 game that will stick around longer than usual

F1 25 is the official game of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship, developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It launched on May 30, 2025, and joins PS Plus in its PS5 version.

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The headline feature is My Team 2.0, the biggest overhaul of the mode since it debuted in F1 2020. You're no longer an owner-driver but a team principal: you hire two drivers, manage your HQ and facilities and set the team's direction, with the option to keep driving on race weekends. If you've played F1 Manager, the idea will feel familiar.

Story fans get Braking Point 3, the third chapter of the narrative mode, once again featuring the fictional Konnersport team and letting you play as either Callie Mayer or Aiden Jackson. The game also added reverse layouts at Silverstone, Zandvoort and the Red Bull Ring, five LiDAR-scanned tracks (Bahrain, Miami, Melbourne, Suzuka and Imola) and content from the F1 movie, including the fictional APXGP team.

There's one detail that makes this claim even better. EA decided not to release an F1 26: instead, the 2026 season arrives as an expansion for F1 25 while a brand-new game is built from scratch for 2027. In other words, the game you claim now stays the current F1 game for quite a while.

Formula 1 car racing in F1 25

Hunt: Showdown 1896: tension from the first shot to the last

If you've never played Hunt, brace yourself. It's a horror-tinged extraction shooter set in the American frontier: you drop into monster-infested maps to hunt a boss, solo or with up to two teammates, grab the bounty and try to get out alive. The catch is that other teams of hunters are after the same prize, and any noise gives away your position.

Crytek released the original Hunt in 2019. On August 15, 2024, the game became Hunt: Showdown 1896, a full overhaul that moved it to CryEngine 5.11, improved textures, lighting, animation and audio, and introduced Mammon's Gulch, a map set in the Colorado mountains with underground mines connecting its compounds. On PS5, it runs at native 4K and 60 frames per second.

Members also get a bonus: from October 6, Sony is releasing an exclusive Hunt: Showdown 1896 starter pack for PS Plus members.

Hunter in a dark setting in Hunt: Showdown 1896

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2: the month's most fun chaos

Earth Defense Force is the series where the planet gets invaded by giant bugs, robots and monsters, and the over-the-top excess is the whole point. World Brothers 2 takes that madness into a world made of blocks, with a voxel art style and a much more lighthearted tone than the main series.

The idea is to collect soldiers from across the franchise's history, including spin-offs, and build four-character teams to take on enormous enemies. The game was developed by Yuke's, published by D3 Publisher and launched in the West on September 26, 2024.

It's the month's best pick for playing together, with four-player online co-op and two-player local split-screen on both PS5 and PS4. It's also the only one of the three that runs on PS4.

Voxel characters fighting giant enemies in Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2

Our take: a strong, varied month

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is the highlight for multiplayer fans. It demands patience and has a steep learning curve, but once it clicks, few games deliver this much adrenaline. And since online multiplayer requires PS Plus, the people getting the game are exactly the people who can play it online.

F1 25 is the best long-term value. With EA skipping an F1 26, it remains the entry point for Formula 1 on consoles until 2027, and My Team 2.0 alone can eat up hours.

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 doesn't carry the same weight, but it fills a role many lineups lack: it's easy to pick up, works great on the couch and is the kind of game that makes for a fun night with friends.

Last call: September's games leave on October 5

Before thinking about October, make sure you've claimed September's games. Sniper Elite: Resistance, MLB The Show 26, Wobbly Life and Chained Echoes are only available until Monday, October 5. Chained Echoes in particular is a 90s-style RPG that deserves a spot in your library.

Halloween bonus: HorrorFest packs

Alongside the games, Sony has member-exclusive packs as part of its HorrorFest campaign. Each item requires the corresponding base game.

Call of Duty: Warzone gets a Horror Bundle from October 1.

Hunt: Showdown 1896 gets a Starter Pack from October 6.

Overwatch 2 gets the Dragur Reinhardt skin with 5 Tier Skips from October 7.

Spider-Man fans get something too: from October 6, Spider-Man: Brand New Day avatars are available to members through the Sony Pictures Core app. Sony notes that availability may vary by region.

FAQ

Which PS Plus tier gets the October games? All of them. Monthly games are included in Essential, Extra and Premium.

How long do I have to claim them? From October 6 to November 2, 2026. After that, they leave the lineup and can no longer be added.

If I cancel my membership, do I lose the games? You lose access while you don't have PS Plus, but the games stay tied to your account and work again when you renew.

Do all three games run on PS4? No. F1 25 and Hunt: Showdown 1896 are PS5 only. Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 is available on PS5 and PS4.