Three very different games headline this month's Essential lineup: a racing sim, a hardcore extraction shooter, and pure voxel chaos. Claim them all by November 2.
The October lineup
F1 25 (PS5) is the month's biggest get — the official game of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship, with Career and My Team 2.0 modes plus online multiplayer. If you've ever been curious about the F1 games, this is a free ticket in.
Hunt: Showdown 1896 (PS5) brings the hardcore extraction shooter experience: track bosses, fight monsters, and try to extract before rival hunters take your bounty. Playable solo or in trios. Note that players in Japan get Hello Neighbor instead of Hunt this month.
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 (PS4, PS5) is the wildcard — voxel-style visuals, giant enemies, and four-player co-op (plus two-player local split-screen). The most pick-up-and-play game of the three by a mile.
Claim window and what's next
All three games are claimable from October 6 through November 2. Once claimed, they're yours as long as your subscription stays active.
The Extra and Premium catalog additions for October will be announced on October 14, so there's more coming this month.
September's games are gone
If you missed them, September's lineup — MLB: The Show 26, Sniper Elite: Resistance, Chained Echoes, and Wobbly Life — expired when the October games went live. Set a monthly reminder; free games you don't claim are just money left on the table.
The bottom line
This is a genuinely strong Essential month. F1 25 alone is a full-price-quality racer, Hunt: Showdown 1896 is one of the best extraction shooters ever made, and EDF World Brothers 2 is perfect co-op chaos. Claim all three, even the ones you think you'll skip — future you will be glad.
Lineup confirmed by Sony; details via NME and PlayStation LifeStyle, October 5–6, 2026. Games claimable October 6 through November 2, 2026.