Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the October 2026 Monthly Games lineup for PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers. All three titles become available from Monday, October 6, 2026, according to Gematsu (September 30, 2026).
The slate: Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 (PS5, PS4) — voxel co-op insect apocalypse with four-player online and two-player local split-screen; F1 25 (PS5) — official 2025 FIA Formula One game with Career, My Team 2.0, and online modes including F1 World squad racing; Hunt: Showdown 1896 (PS5) — extraction shooter with PvPvE bounty hunts in corrupted backwaters.
For US Essential subscribers, October 6 is the standard monthly claim window — download or stream per your plan’s rules before the titles rotate out in a later month. Extra and Premium catalog libraries are separate SKUs; this announce is the Essential Monthly Games trio only.
The lineup mixes a couch-friendly co-op oddity (EDF), a licensed racing sim (F1 25), and a hardcore extraction shooter (Hunt), which is a wider tone spread than some recent Essential months. For another Sony/industry beat already on RCG, see Sony Reportedly Surveying Devs on Ending PS Discs.
Essential subscribers in the US should claim the trio after the October 6 unlock and keep an eye on the usual monthly rotation clock so downloads are finished before titles leave the Monthly Games slot. EDF’s local split-screen is the couch pitch; F1 25 is the licensed sim for racing fans; Hunt: Showdown 1896 is the high-stakes extraction option for players who want PvPvE tension. None of this announce redefines Extra or Premium catalog pricing — those tiers stay separate from Essential Monthly Games.
What we are not saying: we are not inventing Extra/Premium October catalog adds beyond this Monthly Games list, claiming day-one PS4 versions of F1 25 or Hunt, or changing the Oct. 6 claim date. Report EDF World Brothers 2, F1 25, and Hunt: Showdown 1896 from October 6.
