Thursday, October 1, 2026 opens with a few console deadlines that actually change what you can play today. Premium Edition owners can start Gears of War: E-Day, Square Enix has put both Octopath Traveler games on Switch 2 with a clear store price to check before you buy, Nintendo shipped a small system update for Switch and Switch 2, and PlayStation Plus members have four days left to claim last month’s games.
Gears of War: E-Day early access is live
The five-day Premium window that Xbox’s store page and The Coalition both put at 8:00 AM PT is open now. Full release and Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass access still land on Monday, October 6. Yesterday’s Premium vs Game Pass buyer guide covers the $30 upgrade math; today’s useful detail is the Season 1 calendar The Coalition posted as early access began.
Season 1: Emergence runs through December 1 and includes launch maps, modes, cosmetics, and three two-week events (Halloween, 20 Years of Gears, and Thanksgibbing). Versus Ranked waits until October 13. Weekly challenges Premium owners see today are the same set everyone gets on October 6, then refresh on the 13th. Windows Central also flags a roughly 115 GB install on Xbox Series X|S. On PC, The Coalition’s notes say offline play stays unavailable until October 6, and a long campaign session without reloading a checkpoint can hit a known memory issue.
| E-Day date | What unlocks |
|---|---|
| Oct 1, 8:00 AM PT | Premium Edition early access + Season 1: Emergence |
| Oct 6 | Worldwide launch; Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass |
| Oct 13 | Versus Ranked; weekly challenges refresh |
| Dec 1 | Season 1 ends (Season 2: Legacy follows) |
Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 land on Switch 2
Square Enix’s Oct. 1 press release confirms both HD-2D RPGs are available on Nintendo Switch 2 with improved resolution and frame rate. The U.S. eShop lists each game at $59.99 and the digital-only dual-game bundle at $74.99, which we rechecked on Nintendo’s store this morning. Buying both separately would be $119.98, so the bundle saves about $45 if you want both. There is no free upgrade from the original Switch versions, and Nintendo’s product pages warn that save data does not carry over between Switch and Switch 2 builds.
| Switch 2 edition (U.S. eShop) | Price checked Oct 1 |
|---|---|
| OCTOPATH TRAVELER | $59.99 |
| OCTOPATH TRAVELER II | $59.99 |
| Digital bundle (both games) | $74.99 |
| Upgrade from Switch 1 / save transfer | None |
Switch and Switch 2 update to 23.0.1
Nintendo’s support pages list Ver. 23.0.1 for both Switch 2 and the original Switch family, released September 30. The only public note is a fix for software that sometimes took a long time to start, pause, or close after 23.0.0. If you noticed sticky splash screens after that earlier September update, System Settings → System → System Update is the path.
Four days left to claim September’s PS Plus games
Sony’s PlayStation Blog says members have until Monday, October 5 to add Sniper Elite: Resistance, MLB The Show 26, Wobbly Life, and Chained Echoes. You only need to add each title to your library; downloads can wait. October’s Monthly Games arrive October 6, which we already covered when the lineup posted. Separate from that rotation, the same blog lists a Call of Duty: Warzone Horror Bundle among PlayStation Plus Exclusive HorrorFest packs available today for members who already own Warzone.
Sources: Xbox.com and The Coalition “Emergence Begins” blog / Windows Central (E-Day, Oct 1); Square Enix Games Press and Nintendo eShop U.S. (Octopath Switch 2, Oct 1); Nintendo Support and Nintendo Life (23.0.1); PlayStation Blog (September claim window and HorrorFest, Sep 30).