New Games 2025: October Week 3 Spotlight

Welcome back to our weekly gaming roundup! The third week of October delivers a fascinating range of releases that cater to every type of player. Whether you're hunting for treasure in bottomless pits, solving wordless puzzles on mysterious islands, stalking prey through Seattle's vampire underworld, or blasting through Purgatory's demon hordes, this week has something for you. Before we dive into this week's new games 2025 releases, don't forget to check out our esports predictions and analysis for the latest tournament coverage. Let's explore what's dropping this week and examine the industry chaos that's been making waves.

Game Releases

BALL x PIT

Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: October 15, 2025

When a catastrophic event obliterates the legendary city of Ballbylon, treasure hunters from across the realm converge on the ominous pit that remains. This fast-paced fantasy roguelite challenges players to dive deeper into monster-infested depths while developing an arsenal of magic-infused projectiles and recruiting fellow adventurers to the cause.

The core gameplay revolves around the Ball Fusion system, which offers over 60 randomized projectiles to equip and combine during each run. Players can experiment with hundreds of possible outcomes, discovering explosive synergies and overpowered combinations that transform how you approach each descent. The depth here extends beyond combat, as you'll expand New Ballbylon with over 70 unique buildings that provide gameplay bonuses, unlock new characters, and reveal further power-ups.

Each region within the pit presents distinct challenges, from barren deserts to frozen caverns and savage forests. You'll face diverse enemy legions and screen-filling bosses while managing resources and tasking homebound heroes with automated tasks to keep supplies flowing. The character roster features unique, upgradable mechanics that fundamentally change your playstyle, making experimentation and adaptation essential for success. This looks like a solid addition to the roguelite genre with enough mechanical depth to keep players engaged through multiple runs.

Keeper

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: October 17, 2025

Double Fine Productions and Lee Petty return with something genuinely distinctive. This beautiful and surreal third-person puzzle adventure tells its story entirely without words, relying instead on atmospheric environments and visual storytelling to convey meaning and emotion.

Players awaken a dormant lighthouse on a forgotten island, watching as withering tendrils spread and coalesce around this ancient structure. Joined by a spirited seabird companion, you'll embark on a journey toward the island's center, venturing through realms that defy understanding. The team behind Stacking, Headlander, RAD, and Psychonauts brings their signature visual creativity to this project, crafting what promises to be a meditative experience focused on atmosphere and environmental puzzles.

The approach feels reminiscent of Journey or ABZU, where the absence of dialogue creates space for personal interpretation and emotional resonance. Early footage suggests the game prioritizes exploration and discovery over traditional puzzle-solving mechanics, though specific gameplay details remain intentionally vague. For players seeking something contemplative and visually striking, Keeper appears poised to deliver an experience that lingers long after completion.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: October 21, 2025

After years of turbulent development, the long-awaited sequel finally arrives. BAFTA award-winning studio The Chinese Room takes the reins for this action RPG that plunges players into modern-night Seattle's supernatural underworld, where vampire society teeters on the brink of open warfare.

You play as the Nomad, an elder vampire awakening from a century-long slumber with a stranger's voice trapped in your Blood. This entity, vampire detective Fabien, serves as your guide through 21st-century Seattle while you revisit a cold case from a hundred years ago that threatens both undead and mortal society. The narrative structure cleverly allows players to experience events through multiple perspectives, adding layers to both the mystery and the worldbuilding.

Combat emphasizes visceral, immersive encounters that reward different playstyles based on your chosen vampire clan. Close-quarters combat with supernatural strength, ranged attacks through blood sorcery, or silent predator approaches all remain viable depending on your preferences. The game challenges players to maintain the Masquerade while hunting the city's population at night, using supernatural powers or raw persuasion to lure prey into dark alleys. Breaking this code of secrecy brings escalating consequences, starting with law enforcement and growing far worse.

Beyond combat, the game promises meaningful choices that determine the balance of power within Seattle's vampire Court and affect both the city's future and its inhabitants. Your decisions, plots, and schemes will ripple throughout the narrative, potentially leading to vastly different outcomes. For fans who've been waiting since 2004, this sequel arrives with high expectations and the weight of its predecessor's cult classic status.

Painkiller

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: October 21, 2025

The classic franchise returns with a reimagining that introduces cooperative play for up to three players alongside full offline support. This gothic demon-slaying experience casts players as Champions sentenced to Purgatory, given a chance at redemption by stopping the fallen angel Azazel from unleashing demonic armies onto Earth.

Combat remains the centerpiece, with players jumping, dashing, and hooking across vast biomes while wielding both new and classic Painkiller weapons. The enemy variety spans from massive hordes of smaller demons to titanic terrors and Azazel's three monstrous children, the Nephilim. Tarot cards enhance your abilities and can be combined with other players' effects to create devastating attacks against overwhelming odds.

Character selection matters here, with four distinctive Champions available. Ink, Void, Sol, and Roch each bring unique perks that boost energy, health, power, or damage, encouraging players to coordinate their choices for optimal team composition. The gothic environments promise rich detail and atmospheric density, staying true to the franchise's dark fantasy aesthetic while modernizing the gameplay loop for contemporary audiences.

The addition of cooperative play could prove transformative for the series, turning what was traditionally a solitary demon-slaying experience into a shared challenge. Whether tackling Purgatory solo or with friends, players will need to master movement mechanics and weapon combinations to survive increasingly grotesque encounters.

Happenings in the Gaming World

Heart Machine Ends Development on Hyper Light Breaker

The studio behind 2016's critically acclaimed Hyper Light Drifter faces a difficult transition as it ends development on prequel Hyper Light Breaker and conducts layoffs. Heart Machine's statement confirms the company made "the difficult decision to part ways with a number of talented team members," though specific numbers remain undisclosed.

The studio cites broader industry forces beyond its control, including funding shifts, corporate consolidation, and the uncertain environment facing small independent studios. Originally planned for 2023 early access, the game finally launched on Steam Early Access on January 14, 2025, following November 2024 delays and layoffs. Current Steam ratings sit at Mixed, contrasting sharply with the predecessor's Very Positive reception.

Despite the setbacks, Heart Machine plans to deliver something in January 2025, though the studio acknowledges it may not be fully complete. The team aims to refine what's possible, complete key systems, and provide a satisfying conclusion given current resource constraints. No further updates or Q&A sessions will occur before the release as the remaining team focuses on polishing the final product.

The statement expresses hope that the launch might "rekindle opportunities" for affected employees while the studio continues forward with a smaller core team. This situation reflects the precarious position many independent developers occupy in today's gaming landscape, where even critical success doesn't guarantee financial stability for follow-up projects.

Xbox Co-Founder Criticizes Microsoft's Game Pass Strategy

Microsoft Game Studios co-founder Laura Fryer delivered sharp criticism of her former employer following the company's 50% price increase for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. In a 13-minute video published October 8, 2025, Fryer questioned whether Microsoft leadership understands what made Xbox great, stating "the bubble at Xbox is real."

Fryer helped develop and ship the original Xbox console, giving her perspective particular weight. She argues that while Xbox never matched Sony and Nintendo in hardware marketing or cost reduction, Game Pass initially compensated for these weaknesses by offering unmatched value. However, with Game Pass tied to declining hardware sales, Microsoft "abandoned what they had and started chasing what they didn't understand."

The former executive called the recent price hike a betrayal that transforms gaming's best deal into yet another example of corporate greed. She believes this console generation will be remembered primarily for Microsoft's avarice rather than its innovations or exclusive titles. The criticism extended beyond pricing to broader strategic concerns about brand damage and eroding consumer trust.

Fryer closed with measured optimism, noting that people from Xbox's early days remain at the company who could potentially reverse course. She expressed support for these veterans and hope they can rebuild trust with gamers. The comments resonated widely within the gaming community, where the price increase sparked significant backlash and questions about Game Pass's long-term viability as a value proposition.

MindsEye Developers Publish Open Letter Against Build A Rocket Boy

93 current and former employees of Build A Rocket Boy (BARB) published an open letter on October 10, 2025, detailing "longstanding disrespect and mistreatment" at the MindsEye development studio. Co-written with the Game Workers Branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain, the letter follows MindsEye's troubled launch and layoffs potentially affecting up to 300 people.

MindsEye launched June 10, 2025, to negative reviews and player reception. Prior to release, BARB co-CEO Mark Gerhard claimed "bot farms posting negative comments and dislikes" targeted the title, while co-CEO Leslie Benzies reportedly told staff that "internal and external saboteurs" caused the game's problems.

The open letter accuses executive leadership of mismanagement, stating they "expected [staff] to adapt to your every whim, with those in disagreement being shut down or cast aside." Employees assert the layoffs resulted from leadership "repeatedly refused to listen to your workforce's years of experience, resulting in one of the worst video game launches this decade."

Specific grievances include poor communication, "unbearable levels of overtime" with mandatory eight-hour weekly increases during the months before launch, and poorly handled redundancies. Workers describe their experience as one of "burnout, job insecurity, health issues, and the failure of a game that many of us have put years of our lives into."

The letter demands a public apology, compensation for redundant employees, allowing those on redundancy notice to work their notice period or receive Payment in Lieu of Notice, documented efforts to improve working conditions, and external partnership to prevent future mistreatment. The demands reflect growing industry awareness around worker protections and the human cost of mismanaged game development.

That wraps up our third October spotlight! What caught your attention from this batch? And if nothing captured your interest, perhaps you're more drawn to competitive gaming? We cover tournaments for Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2! You can check out our analysis and predictions over here, or try it for yourself. Our Pick'ems system allows you to predict match outcomes and have the chance to win expensive items and skins from the Steam marketplace. Interested? Try it out here.