Rockstar named six of Grand Theft Auto VI's radio stations on October 8, 2026, and confirmed that Jason and Lucia can listen to the radio, and a new set of on-demand podcasts, on foot through earbuds. Also in this roundup: Forza Horizon 6 reaches PS5 on January 26, 2027, ARC Raiders is free to play until October 12 with its biggest update yet, Kingdom Hearts runs natively on Switch 2, Mafia III comes to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (free for most owners), and Minecraft's studio gets a new CEO.
GTA 6 names six radio stations, and you can listen on foot
Rockstar's Newswire post from October 8 introduces six stations and says GTA 6 adds on-demand podcasts for the first time in the series. Both radio and podcasts play in vehicles and on foot, through headphones and earbuds connected to the characters' smartphones.
The six stations revealed so far:
- Cocoteo FM: modern Latin music, from bachata to reggaeton, with El Martillo and La Gata.
- Back Country Radio: renegade country with MW and Delta Dawne.
- AfroBank FM: African classics and amapiano with Burna and Palmsy.
- The Chamber 106.6: metal with DJ Kerry and DJ Tom.
- Flash FM: the Vice City pop station, with Robyn and Alex.
- Dirty South Classics: regional rap and hip-hop classics from Trick and Trina.
Previews of all six are on the official music page, and Rockstar describes them as six of the game's stations. The GTA VI site still lists November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Our take: Hearing your station while you walk around Vice City is a small change that you will notice in every play session. The previews are a free way to find out whether the soundtrack suits you before November 19.
Forza Horizon 6 comes to PS5 on January 26, 2027
Playground Games' PS5 FAQ, posted on October 8, dates the PS5 version for January 26, 2027, with pre-orders open now on the PlayStation Store. The game launched on Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 19, 2026.
What it means for you:
- Prices: $69.99 Standard, $99.99 Deluxe and $119.99 Premium. The Premium Upgrade for Standard or Deluxe owners is $59.99.
- Early access: Premium Edition players start on January 21, when the first paid Premium Expansion (a new location and more cars) comes out on every platform. Premium includes it.
- Launch time: 12:01 a.m. ET on January 26, which is 9 p.m. PT on January 25.
- Already own it on Xbox or Steam? The PS5 version is a separate purchase, but cross-play and cross-save work if you sign in with the same Microsoft account.
- Extras: pre-orders get a pre-tuned Ferrari J50, and there will be a disc version.
Our take: PS5 players wait eight months longer than Xbox and PC players, but cross-save and shared updates mean they join the same game, not an older copy. If you only want the base game, the $69.99 Standard Edition is all you need.
ARC Raiders is free to play until October 12 with its Frozen Trail update
Embark Studios released Frozen Trail on October 8, and the patch notes call it the biggest update since launch. It adds a snowy new map, Pendola Pass, three new enemies, two new weapons, a Grapple Hook, and an Outpost that upgrades weapons to a fifth tier. A Reward Pass replaces Raider Decks (your old decks move to a Legacy Pass), and Reward Points replace Cred.
What it means for you:
- Free weekend: Embark's free-to-play post runs from 2 a.m. PT / 5 a.m. ET on October 8 to 1 a.m. PT / 4 a.m. ET on October 12 on Steam, Xbox and PlayStation, with no PS Plus or Game Pass needed. Xbox's Free Play Days post lists October 8 to 11.
- Full game: all maps, no level cap, and your progress carries over if you buy.
- Sale: Embark says the game is 50% off on all platforms. On Xbox, the base game drops from $39.99 to $19.99 through October 15.
Our take: A full game with no level cap is a real trial, not a demo. If you liked the weekend, buying while it is 50% off (through October 15 on Xbox) keeps your progress at half the price.
Kingdom Hearts now runs natively on Switch 2
Nintendo's October 8 post says three Kingdom Hearts collections are out now as native Switch 2 games. The earlier Switch releases were cloud versions.
What it means for you:
- Prices: Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III], with all three collections, costs $74.99. Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind, HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX are $39.99 each. HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX is also out on the original Switch at $39.99.
- Own the cloud versions? You can bring your save data to the Switch 2 games. Square Enix's collection page says owners of digital copies on Switch (Cloud ver.), PS4 or Xbox One are eligible for a 50% discount on digital purchases.
- Try first: a free demo of Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind is available, and buying the full collection or Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind unlocks the Switch-exclusive "Long Night" Keyblade.
Our take: Running on the console itself instead of as a cloud version is the upgrade Switch players wanted. If you already paid for the cloud versions, check for your 50% discount before you buy.
Mafia III: Definitive Edition comes to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, free for most owners
2K marked Mafia III's 10th anniversary by releasing Mafia III: Definitive Edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on October 8, with 60 FPS gameplay. Some pre-rendered cutscenes still play at 30 FPS. The PC version got a Steam update the same day with bug fixes and new frame-rate caps up to 240 FPS.
What it means for you:
- Free upgrade: PS4 owners, physical or digital, get the digital PS5 version free. Xbox One owners get the Series X|S version free only if they own it digitally.
- Saves: they don't transfer from PS4 or Xbox One to the new versions.
- Sale: the game is 80% off on PlayStation until 11:59 p.m. PT on October 21, on Steam until 10 a.m. PT on October 22, and on Xbox until 10 a.m. PT on October 29.
- What's included: the main game plus all three story DLCs.
Our take: Owners lose nothing here, except old save files. If you never played it, 80% off is a cheap way into a story-driven open-world crime game.
Minecraft's studio Mojang gets a new CEO as Xbox launches XP
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told employees on October 8, in a memo posted on Xbox Wire, that Maria Angelidou-Smith becomes CEO of Mojang and Minecraft on October 19. She was previously chief product officer at Reddit and led Facebook Groups at Meta. Kayleen Walters moves from Mojang to become president of XP, a new Xbox division for film and TV, merchandise, brand partnerships and live events, including theme parks.
What it means for you:
- No changes to the game yet: neither the memo nor Xbox's XP announcement mentions Minecraft updates, prices or services. The memo says her first priority is learning from Mojang's teams and the community.
- More Minecraft beyond games: Xbox credits Walters with growing Minecraft from 350 million to over 425 million units sold, and with A Minecraft Movie.
Our take: A product leader from Reddit and Facebook Groups fits a game built on servers, mods and creators. Nothing changes for players for now, so judge her by the first updates under her leadership.