Five of the best Halloween game events you should check out this month

^{Image: Activision}

Here are the five spookiest events in gaming you should check out for Halloween. 

Halloween is a fantastic time to check in on your favourite live-service game, as the holiday always brings something different to the table. You don’t get virtual jumpscares and pumpkins on any other day of the year, but on Halloween? It’s an absolute staple in gaming. Every live-service game seems to have rotated in a Halloween event for 2023, but which one should you pick? Choices, choices. 

Just kidding, we’ve already picked out five of the best Halloween 2023 events for you! Consider it our treat - no trick required:

Fortnitemares

Fortnitemares is always a banger of an event for battle royale fans, and this year it returns with Jack Skellington and Michael Myers skins in tow. Kado Thorne has transformed into a vampire boss NPC for players to fight in the battle royale map, and upon his defeat drops a Vampiric Blade weapon for them to bring into battle. Witch Brooms are also back to let players soar through the sky amid a tough battle, and Candy can be found everywhere to replenish health and shields. 

This year’s Fortnitemares has also brought in a few new augments for broom and candy buffs, and a line of quests that reward special Halloween-themed cosmetics. New weapons like the Wood Stake Shotgun and Pumpkin Launcher can also be found in the map, but if you want Jack Skellington and Michael Myers, you’re going to have to fork out V-Bucks to get their bundles in the Item Shop. 

Call of Duty: The Haunting

Call of Duty’s annual jumpscare-filled Halloween event The Haunting returns for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone this month, with a few crossover skins in tow. A few Modern Warfare 2 maps have been given spooky makeovers to fit the season, and players will now find all manner of jumpscares hiding in chests and various crevices located across Warzone’s map. Zombies have also invaded Warzone and the Butcher lurks somewhere in the map, ready to gut unlucky players. 

Special Halloween skins are also available for the duration of The Haunting, including Diablo 4’s Lilith, Spawn and Ash from Evil Dead. 

Overwatch 2: Halloween Terror x Diablo 4

Overwatch 2 is getting an entire Halloween-themed season with Season 7: Rise of Darkness. A few of the game’s maps have been given spooky makeovers with pumpkins, cobwebs and burning candles, while Blizzard World gets a Diablo 4-themed new look to go with this year’s Halloween PvE mode. While past years tend to rely on the ever-evolving Junkenstein PvE missions, this year we’re getting a crossover with Diablo 4 that has players take on various monsters from Sanctuary. The mode culminates with a showdown against Lilith herself. 

Season 7 also has a bunch of Halloween skins available in and out of the battle pass, with a special bundle containing a Lilith skin for Moira, Inarius skin for Pharah and more Diablo 4-themed cosmetics. 

 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There’s no better time to revisit Animal Crossing: New Horizons than a season of festivity, and Halloween certainly counts. For a cosier take on the night of frights, check out Animal Crossing: New Horizons this week, where the talking pumpkin Jack has returned to the island to collect candy from your villagers. If you help Jack out with his candy tax, you’ll get some special Halloween-themed rewards. 

Of course, the game has more in store for those who like to furnish their island so it best suits every season. Pumpkins can be grown using Halloween DIYs, and more goodies can be found at Nook’s Cranny this month. 

 

Team Fortress 2: Scream Fortress

Team Fortress 2 is the go-to game for Halloween events if you’re unsure of what else to play, seeing as the game has now amassed 15 years’ worth of Halloween-themed content to rotate in each year. 12 new community-made maps have been added to Scream Fortress this year: Perks, Slime, Lava Pit, Mannsylvania, Sandcastle, Spineyard, Corruption, Murky, Atoll, Woods, Sanitarium, and Devastation. Each map has its own special gimmick to fit the season, such as Mannsylvania, which throws vampire powerups into the mix. 

Obviously, there are more Halloween cosmetics for the game too, including taunts, unusual effects for hats and more in the Mann Store. Past Scream Fortress maps have also returned, so there’s a bevvy of content to check out here.