Epic's first October giveaway pairs Buried Stars with System Shock 2 Remaster

The two PC games will be free to claim from October 1 through October 8, replacing Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles and Mechabellum.

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Epic Games Store Officially Reveals 2 Its First Free Games for October 2026

TLDR

Epic Games Store's first October 2026 giveaway includes Buried Stars and System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster. Both PC games will be free to claim from October 1 through October 8. Buried Stars is a mystery adventure built around survivors of a collapsed television studio, while Nightdive's System Shock 2 remaster modernizes the horror RPG with enhanced models and animations, cross-play co-op, expanded mod support and controller improvements. GameRant puts their usual combined price at $69.98.

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Epic Games Store's first October 2026 giveaway combines a Korean mystery adventure with a modernized science-fiction horror classic. The official free-games listing identifies Buried Stars and System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster as the next two PC games, available to claim from October 1 through October 8.

The pair will replace Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles and Mechabellum, which remain free through October 1. As with Epic's usual weekly offers, claiming the games during the listed window adds them to the player's library rather than limiting play to that week.

GameRant reports that the October pair normally costs $69.98 combined: $39.99 for Buried Stars and $29.99 for System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster.

Buried Stars turns a TV disaster into an investigation

Buried Stars follows contestants trapped inside a collapsed television studio after an accident interrupts a live survival-audition show. GameRant describes a mystery structured around visual-novel dialogue, searches for clues and decisions about how to use information.

Players can examine posts and messages on an in-game social network called Phater, gather keywords and raise those topics in conversations with the other survivors. The result is less about reflex combat than managing information and relationships while trying to understand what happened inside the ruined studio.

System Shock 2 returns with co-op and modern controls

Nightdive Studios' 25th Anniversary Remaster updates the 1999 first-person horror RPG while preserving its setting aboard the Von Braun and its mixture of shooting, character development and resource management.

The remaster supports cross-play cooperative multiplayer, expanded mod support, ultrawide displays and frame rates up to 144 FPS. Epic's product page also lists 50 achievements, enhanced character and weapon models, improved animations, optimized controller support and other quality-of-life changes. Nightdive developed the remaster, Atari published it and the PC version launched in June 2025.

The two games land five years apart in original release terms, but the more useful contrast is structural: one is a conversation-heavy closed-room mystery, while the other asks players to survive a hostile starship. Both remain regular paid products outside the October 1–8 claim window.

Epic's first October giveaway pairs Buried Stars with System Shock 2 Remaster

The two PC games will be free to claim from October 1 through October 8, replacing Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles and Mechabellum.

1 Source, 7h ago, first seen 7h ago

TLDR

GameRant reports that the October pair normally costs $69.98 combined: $39.99 for Buried Stars and $29.99 for System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster.

Epic's first October giveaway pairs Buried Stars with System Shock 2 Remaster

TLDR

Buried Stars turns a TV disaster into an investigation

System Shock 2 returns with co-op and modern controls

Epic's first October giveaway pairs Buried Stars with System Shock 2 Remaster

TLDR

Buried Stars turns a TV disaster into an investigation

System Shock 2 returns with co-op and modern controls

1 Source

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Sentiment

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Buried Stars turns a TV disaster into an investigation

System Shock 2 returns with co-op and modern controls

Buried Stars turns a TV disaster into an investigation

System Shock 2 returns with co-op and modern controls

Combined views

Sentiment

Summary

Sentiment

Summary

1 Source