The best Halloween gaming events of 2019

Hay bale rides, haunted houses, and trick or treating not your style? That’s okay. Perhaps seasonal quests, unique boss fights, and scary loot chases are more your speed. Over the coming days and weeks, some of your favorite games will play host to spooky in-game Halloween events. Consider this your comprehensive guide on the spookiest gaming festivities to come.

Borderlands 3 — Bloody Harvest

Borderlands 3 recently shipped to much acclaim, but the folks at Gearbox Studios have a lot more shooting and looting planned for their fans. Only this month, we won’t be taking on homicidal live-streaming siren twins, but a wide array of Halloween themed enemies and special bosses! Players who have made their way off Pandora in the main campaign will encounter a new vendor aboard their ship, named Maurice. Players can also expect to find haunted enemies scattered across the galaxy.

Taking down these ghouls won’t be easy, as they have new terror debuffs meant to throw players off their game. Attacks that shroud your vision, and a mysterious mist that weakens your weapons are just some of the terrors that await you. Upon death, Haunted enemies will drop Hectoplasm, a new event-specific currency accepted by the aforementioned vendor. Eventually, players will unlock the Bloody Harvest map, allowing them access to a nightmarish locale chock full of monsters looking to put you six feet under. A unique boss known as Captain Haunt leads this sinister cabal, and downing him will net you some coveted Halloween themed gear.

The Bloody Harvest event is free for all Borderlands 3 players and is set to kick off sometime in October, with no concrete date announced yet. By events end you will have the opportunity to hunt down an ECHO Skin, a Weapon Trinket, a skin for each of the four Vault Hunters, new Anointed loot drops, and ultimately a Global Weapon Skin.

Hitman 2

Agent 47 may be a stone-faced assassin, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t boogie down with the boogeyman. Hitman 2 will feature all-new Halloween themed challenges and events, and even a graveyard map, complete with menacing fog, skeletons, and scarecrows. Three challenge packs are also set to debut including Master Vampire, Master Scarecrow, and Himmapan Horror! Those skilled enough to complete these challenges will unlock new weapons such as the Antique Lethal Syringe and the TAC-4 S/A Jungle Rifle.

While the Halloween themed challenges and stage unlocks on the 22nd of October, on the 25th you’ll be hunting down a serial killer wreaking havoc across the idyllic town of Whittleton Creek. And on the 31st, you can play The Uninvited, a challenge pack based on old-school slasher films.

Apex Legends — Fight or Fright

Even though we are hot on the heels of a new map release, players will be returning to Kings Canyon. Although this time, night has fallen across the Apex Legends map and a sinister twist awaits players who dare take up the challenge. At the outset of any given match, players will drop, as usual, fighting to the death. But instead of being shamefully dashed to the end-game screen, players will join the shadow-squad as an undead version of their hero.

You’ll swap your weapons for blazing-fast movement speed and a crushing new melee attack as you hunt down the remaining living players. The hellish battle continues until 10 living players remain, at which point they must team up to reach the evac ship.

This Halloween event runs from October 15th to November 5th, and payers can expect to find new Halloween-themed hero skins, weapon skins, badges, and more insidious twists, like exploding zombies filled with loot. What more could you ask for?

Bloodborne — Return to Yharnam

MMO’s, Hero Shooters, and live service titles often spring to mind when you think of seasonal events, but the hit RPG Bloodborne is joining in on the fun for the fifth year in a row. Bloodborne’s Return to Yharnam event is unique for another reason entirely, it’s community-run.

The fan-fueled fright-fest is great for players both old and new. Devoted veterans of the community have created different item sets to sport as costumes for those who’d like to show off their hard-earned loot. The event page on Reddit also calls for players to roll new characters and invade one another’s instances as much as possible. This could provide newbies with the help they need to overcome some of the games’ most crushing enemies.

Return to Yharnam is currently running, and will continue until November 5th! For more information on how to get involved, check out the event on its official Reddit page!

Killing Floor 2 — Grim Treatments

The world of Killing Floor 2 is bone-chilling on your average day, but it seems the latest Grim Treatments will turn that fear factor up to 11. This update is packed to the brim with new weapons, stages, abilities, Halloween-themed accessories, and quality of life improvements.

Tear Zeds to shreds with all-new weapons such as the Ion Thruster, a screamin’ hot metal blade that slices through enemies like a carving knife through a pumpkin. Rhino revolvers are another addition to the game, that shoot ricocheting rounds designed to bounce hither and thither before landing square in your enemy’s skull. Other new toys include a tactical nail gun, a “healthrower” that blasts your allies with medical-grade gas, and buckshot firing hand cannon.

A weapon is nothing without a proving ground to test them out, and the haunting Ashwood Asylum Camp will be the perfect frightful firing range. This horrific space holds the story of what happened to the Roswell Investigators of the Paranormal, as well as a few other scary atmospheric additions.

With Grim Treatments being treated as a complete game update rather than a one-off event, now is the best time to jump in for new players. The update is live now, packed with all the quality of life improvements needed to make the game welcoming to any newbie Zed slayer.

Hearthstone — Doom in the Tomb

Hearthstone’s 2019 Halloween shindig will be a three-week-long festival of fright. Each week will feature a new challenge and new potential limited-time rewards. Week 1 will pit players against the strongest bosses in Uldum, in a race for the fastest clear! Completing this challenge in under an hour and you’ll earn yourself a Rastakhan’s Rumble card pack, with a 40-minute run netting you a Golden Common Ancient Mysteries card!

Week 2 will feature new enemies and challenges, allowing players to a different set of rewards! Players who team up with Reno and the League of Explorers and speed run through temple challenges will unlock a Golden Common Temple Berserker, and a Golden Rare Generous Mummy card. Week 3: The Haunted Carousel will feature a timed tavern brawl! Players will need to maneuver around minions rotating board positions, as well as control the Horseman’s Dreadsteeds!

Blizzard will also be unsealing 23 cards from the Wild category, until the next update. All players will receive these cards for free temporarily. And if that weren’t enough, the Hallow’s End dress-up part mode makes its return in Arena. This event-specific mode allows players to choose a hero and a different hero power, allowing for new combinations of abilities and decks!

This event runs from October 8th through the rest of October. Players old and new should give it a try, as simply logging in will rewards you with five Hearthstone card packs!

Fortnite — Fortnitemares 2019

While Epic’s plans for Halloween 2019 have yet to be announced, they have been known to throw huge events for all hallows eve. 2018’s Fortnitemares was incredibly popular and featured new skins, weapons, and even playful twists to the Battle Royale formula. The Save the World mode also got some love, with new missions, enemies to fight, and themed heroes to unlock! These varied offerings provided spooky fun for everyone in 2018.

It’s worth noting that last year’s Fortnitemares event was announced on the 24th, meaning we could see a similar announcement date this time around.

Overwatch — Halloween Terror 2019

Last year Overwatch fans were treated to Halloween Terror, a timed event that featured rare skins, emotes and sprays. Junkenstein’s Revenge, a mode that pitted 3 players against hordes of horrific enemies, also made its debut. Players could grind for Halloween-themed loot boxes as well, lending players a bevy of ways to take part in some creepy fun.

The event ran from October 1st to November 1st. This year is shaping up to be unique, as the folks at Blizzard seem to be delaying the event to coincide with this year’s release of a Switch Overwatch port. While this is speculation, doping so would be a great way to integrate a new wave of Switch fans into the fold.

Rainbow 6 Siege

Ubisoft has packed R6 to the brim with unlockable operators and skins, and Halloween is no different. Last year, Ubisoft hosted the Mad House Event. This event transformed maps into nightmarish stages for absolute chaos, with haunting new operator skins. Players could grind for even more Halloween themed weapons, and even unlock rare cosmetics from 2017. The offerings were incredibly user-friendly as simply logging in would net you some horrific loot, and the Crimsonveil collection featured no duplicates, meaning new items galore.

The Mad House Event ran from October 25th through the 31st. And while we have no concrete announcement from Ubisoft themselves regarding this year’s festivities, 2019’s Halloween operator skins have already begun to leak, meaning it’s just a matter of time.

Pokémon Go

Niantic has yet to announce their official Halloween plans for Pokémon Go 2019, but with events for the past 3 years running, it’s all but guaranteed. Players can expect an increase in Ghost and Dark-type Pokémon. There have also been rumors of new Team Rocket bosses spreading across the community. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, as each Halloween event has gotten bigger and more complex.

With previous event announcements being made from October 20th-26th, expect to hear news from Niantic in the coming weeks!

GTA Online — Halloween Surprise 2019

Rockstar is known for hosting their in-game event much closer to Halloween, and they’ve remained tight-lipped this far. In previous seasons, we’ve seen new vehicles such as decked out hearses, new Halloween themed masks, shirts, and other accessories. Additions like Slasher Adversary mode even gave players a chance to live out a Jason Voorhees inspired nightmare as either the serial killing hunter or as prey.

Expect an official announcement closer to Halloween. While the GTA Online Halloween Surprise begins fairly late into spooky season, it usually extends into November. This is a great way to keep celebrating well into the Thanksgiving season.

Destiny 2 – Festival of the Lost

Bungie may have skipped out on Festival of the Lost briefly, but the blood-chilling festival is back, and better than ever. With the arrival of Shadowkeep, guardians have discovered that the moon is haunted, and now the Tower will be too. Players can expect a bevy of themed cosmetics, masks and the like. Amanda Holiday will once again be your event vendor, serving up new bounties that reward fragmented souls, the event-specific currency. You can also purchase ghost shells, sparrows and more from Tess Everis.

You won’t only be dressing up and dancing in the Halls of the tower, but you’ll be delving back into the haunted forest. This nightmare Vex simulation adds hours of replayability and a host of new challenges. The horror doesn’t stop there however, as guardians will have a murder to solve as well, with a chilling limited time quest.

Festival of the Lost goes live for ALL players on October 16th. With Destiny recently going free to play, this is the perfect time to jump into the game.

Call of Duty Black Ops 4

Call of Duty is about as reliable as the leaves turning with each year. While the official event has yet to be announced, Black Ops 4 players can almost certainly expect a Halloween event of their own… a H4lloween event if you will.

Last year players got an entire weekend of Double XP, as well as doubled resource drops from Zombie mode! Treyarch also used the event as an opportunity to introduce much-needed fixes as well as the Black Market and Contraband system. However, let’s hope they don’t repeat the timed console exclusivity of the event which didn’t let Xbox users in until October 27th. Expect an official announcement later in the month.

Dead by Daylight

It’s creepsville in Dead by Daylight on the daily, however, Behaviour Digital has been known to REALLY get down on Halloween. The Hallowed Blight event in 2018 was a wild success, and 2019 should be no different. Hallowed Bought was centered around investigating nightmarish experiments performed on unwilling subjects, unlocking festive new cosmetics along the way. The victims of these experiments were turned to fluid-filled beasts, threatening players at every turn.

If the past is any indicator, last year’s event began on the 19th and ran through November 2nd. We shouldn’t be waiting much longer for an announcement, just make sure you survive till then.

Those are just some of the events you can expect this spooky season. However, many studios and publishers have yet to announce their creepy offerings, so make sure to check back for updates on all the Halloween fun!

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