The launch clock: one moment, two dates
S-Game's PlayStation Store listing gives the release as October 29, 2026, at 02:00 UTC. That single moment explains the date confusion. In the US it is the evening of October 28, and in much of the rest of the world it is already October 29. IGN Africa's city-by-city schedule is a list of conversions of that one instant, not staggered regional launches.
Launch times by city:
| City | Local time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 7 p.m. PDT | October 28 |
| Mexico City | 8 p.m. CST | October 28 |
| Bogotá | 9 p.m. COT | October 28 |
| New York | 10 p.m. EDT | October 28 |
| Brasília | 11 p.m. BRT | October 28 |
| Accra | 2 a.m. GMT | October 29 |
| London | 2 a.m. BST | October 29 |
| Warsaw | 3 a.m. CEST | October 29 |
| Cape Town | 4 a.m. SAST | October 29 |
| Kyiv | 4 a.m. EEST | October 29 |
| Beijing | 10 a.m. CST | October 29 |
| Seoul | 11 a.m. KST | October 29 |
| Tokyo | 11 a.m. JST | October 29 |
| Melbourne | 1 p.m. AEST | October 29 |
| Auckland | 3 p.m. NZDT | October 29 |
Steam shows an October 28 release date, which is the US-local date for the same moment. The two labels don't conflict.
Preload timing
The preload followed the same pattern, starting on October 26. Reporting on the studio's announcement puts the start at 7:00 p.m. PDT on October 26. Local equivalents are:
- Los Angeles: 7 p.m. PDT, October 26
- New York: 10 p.m. EDT, October 26
- London: 2 a.m. BST, October 27
- Cape Town: 4 a.m. SAST, October 27
- Beijing: 10 a.m. CST, October 27
- Tokyo: 11 a.m. JST, October 27
- Melbourne: 1 p.m. AEST, October 27
- Auckland: 3 p.m. NZDT, October 27
IGN's list also includes Mexico City, Bogotá, Brasília, Accra, Warsaw, Kyiv and Seoul, all at the same instant. Preloading is live on both PlayStation 5 and PC ahead of the October 28/29 launch.
Storage: 145 GB installed, 300 GB free for the preload
This is the part most likely to catch people out. The studio says the game is 145 GB once installed, and that you need "at least 300 GB of free disk space for the pre-load process."
- Why the gap exists: Club386 reports the developer's explanation. Temporary files and the complete game files have to coexist during the unlock process. After that finishes, the install size drops to around 145 GB.
- What 300 GB is not: it is not the permanent footprint. It is headroom for the preload and unlock.
- Day-one patch: one retailer blog notes that S-GAME hasn't said whether the 145 GB figure includes a day-one patch. A little extra free space is sensible.
- Check the right drive: free space on the drive you plan to install to is what counts, not the combined free space across all your drives.
- Don't treat 145 GB as a transfer size: it is an installed size, not a measured compressed download. It doesn't tell you how much data your connection will move.
- PS5 differs: AllKeyShop lists the PS5 download at 134.85 GB. The 300 GB figure is a PC guideline, and ixbt notes it isn't known whether PS5 owners need similar headroom.
A quick pre-flight checklist:
- Open Settings > System > Storage and check free space on the intended SSD.
- If it has less than 300 GB free, clear space or pick another SSD before starting the preload.
- Update your graphics driver, which the studio recommends.
- Install to an SSD. Club386 also reports the developer's advice to avoid the system drive (C🙂 to protect frame-rate stability.
Club386 was also unimpressed by the developer's guide to checking free space. It says the Task Manager steps show total capacity and activity, not how much space is free. File Explorer's This PC view shows free space per drive more directly.
PC system requirements
The Steam listing and the studio's figures agree. Both tiers need 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, 16 GB of RAM, DirectX 12 and an SSD.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 | Intel Core i5-10600K / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | GeForce GTX 1660 6GB / Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB / Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB |
| Storage | 145 GB, SSD required | 145 GB, SSD required |
| Stated target | 1080p / 30 FPS with upscaling | 1440p / 60 FPS with upscaling |
PC Gamer's version of the table also notes that the recommended 1440p/60 tier uses an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT. Its notes column says ray tracing and path tracing are disabled in both tiers.
How to read these numbers
- Upscaling is baked in. Both targets assume it. The minimum is not native 1080p/30, and the recommended tier is not a native 1440p/60 promise.
- Details are missing. PC Gamer points out that the studio hasn't said which upscaler or quality setting it used. These are publisher targets, not independent benchmarks.
- The minimum is not a low-end box. An i7-8700K and a GTX 1660 are older parts. Even so, 16 GB of RAM and a mandatory SSD rule out many budget and older systems.
- Windows 10 is still supported. That is useful for anyone not yet on Windows 11.
- Platform notes: Steam lists Denuvo DRM. Another report says the PC version also ships on the Epic Games Store.
The bottom line
- Launch is October 29, 2026, at 02:00 UTC, which is the evening of October 28 in the Americas.
- Preload opened October 26 at 7:00 p.m. PDT.
- Plan for 300 GB of free SSD space during the preload, then expect about 145 GB once it settles.
- The PC specs are modest by Unreal Engine 5 standards, but they depend on upscaling.