Halloween: The Game Pre-Order Checklist

This checklist is the practical companion to Edition Comparison and the release schedule. It is for people who already intend to pre-order Halloween: The Game and do not want a surprise at 9:00 AM PT on September 4, 2026. Work top to bottom. If any regional row fails, stop; do not pass go on Deluxe.

Keep getting started and system requirements open in another tab. You will need them the moment the client downloads. Role and map reading can wait until the boxes below are ticked: civilians, Michael Myers, maps, story mode, and the tier list.

1. Confirm your region can buy it

• Australia and New Zealand: refused classification in August 2026. No digital, no physical. Details on regional availability.
• Japan PlayStation 5: cancelled August 30, 2026 (CERO, violence and nudity). Do not wait for a PS5 listing to reappear.
• Japan Xbox and PC: still scheduled for September 9, 2026, uncensored.
• Everywhere else on PS5, Xbox Series, Steam, and Epic: proceed, but match the store country to the account you will play on.

If you are gifting, the receiver’s wallet country matters more than yours. Crossplay will not install a missing SKU.

2. Pick a platform and stick to it

Platform	Digital date	Notes
Steam (app 3219630)	September 8 (Deluxe September 4)	Easy Anti-Cheat, Windows 11, SSD
Epic Games Store	Same	Same PC requirements
PlayStation 5	Same	PlayStation Plus expected for online
Xbox Series X	S	Same

There is no PS4 or Xbox One version. Physical discs are PS5 / Xbox only on October 6, 2026. If you want September 4, the platform must be digital Deluxe on that hardware. Crossplay is advertised, so a Steam Myers can hunt Xbox civilians, but you still install once per account.

3. Pick an edition on purpose

Use the editions page for the full tables. The short version:

• Digital Standard ($39.99): game on September 8; Phantom Myers if you pre-order digital.
• Digital Deluxe ($59.99): September 4 at 9:00 AM PT, Inmate Myers, Richard and Alexis, Laurie advance access, comic.
• Physical Standard ($39.99, October 6): poster, early Clown Myers, two civilian cosmetics.
• Collector (~$149.99, October 6): Shape Jump figure, lenticular art, Samhain plus Clown, extra civilian cosmetics.

If you need both early access and a Collector box, that is two purchases, not one. A Deluxe Upgrade at launch will not rewind the calendar to September 4.

4. PC storage and OS

Official PC listings agree on the boring numbers:

• OS: Windows 11 64-bit (minimum and recommended)
• Storage: 45 GB available space, SSD or NVMe required
• DirectX 12
• RAM: 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended
• GPU floor: GTX 1660 / RX 590 / Arc A770 class for 1080p at 30 FPS; RTX 3000 / RX 7000 class for the 4K 30 FPS target

Leave more than 45 GB free so the installer can unpack. Easy Anti-Cheat must be allowed through your firewall. A spinning HDD is not on the spec sheet. If you fail this row, Deluxe early access is a download queue, not a match.

5. Accounts, crossplay, and anti-cheat

• Sign into the store you will launch from (Steam, Epic, PSN, Xbox).
• Enable whatever crossplay toggle exists after install; do not wait until a lobby errors.
• On Xbox, confirm Game Pass Essential / Premium / Ultimate or the current paid online tier.
• On PlayStation, confirm PlayStation Plus for 1v4.
• On PC, accept Easy Anti-Cheat. Offline story mode still lives in the same executable.

Friend codes should be exchanged before 9:00 AM PT. Role-based matchmaking and killer tokens (see news) mean a four-stack of civilians should be ready even if someone hoped to main Myers.

6. Time zones and alarms

Deluxe is Friday, September 4, 2026, 9:00 AM PT (16:00 UTC). Full digital is Tuesday, September 8, 2026; trust the store countdown for the exact hour. Japan Xbox/PC is Wednesday, September 9 locally. Set the alarm on a clock that understands daylight saving. Physical October 6 does not need a 9:00 AM PT alarm unless you are queuing at a retailer.

7. Discord, socials, and a sane news diet

Join the official Discord (discord.gg/halloweenthegame) before launch week. Follow @HalloweenTVG for gold-style posts, not for invented patch notes. The updates hub and news page exist so you do not have to scroll TikTok for classification news. Official site: halloweengame.com.

8. Last 48 hours before Deluxe

• Pre-load if the store offers it.
• Verify the 45 GB SSD is still free after Windows updates.
• Read getting started once, including how civilians warn neighbors and how Myers stalks.
• Skim maps so Orange Grove and Heights are not brand-new names in a loading screen.
• Decide whether night one is campaign or 1v4. Story mode does not spend killer tokens.
• Screenshot your pre-order email. Refund windows differ by platform if a friend talked you into Collector by mistake.

Print this list, tick every box, then wait for the 9:00 AM PT Deluxe unlock with Discord already open. The checklist is finished when the installer is finished — not when you have reread the Collector table for the fourth time. After that, the wiki’s job is Myers, civilians, and maps, not another store comparison.