Warrior Cats Clans of the Forest: Release Time on Every Platform

Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest unlocks on Steam at 12:00 p.m. Eastern (9:00 a.m. Pacific) on Friday, October 23, 2026, according to Steam’s release data. The console versions come first: the US PlayStation Store and Xbox Store both list the release at 12:00 a.m. Eastern on October 23, which is 9:00 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, October 22.

The digital version launches the same day on every platform, per Trailmark Games, the publisher. The one exception is a boxed copy: the Xbox Series X physical edition has moved to November 3. Every time below is verified against Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store, the Nintendo eShop and Trailmark’s official site as of October 22, 2026, and given in Eastern time first.

Release Times at a Glance

The Standard Edition is $29.99 on Steam, the PlayStation Store and the Nintendo eShop, and the Feral Edition is $39.99 on consoles. Our Feral Edition vs Standard guide breaks down what the extra $10 buys.

Steam Unlock Time in Your Time Zone

Steam stores one global unlock moment for the game, 16:00 UTC on October 23, and the store page counts down to it (“This game plans to unlock in approximately…”). Here is that moment in local time:

The UK and Europe are still on summer time on October 23; clocks there go back two days later, on October 25.

PS5 and Xbox: Midnight in Each Region

The console stores do not use one global moment. Their listings set the release at midnight local time in each region, which is why Australian players get the game a full day before Steam players in the US:

The US stores use the Eastern midnight for the whole country, so players on the West Coast can start at 9:00 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, and players in Central time at 11:00 p.m. Thursday. That puts PS5 and Xbox players in North America 12 hours ahead of Steam.

Nintendo Switch and Switch 2

The Nintendo eShop sells separate Switch and Switch 2 versions, and both listings give October 23, 2026 as the release date without an unlock time. Trailmark’s own page also gives only the date. We will not guess an hour Nintendo has not published: if you pre-ordered on the eShop, the game becomes playable when Nintendo releases it on October 23 in your region.

Physical Switch copies are on schedule. Trailmark’s statement says the physical editions on PS5 and Nintendo Switch still launch on October 23, and its retail links point to the Feral Edition for Switch at Best Buy and Target in the US and at Smyths Toys in the UK.

If you own a Switch 2, note that the eShop lists the Switch 2 version as its own product at the same $29.99 price as the Switch version, so pick the one for the console you will play on.

PC: Steam, the Xbox App and Epic

PC players have three official stores, and they do not all open at the same moment:

• Steam unlocks at 12:00 p.m. Eastern on October 23, per the release data above. The Steam store page lists 4 GB of storage, a GTX 1060 or RX 580 as the minimum graphics card and 8 GB of RAM.
• The Xbox app sells the game as part of an Xbox Play Anywhere listing, one purchase that covers Xbox Series X and S and Windows PC. That listing carries a single release time for both, midnight Eastern in the US, and gives the PC version no separate time, so the Xbox app version on PC should open with the consoles, about 12 hours before Steam.
• The Epic Games Store is linked from Trailmark’s official page, and Trailmark gives October 23 as the launch date for every platform. Epic’s store blocked our check of its listing, so we could not confirm an Epic unlock time; look at the countdown on Epic’s page before you plan around it.

The Xbox Physical Edition Comes Later

Trailmark posted the delay on its official game page: “Due to a production issue outside of our control, the Xbox Series X physical edition of Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest will now release on November 3.” The same statement confirms that the digital version still launches on all platforms on October 23, along with the physical PS5 and Switch editions.

So if you pre-ordered a disc for Xbox, you have two options: wait for November 3, or buy digitally on the Xbox Store and play on October 23. The Xbox Series S has no disc drive, so the physical edition only matters to Series X owners in any case.

Pre-Order Bonus and Download Size

Digital pre-orders on every store get the Purrfect Look Pack, four exclusive cat-creator elements. Steam’s pre-purchase announcement says players who pre-purchase “will receive the Purrfect Look pack when the game launches October 23, 2026,” and the Nintendo eShop listing describes the four elements as “only available by preordering.” Once your store’s unlock time passes, the pre-order window is over, so buy before then if you want the pack.

The download is small. The Xbox Store’s listing data gives a maximum download of about 3.8 GB on console and 3.4 GB on PC, and Steam asks for 4 GB of free space.

What You Can Play at Launch

All three modes are listed for launch. The main campaign is Prophecy Mode, which Trailmark describes as “4 Clans, 4 Full Stories,” four story campaigns shaped by each Clan’s culture and traditions, and the game’s territories are those of ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan and WindClan. Defender Mode is a survival challenge, and Skirmish Mode pits your cats against other players asynchronously. How the online side works, and what it does not do, is in our guide to whether Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest has multiplayer.

Every guide we publish for the game lands on our Warrior Cats hub, so bookmark it for launch week.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest come out on Steam? 12:00 p.m. Eastern (9:00 a.m. Pacific, 5:00 p.m. UK) on Friday, October 23, 2026, according to Steam’s release data.

What time does it come out on PS5 and Xbox? At midnight local time in each region. In the US, that is 12:00 a.m. Eastern on October 23 (9:00 p.m. Pacific on October 22), per the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store listings.

What time does it come out on Switch? The Nintendo eShop lists October 23, 2026 for both the Switch and Switch 2 versions but does not give an unlock time.

Is the Xbox physical edition delayed? Yes. Trailmark moved the Xbox Series X physical edition to November 3 because of a production issue. The digital Xbox version still launches on October 23.

Is it already out in Australia? On consoles, yes: the Australian PlayStation Store and Xbox Store listings set midnight AEDT on October 23, which was 9:00 a.m. Eastern on October 22. On Steam, it unlocks at 3:00 a.m. AEDT on October 24.

How big is the download? Steam asks for 4 GB of storage, and the Xbox Store’s listing data gives about 3.8 GB on console.