Cult classic horror game Slender Man: The Arrival gets an Unreal Engine 5 overhaul and new chapter this Halloween

Remember ol' Slender Man? The dapper, faceless, tall drink of water that more than likely inspired your nightmares a decade ago? Well, he's coming back in a big way with the release of an Unreal Engine 5 overhaul of the 2013 cult classic horror game Slender: The Arrival for current-gen platforms, and now we have a release date.

Per indie developer Blue Isle Studios, the 10th anniversary upgrade will hit Steam, the Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 18. It'll also include a brand new story chapter "where Charlie Matheson’s father experiences his worst nightmare." Charlie Matheson Jr. is an antagonist in Slender: The Arrival, having been snatched up by Slender Man as a child and turned into a deadly proxy, while his father, Charlie Matheson Sr., would later die by mysterious causes. Blue Isle says the new chapter "offers a sneak preview of what's to come."

"It's been 10 years since the original launch and we've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to improve and add to the game," said Blue Isle Studios co-founder and lead designer Alex Tintor. "There are many more Slender Man stories to tell, and we cannot wait to deliver on these experiences."

Beyond that new chapter, the big update will add language support for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese right at launch, which has been a common request from the community for years.

Find out where the original Slender Man game ranked on our list of the best horror games ever made.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.