Deep Rock Galactic Halloween 2026: Event Dates, Assignments, and Rewards

The Halloween event is live through November 5

Deep Rock Galactic’s Hoxxes Halloween 2026 event is already underway and ends Thursday, November 5 at 13:00 CET, according to the official announcement. The event started October 22, so October 30 is a good time to check your assignment board if you have not joined yet. The end time is specific: do not wait until the final evening if your platform or connection sometimes needs a long update.

The event is seasonal content layered into the existing co-op mining loop. You can pursue a new piece of headgear, revisit older Halloween cosmetics, and collect flying skulls during missions. The Space Rig also gets a haunted makeover, giving the hub a seasonal look between dives.

This guide uses the details Ghost Ship Games confirmed in its Steam announcement. It does not assume that the event changes mission difficulty or adds a new biome. The publisher describes assignments, skull collection, a reward bonus, and the decorated hub.

Unlock the Straw Boss headgear

The new cosmetic reward is the Straw Boss headgear. Ghost Ship Games says players can claim it by completing the Halloween assignment. Open the assignment terminal and select the active Halloween task, then follow the objectives it presents. The announcement does not list a universal mission route, so use the in-game assignment text as the source of truth for your current step.

If you are playing with friends, agree on the assignment before launching a mission. That small check helps the group avoid spending a session on unrelated objectives when someone is trying to finish the seasonal reward. If the game lets multiple players progress together, verify that everyone has selected or accepted the assignment in their own terminal.

The reward is cosmetic, so there is no need to change your build or take a riskier difficulty just to use it. Pick missions your team can complete comfortably. A reliable clear is usually a better plan for a time-limited assignment than repeatedly failing a high hazard level.

• Open the assignment terminal and select the Halloween assignment.
• Complete its listed objectives to claim the Straw Boss headgear.
• Check your own assignment status before each co-op mission.

Catch up on previous Halloween hats

The event also has a path for newer players and anyone who missed earlier seasonal events. Completing the Last Year’s Horrors assignment unlocks the previous Halloween hats, according to the official recap. That turns this event into a catch-up opportunity rather than a single new cosmetic chase.

If your wardrobe already includes those older hats, you can focus on the new Straw Boss reward or simply enjoy the seasonal missions. If you are unsure which assignment you need, read the exact in-game name: the current event uses Last Year’s Horrors for the older Halloween headwear. Similar seasonal events can use different assignment names, so avoid selecting an old guide’s task by mistake.

The announcement confirms the reward category but does not enumerate every older hat in the recap. Check the assignment and cosmetic terminal to see what remains locked on your account. That is more reliable than assuming a list from a prior year matches the 2026 return.

Flying skulls and the Double Performance Point bonus

Flying skulls are back in the caves. The event asks players to shoot them down, deposit them, and earn a Double Performance Point Bonus. It gives the team an extra reason to watch the environment while completing its normal mission objectives. Keep an eye out during the dive and communicate when someone spots a skull so the group can decide whether it is safe to detour.

The bonus applies to Performance Points, as the developer states. Do not confuse that with a claim of double mission XP or a guaranteed reward drop. The official recap specifically names a Double Performance Point Bonus for bringing back a skull. It is best to understand the reward exactly as written and check the end-of-mission screen to see how it is applied.

As always, balance the side objective against team safety. A skull is not worth splitting the squad in a dangerous cave or abandoning a mission-critical objective. The event is cooperative, and a quick ping or voice call can help the team decide whether the detour makes sense.

A simple plan before the event ends

The Space Rig is haunted for the event, adding seasonal atmosphere while you prepare for the next mission. Take a look around between dives, but remember that the hub decoration is not itself a reward task. The time-limited progression comes from assignments and skull collection during missions.

With the event ending November 5 at 13:00 CET, a practical plan is to prioritize the Straw Boss assignment first, then complete Last Year’s Horrors if you want the returning hats. Work on skulls when they appear naturally during a mission, rather than treating them as a reason to ignore the team’s primary objective.

Deep Rock Galactic’s event is approachable for both returning miners and people who simply want a few themed co-op runs. Check the assignment terminal, choose a comfortable mission difficulty, and make sure your group knows whether it is chasing the new hat or older cosmetics. The official event announcement is the best place to verify any last-minute schedule or reward clarification.

Make the seasonal missions work for your whole team

Seasonal assignments are easier when everyone in a group knows what the team is doing. Before dropping in, say whether you are working on the Straw Boss reward, older hats, or simply playing a mission together. That lets players decide whether to take a detour for a flying skull and makes the session feel coordinated rather than like four separate checklists.

Newer miners do not need to chase every collectible at once. Choose a difficulty your team can handle, learn the assignment objectives, and use the normal mission tools to stay together. A clean mission clear is a satisfying result even if a skull does not appear or a side objective is missed. There is still time before November 5, but the official deadline is fixed, so plan around it.

Returning players can use Last Year’s Horrors as a compact catch-up goal. Check the cosmetic terminal after finishing the assignment so you can see which hats are now available. If something remains locked, revisit the assignment board and verify its completion state before replaying missions; the game’s own progress display is the clearest indicator of what you still need.

  EVENT DEADLINE

Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 13:00 CET. Ghost Ship Games’ announcement lists the deadline in Central European Time.