These 10 Anticipated Indie Games Should Be On Your Radar In 2026

With the start of a new year comes a whole crop of new games to look forward to. We’ve already covered some of the biggest games launching in 2026, and now we’re focusing in on the indie games that will define the first part of the year. While there’s plenty of room for surprises in indie games, with releases often following not long after they’re even announced, these are the biggest games we can already expect to launch some time this year.

From anticipated sequels to promising debuts, here are the most anticipated indie games we’re expecting in 2026.

Pathologic 3

Each of the Pathologic games is set in a town ravaged by plague, with the player examining patients and fighting to keep anyone they can alive. In Pathologic 3, you start from a losing position, playing as a doctor who failed to contain the illness and is being blamed for all the consequences. From there, you can travel back and forth in time, reliving previous days and rewriting the outcomes of events until you find a way to fix your mistakes. Based on a demo and the previous games, Pathologic 3 is shaping up to be a difficult, surreal, utterly unique immersive sim with surprising depth — and since all three games retell the same story from different perspectives, you can start with the latest entry just fine.

Release date: January 9

Perfect Tides: Station to Station

2022’s great point-and-click adventure Perfect Tides follows Mara, a teenager in the year 2000 living on an idyllic island but longing to get away. A writer who spends most of her time on the internet, Mara is an empathetically drawn character dealing with the most tumultuous part of her life. In its sequel, Station to Station, Mara is an 18-year-old college student in the city, balancing classes, friendships, and her dreams for the future. The original Perfect Tides features some of the best writing you’ll find in a point-and-click game, and Station to Station’s demo suggests that the sequel will be just as good.

Release date: January 22

Cairn

Originally slated for release in 2025, mountain-climbing sim Cairn is now one of the first big indies of this year. It follows a climber on a quest to summit the inhospitable Mount Kami, a feat that no one has ever achieved before. Its climbing gameplay is intricate, letting you control each limb individually and precisely with a unique control scheme. And as you make your way up on the mountain’s face, you’ll also need to camp, where you’ll meet other climbers and manage your gear to make sure you’re prepared for the next leg of your ascent.

Release date: January 29

Don’t Stop, Girlypop!

Every moment of Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is overwhelming, in the best possible way. An ultra-fast first-person shooter bedazzled in Y2K aesthetics, Don’t Stop, Girlypop! has some of the most frantic movement abilities I’ve ever seen in a shooter, and the faster you move, the more damage your weapons do. It’s unabashedly for the 2000s girlies, draped in pink neon and sparkles with flip phones and Tamagotchis as crucial parts of the experience.

Release date: January 29

Demon Tides

The sequel to 2021’s Demon Turf, Demon Tides is a 3D platformer with incredibly smooth movement that’s just a joy to play. It’s packed with unique abilities that can be combined to let you jet across its open environments in countless different ways, with slick controls that make every movement feel just right. Its demo is pure fun, and if Demon Tides scratches your platforming itch, you can also look forward to Bubsy 4D, coming later from the same developer.

Release date: February 19

Slay the Spire 2

After it launched in 2019, Slay the Spire became one of the most influential indie games ever, inspiring countless roguelikes to come. That’s a tough act to follow, but Slay the Spire 2 already looks like an interesting evolution for the series. Its core card-based gameplay remains the same, but the sequel adds new characters alongside returning favorite, as well as new cards and secrets to discover. Whatever shape it takes in the end, the sequel to Slay the Spire is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated indie games of the decade.

Release date: March 2026

Abyss X Zero

In Abyss X Zero, the developer of Unsighted moves from 2D to 3D for one of the best-looking Metroidvanias of the year. Set in a sprawling world overrun by hostile robots, Abyss X Zero features massive boss battles, snappy combat, and platforming with some impressive movement abilities. Its two heroes play differently to add even more variety to the game, and even just in trailers, its low-poly 3D art and rock soundtrack are incredibly impressive.

Release date: TBA

Mina the Hollower

Delayed from its October 2025 release, Mina the Hollower is now slated to launch this year from the developer of the classic Shovel Knight. Taking cues from The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls, Mina the Hollower nonetheless feels totally unique, starring a heroic mouse with a unique moveset that lets her tunnel underground just as easily as she leaps from platform to platform. A host of different weapons and upgrades vastly change how the game feels, and based on a demo released last year, it could easily be one of the most exciting indie RPGs of 2026 when it’s finally released.

Release date: TBA

Virtue and a Sledgehammer

Many Nights A Whisper made a splash in 2025, as the latest collaboration between developers Selkie Harbour and Deconstructeam. Now, the two are pairing up again for an extremely unexpected followup. While we don’t know much about it so far, Virtue and a Sledgehammer follows a characters returning to their hometown to literally do battle with their painful memories, by smashing both the town and the robots that have invaded it with a massive sledgehammer. Its striking visual design and utterly unique concept already make this a game you should absolutely have your eye on, and its developers’ previous work makes it even more promising.

Release date: TBA

Witchbrook

Witchbrook has been one of the most anticipated indie games for a few years running, and 2026 is the year it’s finally slated for release. Following a young witch moving to the metropolitan Mossport, it’s equal parts Stardew Valley and Kiki’s Delivery Service with a lot of unique charm on its own. Witchbrook features some of the most gorgeous, detailed pixel art we’ve ever seen, and its multiplayer mode for up to four players should help it stand out among a sea of other great life sims.

Release date: TBA