While we’ll likely spend the first few weeks of January tying up loose ends on the games we haven’t yet beaten, it won’t be long before 2026 begins to deliver its biggest releases. From highly anticipated sequels to all original titles from new developers, there’s something to look forward to for every kind of player. With 2025 just about done and dusted, it’s time to look to the year ahead. Here’s our list of 2026’s most anticipated releases.
Mixtape
Mixtape is a coming-of-age story that looks unlike anything else slated for 2026.
Since its reveal at Summer Games Fest 2024, Mixtape has been a curiosity we can’t wait to jump into. One part Life Is Strange, one part a John Hughes style coming-of-age adventure, Mixtape immediately set itself apart from the other excellent games in the genre, like Dispatch. Complete with a nostalgic ’80s soundtrack, aimless yet charming teenage protagonists, and a beautiful, at times surreal art style, it’s a game we hope lives up to its potential whenever it finally releases.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
Fire Emblem’s Switch 2 debut is set for sometime in 2026.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is exactly what the Switch 2 needs a year after its launch. Nintendo’s strategy series is one of the most reliable franchises in the publisher's library, as it’s unlike any of the exclusives released on the console so far. A new cast of honor-bound characters and the series’ satisfying tactics are all returning and look better than ever in the game’s reveal trailer. A teaser at the end of that trailer suggests it will follow up on the 2019 fan favorite Three Houses in some way, all the more reason to be excited for this release.
Saros
Saros is an indirect sequel to 2021’s Returnal, one of the best PS5 exclusives in the console’s first few months.
Developer Housemarque made the biggest surprise hits of the PlayStation 5’s launch window in Returnal. It’s now looking to refine the excellent shoot-’em-up roguelike with a gorgeous spiritual successor, Saros. You’ll once again explore the ruins of an alien planet, experiencing different biomes and fighting fierce creatures. The protagonist, played by actor Rahul Kohli, has a handful of new abilities, like absorbing incoming projectiles and turn it into shields or increased firepower, adding a new dynamic to this modern-day take on the bullet-hell shooter.
Marvel’s Wolverine
Insomniac is looking to do what it did for Spider-Man for another beloved hero from Marvel’s mythos. It’s been a long time coming for Wolverine, but players will finally get a chance to play it next year. The gruesome gameplay reveal showed the gruff mutant mutalating bad guys across the globe in an adventure reminiscent of other first-party PlayStation games. Considering Insomniac’s track record, I expect this to be every bit as good as the trailers suggest.
007: First Light
IO Interactive is the perfect developer for a new James Bond trilogy.
For the first time in 16 years, IO Interactive is working on a game other than an entry in the incredible Hitman series. And we can’t imagine a project better suited for the Danish developer than a brand new James Bond game. Bond is no stranger to games, with several classics under the fictional spy’s belt. But he’s long overdue for a fresh new take. If IO can bring even a fraction of Hitman’s slick presentation and emergent stealth mechanics to the table, then we could be in for one of the year’s best releases.
Resident Evil: Requiem
Resident Evil: Requiem is looking to make the series terrifying once more.
Eight years after Capcom reinvigorated gaming’s biggest horror franchise, the developer seems poised to do it again with the ninth mainline entry in the series. Resident Evil: Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi promises this sequel will be a substantial step forward when it comes to instilling terror in players, a challenge many of its biggest fans are excited to take on. Considering he was the mind behind the scariest game in the series, we’re inclined to believe he’s not faking us out. At the very least, the return of Leon Kennedy will make this terrifying adventure a little easier to push through.
Fable
It’s been 16 years since Xbox has released a Fable game.
2026 will see the return of several huge Xbox franchises players haven’t seen in ages, including Halo and Gears of War. But the one we’re most excited to see come back is Fable. Despite its success during the 2000s, this fantasy RPG series hasn’t had a game release in more than 15 years. Its blend of British humor and emphasis on choice and consequence is a sorely missed gap in Xbox’s first-party offerings. Most interesting is that this reboot is being developed by Playground Games, the studio behind the Forza Horizon series. What this studio can bring to a genre totally out of its wheelhouse is a major part of the intrigue for this long-awaited title.
Grand Theft Auto 6
Grand Theft Auto 6 is poised to be the biggest entertainment launch ever.
Assuming the game doesn’t get another delay, 2026 is when we’ll finally get to play Rockstar Games’ highly anticipated game. Some 13 years’ worth of hype aside, there are plenty of reasons to be excited for Grand Theft Auto 6. It’s following up Red Dead Redemption 2, a game widely considered a modern classic and the developer’s best work. With Rockstar in no rush to get what could be the biggest entertainment launch ever just right, we’re hopeful that diligence results in their best game to date.
Blood Of The Dawnwalker
We’ll say it plainly: There aren’t enough vampire video games. And two of the most prominent examples of recent games featuring these iconic creatures of the night haven’t exactly lived up to their potential. It’s why there’s so much riding on The Blood of the Dawnwalker, an all-new vampire-themed RPG set to release in 2026. The theme isn’t the only reason to keep an eye on this one. The game is coming from a new developer called Rebel Wolves, a team founded by CD Project Red veterans, including The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. Dawnwalker could finally be the vampire game we’ve been dreaming about for years.
Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight
Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight is essentially a new Batman Arkham game.
It’s easy to overlook Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight as just another Lego game. And to be fair, it essentially is. But there are two reasons we want to play TT Games’ next game. For one, it’s a love letter to the greatest superheroes of all time, calling back to his most iconic moments in television, movies, gaming, and comic books. And second, the developer is using the Arkham games as a blueprint, complete with a comprehensive open world, side activities, and even Riddler trophies to collect. If this is the last of the Lego Batman games, this seems as good a note to leave off on.
Marvel Token: Fighting Souls
Marvel’s finally got a new fighting game on the way.
Marvel has had a strong few years in the gaming space between blockbusters like Spider-Man and sleeper hits like Guardians of the Galaxy. But it’s been nearly a decade since we’ve seen these heroes duke it out in a competitive fighting game. Thankfully, 2026 will see the arrival of Marvel Token: Fighting Souls, a four-on-four fighting game from one of the best developers in the genre today. Arc System Works is giving the Marvel Universe the Dragon Ball FighterZ treatment, and it looks every bit as flashy and fun to play as the legendary fighting games that came before.
Crimson Desert
From gameplay footage, it’s hard to pin down what Crimson Desert is. Is it a Breath of the Wild-style open-world adventure? A complex and fast-paced Soulslike Sekiro? An immersive monster-hunting RPG like The Witcher 3? This early, we can’t quite tell. But it doesn’t mean we’re not intrigued. This everything-game is stunning to look at, and one that we hope can live up to its wild ambitions.
The Duskbloods
The Blood of the Dawnwalker isn’t the only vampire RPG we’re getting in 2026. The Duskbloods is the next game from the legendary From Software, and a Switch 2 exclusive Soulslike that’s oddly reminiscent of Bloodborne. Genre creator Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed that The Duskbloods will be a multiplayer-focused action game that emphasizes PvPvE elements. And while this will be out of the ordinary for most From Software superfans, 2025’s Elden Ring: Nightreign gives us hope that this will be a banger in spite of its departure.
