There’s never a shortage of scary games. Even though there aren’t as many large AAA horror games as there used to be because of risk-averse publishers, it’s a genre that’s represented across a spectrum of budgets. There are meaty sequels in long-running franchises, tiny horror games made by a handful of people, and ones that sit somewhere in the middle. The theater of the mind can do a lot of heavy lifting and that combined with nostalgia means it’s not hard to have a steady stream of scary titles.
2026 is no exception, so here are just 10 horror games players should look forward to next year.
10) Parasite Mutant
Platforms: PS5 and PC
Release Date: 2026
It’s not a given there will ever be another Parasite Eve, so it seems like Parasite Mutant is trying to reclaim that throne. And like that PS1 cult classic, Parasite Mutant is a survival horror RPG. Combat isn’t like Resident Evil where players have to strive for headshots and hog ammo. Instead, it blends real-time and timer-based systems to emulate the active time battle systems seen in many RPGs from the 1990s. With an anime-inspired art style and hordes of nasty creatures, Parasite Mutant is a strange sight but this is precisely what will help it stick out.
9) Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Release Date: March 12th, 2026
Fatal Frame 2 is being remade yet again, but the series’ unique qualities mean that’s not a bad thing. This second remake of the ghost-ridden, camera-heavy series promises enhanced visuals and sound, improvements to controls and various gameplay systems, and “richer and more engaging gameplay” both in and out of combat. It stems from the bones of a 2002 game, so it might feel dated in some aspects. However, it’s those bones that have made Fatal Frame what it is today.
8) Halloween
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Release Date: September 8th, 2026
Illfonic can’t seem to stay away from classic movie franchises, as it has developed Friday the 13th: The Game, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. But unlike those games, Halloween is also going to have a single-player campaign where players don the mask and go on a killing spree that’s connected to the 1978 film. It remains to be seen how the team will adapt the game’s mechanics to a solo setting, but it’s a necessary step these games need to take in order to evolve. Of course, it’ll also have an online multiplayer mode that pits four humans against Michael Myers himself. Asymmetrical multiplayer fatigue might damn this game, too, but it seems like it is positioned to take the crown from the cult hit and delisted Friday the 13th game that set a high bar the team hasn’t quite cleared since.
7) Directive 8020
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Release Date: 2026
Supermassive Games has taken its time with Directive 8020, and that’s one of the most refreshing things about it. Ideally, this added time will lead to a more coherent story that doesn’t fall into the same traps almost all of Supermassive’s post-Until Dawn games have fallen victim to. The concept of The Thing in space combined with more playable moments is an interesting combo, so hopefully this fusion can put the studio back on track.
6) Reanimal
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: February 13th, 2026
The Little Nightmares games had their obvious influences but were still able to stick out, thanks to their twisted worlds and ability to combine horror and cinematic platforming. Tarsier Studios has moved on from the series to create Reanimal, which looks to be well within that same ballpark. It’s got the same camera angle, haunting art style, and demented world, as well as a pair of young protagonists. It remains to be seen if it will meaningfully differentiate itself from the Little Nightmares games, but even just another great rendition of that formula might be good enough.
5) Grave Seasons
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Release Date: 2026
Cozy games and horror games might not seem like a perfect mix, but Grave Seasons is one of the few games that’s trying to blend the two. Players can cook, farm, fish, mine, and sell goods in order to build up their farm but then also work on catching a serial killer in the town who has been viciously ripping apart their victims. It’s a novel dichotomy and one that could give it the edge it needs to stand out in the crowded farming genre.
4) Neverway
Platforms: PC and Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 2026
Neverway is yet another game that’s trying to blend cozy vibes and horror. This life sim RPG has players tending to a farm and dating the locals, but also slashing ghouls and escaping from fiendish monsters. It’s all bound together by a grim, pixelated art style from the pixel artist behind Celeste and a soundtrack from Disasterpeace, giving it plenty of style in addition to its intriguing premise.
3) Crisol: Theater of Idols
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Release Date: Early 2026
Crisol: Theater of Idols’ style is immediately appealing. The religious iconography twisted through demonic means and array of needle-heavy, blood-sucking guns make the game stand out when compared to other horror games and shooters. With a focus on brutal combat and such a unique (and symbolically loaded) art style, Crisol has a lot going for it and makes for one hell of a debut title from Vermila Studios.
2) Resident Evil Requiem
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: February 27th, 2026
Resident Evil Requiem is easily the biggest horror game of 2026, and it seems like Capcom isn’t resting on its laurels. Requiem not only looks fantastic and appears like it is pushing the series forward, but it also seems to be doubling down on variety. Both protagonists offer different gameplay types — Grace Ashcroft’s sequences are more scary, while Leon Kennedy’s are driven by action — and first-person and third-person viewpoints. It’s a lot to juggle, but Capcom, aside from the Resident Evil 3 remake, has shown it knows how to make thoroughly excellent Resident Evil games, and it doesn’t seem like that hot streak will stop with Requiem.
1) Ontos
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Release Date: 2026
Frictional Games is one of the best and most consistent horror game developers out there. After reinventing the genre with Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the studio continued developing strong horror games like Amnesia: Rebirth, genre-bending horror games like Amnesia: The Bunker, and all-time classics like Soma. Ontos is taking more from Soma with its more psychological bent on the genre, while also inheriting The Bunker’s excellent freeform direction that gives players multiple ways to solve puzzles. It sounds like the best of both worlds and could easily be one of the best horror games — or best games, period — of 2026.
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