2026 is shaping up to be another big year for video games. The next 12 months are set to bring massive sequels like Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, and Gears of War: E-Day. There are also some smaller games we’re excited to get our hands on, like Bubsy 4D, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and Slay The Spire 2. And of course, there’s Grand Theft Auto 6, which, assuming it doesn’t get delayed again, will close out 2026 with a big, industry-shaking bang.
There are so many games to be excited about in 2026 that you might have forgotten about some of them. So we here at Kotaku have created this handy list of 31 games we’re excited to play in the new year. Now, place your bets for how many will actually launch in 2026 and how many will instead be delayed to 2027 or beyond.
Resident Evil Requiem – Feb. 27
I was already excited for a new mainline Resident Evil game arriving in early 2026; you didn’t need to add Leon Kennedy. But I’m very grateful. -Zack Zwiezen
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight – 2026
We ain’t getting a new Arkham game anytime soon, so this Lego spin on the formula will have to do. Luckily, it looks rad as heck. – Zack Zwiezen
Forza Horizon 6 – 2026
The follow-up to one of the best Xbox games ever made, and it’s set in a gorgeously dense open-world recreation of Japan. Yup. That’s going to be goooood. – Zack Zwiezen
Control Resonant – 2026
Remedy’s 2019 Control was a wonderful and creepy paranormal shooter. I’ve desperately wanted a sequel, and that’s finally arriving next year. – Zack Zwiezen
Mouse: P.I. for Hire – March 19
Mixing a boomer shooter with classic black-and-white cartoons is an odd choice, but the final product seems awesome, and we don’t have to wait long to play. – Zack Zwiezen
007 First Light – March 26
IOI, the people behind Hitman, seem like the perfect studio to make a James Bond game. Hopefully, it all comes together in the spring. – Zack Zwiezen
Bubsy 4D – 2026
I didn’t have “Excited for a new Bubsy game” on my bingo card for 2026, but here we are. What can I say? Bubsy 4D looks good. – Zack Zwiezen
The Duskbloods – 2026
FromSoftware’s upcoming eight-player online action RPG sounds like a great idea now, after Nightreign proved to be a huge hit and a great game. Hopefully, the Switch 2 is able to handle it. – Zack Zwiezen
Gears of War: E-Day – 2026
I’m sad that Gears 5’s story isn’t moving forward. Still, it should be fun seeing Marcus and Dom back together in this upcoming prequel to the OG Xbox 360 trilogy. – Zack Zwiezen
Star Wars: Galactic Racer – 2026
So many Star Wars games are RPGs, shooters, or action-adventure experiences. That’s fine, but I’m happy to see someone making a racing game set in my favorite sci-fi universe. – Zack Zwiezen
Marathon – March 2026
The it’s over/we’re so back graph has been all over the place on this one, but with a series of post-alpha test tweaks, including the addition of proximity chat, I’m once again looking forward to seeing Bungie’s take on the extraction shooter, especially if they can weave as much of the background sci-fi lore into a Destiny-style aspirational end-game as I’m hoping they can. – Ethan Gach
Grand Theft Auto 6 – November 19
At this point, I feel like I’ve written so many words about the upcoming GTA 6 that I’m not sure what else to say. You know what this game is. You are probably excited for it. Let’s hope Rockstar lands this sucker. – Zack Zwiezen
Marvel’s Wolverine – 2026
Insomniac’s Spider-Man games have been joyous open-world treats that feel great to play. So people are understandably excited for the studio’s upcoming Wolverine game that looks fun and very, very bloody. – Zack Zwiezen
Saros – April 30
Returnal will always have a special place in my heart, but I’m looking forward to seeing Housemarque branch off into a more forgiving roguelike arcade shooter structure with a robust metagame progression that gives more players more footholds, which will hopefully see more of them hang on and stick it out for the whole ride. – Ethan Gach
Mina the Hollower – 2026
Following a brief delay, I can’t wait to see the Shovel Knight team’s take on Castlevania meets The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. I’m looking forward to a retro homage that pushes the genres it’s playing with to new heights. – Ethan Gach
Replaced – March 12
This game looks incredible. Looking at it will be enough. Playing it will hopefully feel extra special. – Ethan Gach
Forbidden Solitaire – Q1 2026
Forbidden Solitaire is ostensibly about you finding and playing a spooky ‘90s CD-ROM solitaire game—think The 7th Guest but, y’know, solitaire—and getting way more than you bargained for. I have no idea what that means in gameplay terms, but I can’t wait to find out. – Carolyn Petit
The Blood of Dawnwalker – 2026
Ex-Witcher 3 devs make a vampire immersive-sim RPG. Enough said. – Ethan Gach
Danganronpa 2×2 – 2026
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is getting a fancy remake, but it’s also getting a new “what if” scenario in which different victims and killers manifest in its murder mystery. So hey, even if the new storyline isn’t great, we’ll get to play Danganronpa 2 again. – Kenneth Shepard
Pokémon Champions – 2026
Pokémon Champions is the new competitive platform for the series moving forward, and it’s going to integrate several mechanics, such as Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, into one place, meaning it has the potential to completely transform the competitive space, and free up the main games to no longer be beholden to a particular way of doing things. – Kenneth Shepard
Mario Tennis Fever – February 12
The world needs more fun tennis games. Thank you, Mario and company, for hearing these calls and showing up so early in 2026 to deliver a game that looks like it’ll be exactly what folks want. – Zack Zwiezen
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis – 2026
Sure, another remake of the first Tomb Raider game seems a bit silly. But, hey, it looks great and will hold fans over until 2027’s Tomb Raider: Catalyst. – Zack Zwiezen
Pokémon Pokopia – March 5
Pokémon Pokopia appears to be Pikachu and friends’ take on an Animal Crossing-style life sim, but it also seems to have a dark, post-apocalyptic setting that might keep it from being as cozy as other games in the genre. Intriguing! – Kenneth Shepard
Pragmata – April 24
New AAA franchises are so few and far between, it’s a special treat whenever we get one, especially out of Japan. It’s not 3D Mega Man but it might be the next best thing. – Ethan Gach
Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls – 2026
When it comes to anime fighters, you don’t bet against Arc System Works. Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls is a 4v4 fighting game with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the roster, and it looks pretty rad. – Kenneth Shepard
Scott Pilgrim EX – 2026
It’s about time we got a new Scott Pilgrim beat em up, and this time, it’s coming with a brand new story by series’ creator Bryan Lee O’Malley set after the events of the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime. – Kenneth Shepard
Demon Tides – February 19
Demon Tides is a modern-day PS2-style mascot platformer that manages to nail the middle ground between pinpoint precision and free-flowing, fast-paced action that so many others in the genre can’t quite inhabit. – Kenneth Shepard
Nocturne – June 30
I had to get at least one rhythm game on this list, and Nocturne, a rhythm RPG inspired by science fantasy games of the ’90s, is basically Guitar Hero meets Final Fantasy. – Kenneth Shepard
Slay the Spire 2– March 2026
I slept on the first Slay the Spire when it initially launched. I will not make that mistake again. With most sequels I want a little bit more than just “bigger and better,” but with Slay the Spire 2 that will be more than enough. – Ethan Gach
Halo: Campaign Evolved – 2026
Like Tomb Raider, it’s a bit silly that we are getting yet another remake of the first Halo, but this one is coming to PlayStation 5, and I wish I could go back in time and tell 12-year-old Zack that fact. It would blow his dumb pre-teen mind. – Zack Zwiezen
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book – 2026
This ain’t the Nintendo platformer I was hoping for in 2026, but it looks cute, and for folks who love the Yoshi games, well, here’s another one for you. – Zack Zwiezen