With the year nearing an end and having seen all the remaining game announcements, we can finally speculate on some of the most anticipated games of 2026. These are video games spanning across different genres, made by different kinds of developers.
Some of them are newer entries to returning franchises, while the rest are completely new. We have compiled a list of a few of these highly anticipated titles for you to keep in mind as we step into the next year.
Games of 2026 That are Highly Anticipated
Grand Theft Auto VI
November 19, 2026
There is no timeline for when GTA VI cannot be considered the most anticipated video game of 2026. It got delayed twice while it was still the most anticipated game of 2025. It even won awards for being the most anticipated game of the year.
Grand Theft Auto is without a doubt one of the pillar franchises of the modern AAA gaming industry. Even people not into video games will know of this franchise; it has been covered on the news like it’s some prophetic phenomenon.
Rest assured, this game is set to shake up the video game industry next year with it finally launches and whatever base price tag it is going to have.
Resident Evil Requiem
February 27, 2026
Capcom was having a rough patch of time with the Resident Evil franchise in the last decade. The series was leaning more and more into action, leaving its survival horror roots. It did bring in a plethora of new fans, but the older fanbase was not happy.
Fast forward to 2017, and they have changed it all up. Resident Evil 7 Runs on the new RE engine and is a proper survival horror title. Fast forward to 2025, and there has never been a better time to be a Resident Evil fan.
Resident Evil Requiem will mark the ninth mainline entry in the franchise, set way far into the future with returning characters such as Leon Kennedy. It is currently one of the most anticipated games releasing in the first quarter of 2026.
The Duskbloods
TBA, 2026
FromSoftware changed the video game landscape with their own breed of action RPGs, which have now become a genre staple. Souls-likes are everywhere these days as they continue to inspire countless developers.
But truth be told, nothing really recaptures the tone set by FromSoftware’s own Souls titles. So, fans were kind of let down when their newest attempt at the genre turned out to be a roguelike multiplayer experience.
But fret not because the developers already have a game in the oven that’s being cooked for 2026. The Duskbloods is the next highly anticipated FromSoftware game, which is also a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
Nioh 3
February 6, 2026
The most successful Koei Tecmo franchise from recent years has to be Team Ninja’s Nioh series. It was the developer’s attempt at a Souls-like game, and it was unique enough with its systems to stand out in the genre.
Team Ninja, being well-versed with hack-and-slash action games such as Ninja Gaiden in the past, really helped with this. The sequel, Nioh 2, leaned more towards the fast-paced action, and fans loved it for that. Now everyone awaits in anticipation for the third entry early next year.
Ace Combat 8
TBA, 2026
If you have not hopped on the Ace Combat franchise, now will be the perfect time. But for those returning to this game in 2026, rejoice because the Belkan witchcraft really did work.
Ace Combat games are developed by Project Aces, a dedicated team under Bandai Namco Entertainment. These titles are essentially arcade flight games, unlike sim games; players are actually thrust into the middle of high-paced action up in the skies.
The plot of the games follows a very anime-style structure with lots of political intrigue and human emotions involved. If you are a fan of mech anime and mech games such as Armored Core, then Ace Combat 8 should definitely be on your list of highly anticipated games for 2026.
Marvel’s Wolverine
TBA, 2026
Insomniac Games had taken on the challenge of bringing Marvel’s Spider-Man to the gaming sphere once again and returning it to its glory days, which it found in the PS2 era. Fortunately, they were more than successful as it became one of Sony’s best-selling titles.
It spawned into spinoffs and sequels, with Sony and Marvel officially agreeing to bring more of their comic book characters to video games. The next title they have been working on for a while now is Marvel’s Wolverine.
Unfortunately, an early version of the game, still in development, got leaked, which led to a lot of online chaos. But thankfully, that did not hinder the anticipation surrounding the game, as in 2025, Sony officially gave us our first look at the game in trailers. Now we wait for the release date.
Pragmata
TBA, 2026
Capcom is one of the few companies churning out several quality games at a steady pace, so it’s not a surprise that we have another highly anticipated game by them coming out next year. But this one is not a returning franchise.
Pragmata is a game that Capcom had already revealed years ago, and unfortunately was delayed time after time. Thankfully, that’s in the past, as we now have official confirmation with a demo that the game is finally releasing in 2026.
From the little bit of what we have seen, the title seems to be a sci-fi game that involves machines and androids with a really unique gameplay that will test every player’s dexterity.
Fable
TBA, 2026
Fable is a game franchise that found life during the glory days of the Xbox console, particularly the Xbox and Xbox 360 era. The games are set in a fictional medieval country named Albion, and every outcome is dependent on how the player interacts with this world.
Aside from the usual gameplay involving combat, spells, and magic, what sets Fable as a unique experience is its morality system, which dictates what kind of protagonist player character will turn out to be.
These games have not seen a new mainline entry since 2010, and with the original development studio shutting down, things looked pretty grim for the fanbase. Until 2020, when Xbox Game Studios officially unveiled the fourth entry, simply titled ‘Fable‘.
The game did not have a release time frame until recently, when Xbox came out to officially reveal that the game is coming out in 2026. Thus, it became one of the most anticipated Xbox titles of 2026.
Phantom Blade Zero
September 9, 2026
While we were praising Souls-like games earlier in this discussion, it is also pretty relevant that the gaming market is getting pretty saturated with this genre. There are too many games that are going down the same style of steady dodge rolling combat.
People on social media have also expressed their concerns over the issue, yearning for more traditional hack-and-slash style action games. Seems like Phantom Blade Zero will be addressing some of those issues, bringing a proper balance between fun action and souls-like difficulty.
It was announced first back in 2023, and the first look immediately caught everyone’s attention. Phantom Blade Zero is set to bring wuxia style to the action RPG medium, and it’s on everyone’s list as one of the most anticipated games of 2026.
Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight
May 29, 2026
The Lego video games are always a fun time if you are a fan of the animated franchises. There have been a plethora of games parodying popular IPs from Star Wars to Marvel Super Heroes.
At Gamescom this year, Warner Bros. Publishing announced their newest Lego game project, and it was a Batman game. What caught everyone’s attention from the initial trailers and gameplay footage was that the game seems to be heavily inspired by Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series.
Add to that a bowl full of Batman media references with a pinch of Lego’s personal brand of humor, and fans now have the perfect recipe for a return to form of a major Batman game in 2026.
