Games You Are Looking Forward To the Most in 2026

[neogunhero]

2026 is fast approaching and along with the new year comes a new slate of games. What are you looking forward to the most in 2026?

Perhaps my most hyped game currently:

Pre-purchase Crimson Desert on Steam

Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game set in the beautiful yet brutal continent of Pywel. Embark on a journey as the Greymane Kliff and restore what has been lost. Explore uncharted lands, fight against threats that stand in your way, and discover the wonders the world has in store.

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This game seems almost too good to be true. The trailers are hodgepodges of 1000 different systems and mechanics every second. Yet... I have a really great feeling about this one. They seem to be doing everything right.

This game has been in development since at least 2018 so it's got the benefit of time on its side. Besides that, every trailer is recorded in game, they are making their own engine from the ground up which has me hopeful that performance will be great, there is probably a solid 2-3 hours of raw gameplay online. It's not being shrouded in mystery, not hidden behind CGI cutscenes and enhanced gameplay footage. To me, that is Pearl Abyss saying that they are confident in the game enough to not have to rely on trickery to make the game seem better than it is.

Plus, it comes out on my birthday, so I'm relying on it to be good as I'll probably take that Friday off of work to play it!

Nivalis on Steam

Grow your business, manage restaurants and nightclubs, make friends and enemies, buy and decorate apartments, go fishing and maybe even find love in Nivalis, the city that stretches from the ocean to the clouds.

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This is also seemingly too good to be true, but this has me more cautious than Crimson Desert. I really hope it turns out great, we can always use more cyberpunk life simulation games.

Pre-purchase Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties on Steam

YAKUZA KIWAMI 3 is an extreme remake of the action-adventure beat 'em up Yakuza 3 featuring ex-yakuza Kazuma Kiryu's fight to protect those he loves. DARK TIES is a brand-new game featuring Yoshitaka Mine from Yakuza 3 included as a separate action-packed experience.

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This is an obvious one for me, but maybe not a day-one buy.

Pre-purchase 007 First Light on Steam

Earn the Number. 007 First Light is a thrilling espionage action-adventure game from IO Interactive. Follow James Bond as a young, resourceful and sometimes reckless recruit in MI6's training programme, and discover an origin story of the world’s most famous spy.

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This game looks like really good casual fun, but again not a day-one purchase. I really like the 007 games as well as Uncharted so I hope the fusion of the two turns out good.

GTA VI is an obvious choice too, not because I think it will be the greatest game ever but because of how major of a cultural milestone it will be. I hope it comes to PC day one.

What about you? What games are you looking forward to in 2026?

 

[neogunhero]

Something I will most likely buy day-one:

DayZ Badlands on Steam

DayZ Badlands throws you into the troubled territories of Nasdara Province—267km² of arid expanse. Uncover its secrets, battle for control, forge fragile alliances and rebuild from the ashes of past wars. Survival here isn't just measured in drops of water saved, but in bullets spared.

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Takistan was my favorite map in the original Arma 2 DayZ mod. It was so brutal... barely any loot to find, zombies were abundant, getting a helicopter was a must. I doubt they'll bring helicopters to standalone DayZ even though it's been in development for what, 12 years now?? But this will surely bring back lots of painful, happy memories of the mod. Very excited to jump back in. I don't think it's a recreation of the original map, but at the least it's placed in the same region, so there will be lots of visual similarities. Couple that with DayZ's survival mechanics that weren't present in the mod, this sure will be challenge.

 

[Frindis]

Takistan was my favorite map in the original Arma 2 DayZ mod.

Might just have to check it out also. I played Takistan through an Arma 3 mod, but it was much easier by the sound of it, since we had a shop for buying guns and such and you got starter credits to get you going. It was more about getting kills than anything else. I have also tried some Arma 3 life sims, where you could make your own farm, set out crab traps and work as police or ambulance. Was pretty cool

As for games, I want the new Divinity game by Larian, Light no Fire from Hello Games and Witcher 4 from CDPR to come out in 2026, but whishful thinking. I would love Squadron 46 (Star Citizen single player campaign) from Robert Space Industries to come out, but I also think that will be wishful thinking.

One thing that will come out and that I have very high hopes for is Skyblivion by TESRenewal modding group. They got a little more work on the project, but it is looking very bright!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC6W0htYBOc

 

[neogunhero]

Might just have to check it out also. I played Takistan through an Arma 3 mod, but it was much easier by the sound of it, since we had a shop for buying guns and such and you got starter credits to get you going. It was more about getting kills than anything else. I have also tried some Arma 3 life sims, where you could make your own farm, set out crab traps and work as police or ambulance. Was pretty cool

Do you know what mod/gamemode that was? To me it sounds like the Insurgency gamemode. It was a condensed version of ARMA, got rid of all the realism and streamlined it to basically a normal FPS game. IIRC, there were groups of NPC enemies hiding around the map, you'd have to go and hunt them down.

Light no Fire and Witcher 4 are going to be amazing. Hopefully CDPR has learned from the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 and take their time with it. Also, I seriously want to play Skyblivion. It looks insane!!

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm most excited about the upcoming DLC for Barotrauma: Home & Harbor, which will add base-building to the game.

I'm also optimistic for Subnautica 2 and I'm curious about the Fable reboot. The first Fable game especially was quite innovate, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy a similar game nowadays unless it was a lot more polished.

 

[Zloth]

Well, I posted the games I'm looking forward to that aren't out at all in the wishlist topic. I'll use this to see if I can figure out what games I'll actually play this coming year.

Save 40% on MechWarrior 5: Clans on Steam

In MECHWARRIOR 5: CLANS, players become new Smoke Jaguar pilots in the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere. Lead a five-mech "Star" squad across diverse planets, engaging in an expansive campaign with immersive gameplay and intricate combat. Customize BattleMechs and explore strategic options.

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Got it last sale and I'm just about done with Dragon's Dogma 2.

Save 75% on ENDLESS™ Space 2 on Steam

ENDLESS™ Space 2 is a Strategic Space Opera, featuring the compelling “just one more turn” gameplay, set in the mysterious ENDLESS™ Universe. As the leader of your civilization, will you impose your vision and build the greatest stellar empire?

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Got a big community update a few weeks ago. The devs (modders?) that did it are collecting lots of bug reports, so I'm guessing there will be another patch sometime soon. It's worth another play-through. Maybe I can do the tree people this time.

Save 40% on METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER on Steam

A remake of the 2004 game METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER, with the same gripping story and engrossing world, now with all new graphics and 3D audio that enhance the jungle atmosphere. Get ready for the ultimate survival stealth action experience.

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I never played the original, so I'm looking forward to it.

Save 70% on Eternal Strands on Steam

A next-generation action experience where the elements obey you, the terrain bends to your will, and every victory is entirely your own.

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The bug fixes are done, time to play!

Save 70% on Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on Steam

Two larger-than-life heroes, Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu are brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister… Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an RPG adventure so big it spans the Pacific.

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About time for even more Yakuza

Probably more Distant Worlds 2 between games, too.

And maybe more! I should be able to retire (or mostly retire - there's a lot of knowledge transfer to do, and I don't want to spend my last months just writing technical documentation 40hrs/week) in a few more months, so gaming time is likely to double! Or not - who knows what all this free time will allow?