2026 in video games
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In the video game industry, 2026 continues trends resulting from the large-scale layoffs from previous years, as well as impacts on hardware and consoles due to limitations on computer memory availability.
Top-rated games
Critically acclaimed games
The following table lists the top-rated games released in 2026 based on Metacritic, which generally considers expansions as separate entities. The original versions of these games were released in 2026.
| Title | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Release | Platform(s) | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forza Horizon 6 | Playground Games | Xbox Game Studios | May 19, 2026 | WIN, XBX/S | 92 |
Major events
| Month | Day(s) | Event |
|---|---|---|
| January | 13 | Meta announced the closure of the studios Armature Studio, Sanzaru Games, and Twisted Pixel. In addition, they announced more than 1,000 jobs would be laid off in their Reality Labs business.[2][3] |
| 21 | Ubisoft announced a major restructuring into five creative houses.[4] | |
| February | 10–12 | The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosted the 2026 D.I.C.E. Summit and the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.[5] |
| 20 | Microsoft Gaming's Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond left the company, with Asha Sharma replacing Spencer, and Matt Booty promoted to chief content officer.[6] | |
| March | 9–21 | The Game Developers Conference, branded as "Festival of Gaming", was held in San Francisco, California.[7] |
| 24 | Epic Games announced plans to lay off more than 1,000 employees in part to reduced Fortnite engagement.[8] | |
| April | 23 | Microsoft Gaming rebranded as Xbox with a renewed approach to system exclusivity.[9] |
| June | 5–8 | Summer Game Fest 2026 is scheduled to be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.[10] |
| August | 26–30 | Gamescom 2026 is scheduled to be held in Cologne, Germany.[11] |
| September | 12–13 | Blizzard Entertainment will host BlizzCon 2026 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.[12] |
| 17–21 | Tokyo Game Show 2026 is scheduled to be held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.[13] | |
| December | 10 | The Game Awards 2026 is scheduled to be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.[14] |
Notable deaths
- February 10 – Shutaro Iida (a.k.a. Curry the Kid), 52, one of the main programmers of various Castlevania titles and the creative director of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and its upcoming prequel — Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement.[15]
- February 13 – Hideki Sato, 75, Japanese businessman and engineer, recognized as major contributor to most of Sega's consoles.[16]
- February 16 – Robert Duvall, 95, actor, best known for portraying Tom Hagen in The Godfather and its video game adaptation.[17]
- March 17 – Yoran Heling (a.k.a. Yorhel), creator and maintainer of the Visual Novel Database.[18]
- March 19 – Jock Blaney, 76, voice actor who voiced Wolf O'Donnell and Bill Grey in Star Fox 64.[19]
- April 2 – Yoshihisa Kishimoto, 64, game developer and creator of the Kunio-kun and Double Dragon series.[20]
Hardware releases
| Date | Console | Manufacturer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | Steam Machine | Valve Corporation | [21] |
| TBA | Steam Frame | [21] |
Games released in 2026
Cancelled games
| Title | Platform(s) | Genre(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Month cancelled | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Unknown | Action-adventure | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft | January | [4] |
| Alterra | Social sim | April | [22][a] |
Discontinued games
Games highlighted in bold indicate that the full game will be shut down.
| Title | Platform(s) | Genre(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Shutdown date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startplay | WIN | GameMaker | Startplay | January 1, 2026 | [23] | |
| Anthem | WIN, PS4, XBO | Action RPG | BioWare | Electronic Arts | January 12, 2026 | [24] |
| Panzer Kliker | WIN | Idle | Peruns Forge | January 18, 2026 | [25] | |
| The Sims Mobile | iOS, DROID | Social sim | Maxis, Firemonkeys Studios, Slingshot | Electronic Arts | January 20, 2026 | [26] |
| Beat Saber | PS4, PS5 | Rhythm | Beat Games | Beat Games, Oculus Studios | January 26, 2026 | [27] |
| Boundary Warriors | WIN | DCCG | NetEase Games | January 28, 2026 | [28] | |
| Onmyoji:The Card Game | [29] | |||||
| NBA Live 19 | PS4, XBO | Sports | EA Tiburon | Electronic Arts | January 30, 2026 | [30] |
| Orake Classic | WIN | MMO | PigLion Games | February 1, 2026 | [31] | |
| Blade & Soul Heroes | WIN, DROID, iOS | NCSoft | February 19, 2026 | [32] | ||
| Super People | WIN | Battle royale | Wonder Games | Wonder People | February 23, 2026 | [33] |
| Project CARS 3 | WIN, PS4, XBO | Racing | Slightly Mad Studios | Bandai Namco Entertainment | February 26, 2026 | [34] |
| Supervive | WIN | Battle royale | Theorycraft Games | [35][36] | ||
| Football Club Manager 26 LIVE | WIN, OSX, PS5, XBX/S, iOS, DROID | Sports | Halfspace Games | February 28, 2026 | [37] | |
| Pandoland | iOS, DROID | Action RPG | Game Freak, WonderPlanet | WonderPlanet | March 6, 2026 | [38] |
| Highguard | WIN, PS5, XBX/S | Hero shooter | Wildlight Entertainment | March 12, 2026 | [39] | |
| Chronicles of the Celestial Way | WIN | Action RPG | Tiandao | [40] | ||
| Howlbreath | MMORPG | Howlbreath | [41] | |||
| King Arthur: Legends Rise | RPG | Kabam Games | NetMarble | [42] | ||
| Lightphobe | Shooter | Allan Chew | March 13, 2026 | [43] | ||
| Dirt 3 | WIN, OSX, PS3, XB360 | Racing | Codemasters | Codemasters, Feral Interactive (OSX) | March 16, 2026 | [44] |
| Dirt 4 | WIN, OSX, LIN, PS4, XBO | Codemasters | [45] | |||
| Occupy White Walls | WIN | Art | Kultura | [46] | ||
| The Finals | PS4 | FPS | Embark Studios | March 18, 2026 | [47] | |
| Real Racing 3 | iOS, DROID | Racing | Firemonkeys Studios, EA Mobile | Electronic Arts | March 20, 2026 | [48] |
| PUBG: Blindspot | WIN | Tactical shooter | ARC Team | PUBG Corporation | March 30, 2026 | [49] |
| WWE 2K24 | WIN, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S | Sports | Visual Concepts | 2K | March 31, 2026 | [50] |
| WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros | NS, PS4 | Konami, Joymoa | [51] | |||
| Zombie Army VR | WIN, PS4, Quest | FPS, Survival horror | Rebellion, Xtended Realities | Rebellion | [52] | |
| INVERSE | WIN | Horror | MASSVR | [53] | ||
| DuoQ | FPS, Dating sim | The Duo Crew | USC Games | April 1, 2026 | [54] | |
| Rift Investigations | RPG | fp32.ai | April 4, 2026 | [55] | ||
| FRENZIES | Quest | Shooter | nDreams | April 7, 2026 | [56] | |
| Genshin Impact | PS4 | Action RPG | miHoYo | HoYoverse | April 8, 2026 | [57] |
| King of Meat | WIN, PS5, XBX/S | Action | Glowmade | Amazon Games | April 9, 2026 | [58] |
| Fortnite: Ballistic | WIN, OSX, NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S, DROID | FPS | Epic Games | April 16, 2026 | [59] | |
| Fortnite: Battle Stage | Rhythm | Harmonix | Epic Games | [59] | ||
| Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile | iOS, DROID | FPS | Activision | April 17, 2026 | [60] | |
| Granblue Fantasy: Versus | WIN, PS4 | RPG | Arc System Works | Cygames | April 20, 2026 | [61] |
| R2Beat | WIN | Rhythm, Racing | Valofe | April 23, 2026 | [62] | |
| Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt | WIN, PS5 | Battle royale | Sharkmob | April 28, 2026 | [63] | |
| Dragon Age: Inquisition | PS3 | Action RPG | BioWare | Electronic Arts | [64] | |
| Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare | TPS | PopCap Vancouver | [65] | |||
| CounterSide | DROID, iOS, WIN | RPG | StudiobSide | April 29, 2026 | [66] | |
| Dragon Arena | WIN | MOBA | EOAG Games | April 30, 2026 | [67] | |
| Raid One: 1 vs 5 Online Boss Battle | [68] | |||||
| Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge | DROID, iOS, WIN | DCCG | Everguild | [69] | ||
| Wildgate (China) | WIN | Shooter | Moonshot Games | Netease | [70] | |
| Striden | Sandbox | 5 Fortress | Yahaha Games | April 2026 | [71] | |
| Stormgate | Frost Giant Studios | [72] | ||||
| Bobcos | Phoave | May 1, 2026 | [73] | |||
| Faehnor Online | MMO | Wyrd Ark | May 3, 2026 | [74] | ||
| Tombstone MMO | MMOPRG | Well Bucket | RedTigerSpread | May 5, 2026 | [75] | |
| The Cube, Save Us | TPS | XLGames | May 8, 2026 | [76][77] | ||
| Ayakashi Rise | DROID, iOS | RPG | Clover Games | May 9, 2026 | [78][79] | |
| Heaven Hells | [78][79] | |||||
| Lord of Heroes | [78][79] | |||||
| Push3 | WIN | Puzzle | Torii Gate | May 11, 2026 | [80][81] | |
| Forsaken Island | Survival | [81][82] | ||||
| Stone Age | [83][81] | |||||
| Village Heroes | MMO | CUNX | May 18, 2026 | [84] | ||
| Warface: Clutch | FPS | Crytek Kiev, Blackwood Games | May 27, 2026 | [85] | ||
| Source Wars | MMO | YD Games | May 30, 2026 | [86] | ||
| Match Gem 99 | Battle royale, Match-3 | Minimum Studio Corp | [87] | |||
| Ninja Party | Beat 'em up | Nekki | May 31, 2026 | [88] | ||
| Stagdraft | Hack and slash | SteakSoft | May 31, 2026 [b] | [89] | ||
| Rec Room | WIN, OSX, NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S, DROID, iOS | Sandbox | Against Gravity | June 1, 2026 | [90] | |
| Mage Noir – Infinity | WIN | DCCG | Double Combo Games | [91] | ||
| Pinball M | PS4, XBO | Pinball | Zen Studios | June 1, 2026 [c] | [92] | |
| Pinball FX | [92] | |||||
| Blade & Soul Heroes | WIN, DROID, iOS | MMO | NCSoft | June 16, 2026 | [93] | |
| Soccer Clubs | WIN | Sports | Beijing Crazy Sports Industry Management Co., Ltd | June 21, 2026 | [94] | |
| Battlefield Hardline | PS4, XBO | FPS | Visceral Games | Electronic Arts | June 22, 2026 | [95] |
| Plants vs. Zombies HD | iOS | Tower defense | Electronic Arts | June 24, 2026 | [96] | |
| ASTRA: Knights of Veda | WIN, DROID, iOS | RPG | FLINT | June 26, 2026 | [97] | |
| Blade & Soul 2 | MMORPG | NCSoft | June 30, 2026 | [98] | ||
| Link! Like! Love Live! | DROID, iOS | Rhythm | ODD No. | [99] | ||
| The Elder Scrolls: Blades | NS, iOS, DROID | Action RPG | Bethesda Game Studios | Bethesda Softworks | [100] | |
| Shadowverse | WIN, DROID, iOS | DCCG | Cygames | [101] | ||
| League of Angels – Heaven’s Fury | WIN | Action RPG | Chengdu Dreamcaller Technology | Youzu Singapore | July 7, 2026 | [102] |
| Skyworld: Kingdom Brawl | DCCG | Vertigo | July 11, 2026 | [103] | ||
| Legend of Heavenly Destiny | MMO | Cygames | July 12, 2026 | [104] | ||
| Madden NFL 23 | WIN, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S | Sports | EA Tiburon | EA Sports | July 13, 2026 | [105] |
| Eonica Chess Battle | WIN | Chess | StandArts | July 23, 2026 | [106] | |
| Ancible Online | MMOPRG | The Giants Drink | July 26, 2026 | [107] | ||
| Book of Travels | RPG | Might and Delight | July 31, 2026 | [108] | ||
| Apex Legends | NS | Battle royale, Hero shooter | Respawn Entertainment, Iron Galaxy | Electronic Arts | August 4, 2026 | [109] |
| Aliens: Fireteam Elite | TPS | Cold Iron Studios |
|
August 5, 2026 | [110] | |
| Tokyo 7th Sisters | DROID, iOS | Rhythm | Donuts | August 12, 2026 | [111] | |
| WWE 2K Battlegrounds | WIN, NS, PS4, XBO | Sports | Saber Interactive | 2K | August 20, 2026 | [112] |
| NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 | [112] | |||||
| Warface: Clutch | NS, PS4, XBO | FPS | Crytek Kiev, Blackwood Games | August 25, 2026 | [85] | |
| Dong Wu: Odyssey | WIN | Roguelike | Dong Wu Studio | SapStaR Games | August 31, 2026 | [113] |
| NHL 22 | PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S | Sports | EA Vancouver | EA Sports | [114] | |
| NHL 23 | [114] | |||||
| Let It Die | WIN, PS4 | Roguelike, Hack and slash | Supertrick Games | GungHo Online Entertainment | September 1, 2026 | [115] |
| Firewall Ultra | PS5 | FPS | First Contact Entertainment | Sony Interactive Entertainment | September 17, 2026 | [116] |
| Sociable Soccer 25 | WIN, PS5, XBX/S, NS | Sports | Tower Studios | September 28, 2026 | [117] [118] | |
| Star Conflict | WIN | MMO | Star Gem | Gaijin Network | October 10, 2026 | [119] |
| Tower of Fantasy | PS4 | RPG | Hotta Studio | Perfect World | October 20, 2026 | [120] |
| Fortnite: Rocket Racing | WIN, OSX, NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S, DROID | Racing | Psyonix | Epic Games | October 2026 | [121] |
| NBA 2K25 | WIN, NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S | Sports | Visual Concepts | 2K | December 31, 2026 | [122] |
| TopSpin 2K25 | WIN, PS4, PS5, XBO, XBX/S | Hangar 13 | [123] | |||
| Kingdomfall | WIN | Fantasy | Labrintine | 2026 | [124] | |
| Sky Clash: Lords of Clans 3D | Tower defense | Abolutist | AIVIK | [125] | ||