10 Action Games Coming in 2026 That Already Deserve Your Attention

1 week ago 7

Published Apr 20, 2026, 2:59 PM EDT

Daniel has been playing games for entirely too many years, with his Steam library currently numbering nearly 750 games and counting. When he's not working or watching anime, he's either playing or thinking about games, constantly on the lookout for fascinating new gameplay styles and stories to experience. Daniel has previously written lists for TheGamer, as well as guides for GamerJournalist, and he currently covers tech topics on SlashGear.

We’re about a third of the way into 2026, and it’s already been a pretty dynamite year for gaming across the board. Honestly, it’s kind of a problem that there have been so many certified bangers, because I’ve only got so much time and cash for gaming in a given month. To fit every interesting game into your schedule, you gotta plan and prioritize, as well as narrow your focus when you can.

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Let’s say, for example, you’re only interested in action games for the remainder of the year. Action is one of the baseline genres, so that still gives you a metric whoa-ton of games to sift through. There are numerous action games slated for the remainder of the year, either with concrete, upcoming release dates or looser release windows. Whether you know exactly when they’re coming or not, they’re definitely eye-catching, so it’d probably be in your best interest to start adding them to your wishlist and saving up funds now for when you want them later.

10 Dead as Disco

Good Music Never Truly Dies

Am I crazy, or is disco music still pretty good? I mean, I don’t go out of my way to listen to it, but it’s fun when it’s on. Maybe disco needs a hook to make a comeback in the modern age. A left hook, specifically, as is the case in Dead as Disco.

Dead as Disco is a rhythm action game in which departed music star Charlie Disco has a single night to deal a decisive knuckle sandwich to all the members of his former band that wronged him. He does this in the best way he knows how: to the beat. Both your and your foes’ attacks automatically sync to the backing BGM, with strikes and dodges on the beat increasing in potency.

Dead as Disco made a big splash in its initial announcement and demos, thanks in part to a music import system that lets you create custom fights for any song. The game will be launching in Early Access on Steam on May 5, 2026.

9 Alabaster Dawn

May the Capybara Bless You

Developer Radical Fish Games originally made a name for itself with 2018’s CrossCode, an action RPG inspired by the SNES classics with a fast-paced combat system and a heavy emphasis on dungeon-exploration. The studio’s next act is Alabaster Dawn, another action RPG that leans a little more into the action side of things.

Alabaster Dawn is quite literally set in a godless world, where mankind’s protective deities have been driven off by a malevolent force. Our hero, Juno, is the only one with a god’s blessing left (a capybara god, to be precise), so it’s on her to travel the world, wake up humanity, and send the evil critters packing.

It’s an open-world affair with a similar dungeon-crawling vibe to CrossCode, but bolstered with a more intricate combat system reminiscent of Devil May Cry or Kingdom Hearts. You can use various weapons powered by an array of different elements and skills, each with their own skill trees, and build elaborate, flashy combos as you swat away monsters. Like CrossCode before it, Alabaster Dawn will be launching in Early Access on May 7, 2026.

8 007 First Light

Shaken, Not Stirred

Okay, full disclosure, I’m not huge on James Bond movies. I don’t hate ‘em, they’re just not my thing. That said, as a child of the 90s, I still hold immense respect for the IP through the lens of video games, thanks in large part to the success of GoldenEye. That is, at least in part, why I’m interested in 007 First Light.

First Light is meant to serve as an origin story of sorts for the legendary superspy, showing a young, hothead James Bond in his fledgling days at MI6 being sent on a mission to earn his proverbial stripes. We’ll see plenty of classic characters like Q and Miss Moneypenny, as well as new allies and adversaries cooked up for this game’s story.

The actual gameplay is shaping up to be an Uncharted-esque action-adventure, with a multitude of setpieces around the world including infiltration missions, pitched shootouts, car chases, and more. Some missions have open-ended approaches, allowing you to go loud and guns blazing, or play things subtle with a combination of gadgets and guile. You’ll be able to earn your license to kill when the game launches on May 27, 2026.

7 Denshattack!

I Wish Infrastructure Could be This Interesting

Here’s a winning formula for making a cool vehicle-based action thing: take a vehicle that you would normally not be able to do cool things with, and do cool things with it. It’s simple, but it works, as we can clearly see in the high-flying train antics of Denshattack.

Denshattack is an action platformer in which you take control of a souped-up train car and rocket through the winding rails of a dystopian future Japan. Your train isn’t even remotely tied down to the tracks; you can leap between lines, perform flying flip tricks in the air, and even leap onto abandoned buildings and installations like a Ferris Wheel, rolling across stretches of flooded cityscape and countryside.

Denshattack’s demo in the last Steam Next Fest was a major hit, with our own Ethan Krieger being immediately drawn into its colorful setting and fast-paced gameplay. You’ll be able to ride the rails yourself when Denshattack launches on June 17, 2026.

6 Mightreya

Go Viral, Save the World

Developer

Platforms

Release Date

Wazen

Q2 2026

Modern media has given us a multitude of interesting spins on the basic comic book superhero concept, from the super-powered world of My Hero Academia to the dark, privatized setting of The Boys. These and other settings have touched on the idea of superheroes in the age of social media, but what about a hero that was specifically farming for clout with every punch? Well, then you’d have a hero like Mightreya.

Mightreya follows the titular superheroine in a world where heroes regularly wage war against interdimensional kaiju. Young Reya happens to catch the attention of her classmate Nio while working, and she’s browbeaten into filming her battles for clout online. It’s a very silly, anime-style premise, but it’s also a fun take on streamer culture, especially when the kaiju leaders themselves start farming for engagement.

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Mightreya is an extremely fast-paced arena brawler, with a massive list of attacks and skills for Reya to pull off. You need to mix up your moves, not only to defeat monsters efficiently, but keep things interesting for the live chat in the corner. It’s got a bit of a learning curve to it, but it might just be the next character-action sensation when it releases in Q2 2026.

5 Mina the Hollower

Whip it Good

As the old saying goes, a delayed game can be good eventually, but a rushed game is bad forever. I’ve been repeating that to myself ever since Yacht Club Games’ Mina the Hollower missed its original Halloween 2025 release date, hoping that when it finally does release in 2026, it’ll be as good as I wanted it to be those many months ago.

Mina the Hollower, in a similar vein to Shovel Knight, is a smoothie of classic game concepts and aesthetics, with some modern stuff mixed in for good measure. It’s a top-down action-adventure like the Game Boy Legend of Zelda games, features whip and item-based combat like the original Castlevania games, and has some mild Soulslike elements in its progression systems, particularly having to run back if you get your butt kicked out in the field.

Yacht Club has been more or less radio-silent since missing the Halloween release date, though there have been rumblings that they’re shooting for a spring 2026 release. Hey, spring can be spooky too. Allergies alone are downright terrifying.

4 No Straight Roads 2

Music Without Borders

2020’s No Straight Roads was an incredibly creative rhythm action game from Malaysian indie developer Metronomik set in a city literally powered by music and ruled by an EDM empire. It was a good first showing, especially in its soundtrack, but there was some room for improvement, which I’m eager to see in its upcoming sequel, No Straight Roads 2.

No Straight Roads 2 once again follows garage band rockers Mayday and Zuke as they leave Vinyl City in pursuit of global music stardom, challenging artists across the musical spectrum for sonic stardom. With two more members in tow, the band travels the world, pummeling foes to the beat, solving environmental puzzles, and getting into wild boss battles that flip between multiple music genres.

Besides the game’s off-kilter aesthetic, I’m particularly looking forward to the new soundtrack, as I still listen to the original game’s regularly. We’ll get to find out what’s on the tracklist when No Straight Roads 2 launches sometime in 2026.

3 Stupid Never Dies

It Really, Truly Doesn’t

On occasion, you see a trailer for a game that makes you tilt your head and go “huh.” That was largely the reaction to the initial reveal of Stupid Never Dies, but the funny thing about head-tilting trailers is that they have a good way of sticking in your mind and making you curious. Goodness knows, I’m interested in seeing how this one pans out.

Stupid Never Dies is an action RPG with roguelike elements set in a post-apocalyptic world where various monsters and beasties have supplanted humanity. Our hero, Davy, is a zombie living in an abandoned shopping mall who stumbles upon the frozen corpse of a human girl and immediately falls for her. To revive her, he’ll need to delve into a bizarre dungeon and recover lost technology, snacking on stronger foes as he goes to build strength.

As a zombie, Davy’s physiology is flexible; he can chomp on foes to steal their abilities, as well as swap his limbs out with stronger ones to enhance his stats. The game is absolutely oozing pop punk stylings, which perhaps I’m a bit too old for, but I can appreciate commitment to an aesthetic. We’ll see how it all comes together when Stupid Never Dies launches some time in 2026.

2 Wild Blue Skies

Fine, Nintendo, We’ll Do Star Fox Ourselves

Developer

Platforms

Release Date

Chuhai Labs, VITEI BACKROOM Inc.

2026

If there’s one thing you can count on Nintendo fans for, it’s doing the things that Nintendo itself apparently can’t be bothered to do. For example, it has been a literal decade since the last Star Fox game came out, with Nintendo doing little besides tossing Fox a cameo in the new Mario movie. There have been rumors that a new game is in development for the Switch 2, but Wild Blue Skies may just end up eating its lunch.

Wild Blue Skies is pretty much exactly what you think it is: an on-rails, arcade-style action shooter in which you control a team of animal people traveling the galaxy and shooting down evil. Yeah, we all see what’s happening here, and the game’s not trying to be subtle about it either. Even so, it’s shaping up to be a pretty competent swing at this dormant game archetype.

Wild Blue Skies features the same kind of arcade action you’d expect from classic Star Fox games, albeit with a modern, colorful presentation and some better quality-of-life compared to those ancient games. I can’t say for sure it’ll have everything you’d want from a new Star Fox game, but it does have one thing going for it: it exists. Or at least it will exist when it launches in 2026.

1 Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Hire a Samurai

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Speaking of dormant franchises, Capcom’s Onimusha series has gone largely untouched since its last game in 2006, notwithstanding the remaster of its first game that released in 2018. Capcom’s been on a hot streak lately, though, so I’m eager to see if Onimusha: Way of the Sword can give this IP the shot in the arm it so richly deserves.

Way of the Sword follows the series’ basic framework, being set in a dark version of Edo-era Japan that’s filled to the brim with demons and malevolent yokai. As Miyamoto Musashi, you fight off both mundane and evil swordsmen and monsters, using a parry system that allows you to forcefully reposition enemies as you drain their stamina for a finishing blow.

Using a demonic, soul-eating gauntlet, another recurring element of the series, Musashi can empower himself with the souls of his foes, as well as deploy demonic weaponry for massive, sweeping attacks. It’ll be quite the chambara-fest when Onimusha: Way of the Sword releases in 2026.