50 most anticipated new video games of 2026

For AAA gaming, the top of 2026 sure looks a lot like the top of 2025. Xbox is rebooting Fable. Bungie is rebooting Marathon. Captain America and Black Panther are headlining a Marvel game. And everything under the sun has to break through under a Grand Theft Auto 6-sized shadow.

But the lesson of 2025, if there was one, was that indie games are more than up for filling the void — and the current video game release calendar suggests that trend will continue into 2026. This year, expect to see long-awaited follow-ups from the developers of Shovel Knight, Vampire Survivors, and The Binding of Isaac. Slay the Spire is finally getting its sequel (RIP free time). Annapurna Interactive has no less than five visually striking games with innovative systems in its 2026 pipeline.

Even the big-budget space is forging ahead in uncharted territory: a new James Bond game, a fresh RPG from ex-Witcher devs, a stab at a Wolverine game. Capcom is poised to dominate the year, with entries in some of its biggest (and smallest) franchises, and what little Nintendo has shared so far about its plans teases a continuation of the off-beat energy that defined the Switch 2’s launch year.

One day into 2026, and we’re already exhausted — and excited! Herewith, as chosen by Polygon’s writers and editors, are the 50 most anticipated games of 2026. How many will make it to market? Well. Let’s check back in a year.

1 007 First Light

Release date: May 27

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

GoldenEye aside, James Bond games are rarely good, but there are a couple of reasons to suspect that IO Interactive’s take will be a cut above the historical precedent. First, the happenstance of its timing — with Daniel Craig’s Bond years in the rearview, and Denis Villeneuve’s years in the future — gives the game an enviable amount of room to establish its own identity. Second, IO has pedigree, the freedom of self-published independence, and very relevant experience as the kings of luxury sneaking with the Hitman games. Best case? This is the Batman: Arkham Asylum of Bond games. —Oli Welsh

2 Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

Release date: TBA

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

If you’ve never really thought about Bandai Namco’s flight simulator series before, you’re probably going to this year. Following a thrilling reveal at the 2025 Game Awards, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve seems poised to elevate a niche series to mainstream status in 2026. The strong emphasis on its melodramatic story in its debut trailer feels like it’s designed for a post-Top Gun: Maverick world. Flight simulators are a tough sell outside of the genre’s most loyal fans, but I get the sense that today’s Tom Cruise-worshipping players might just be hungry for some high-octane dogfights. —Giovanni Colantonio

3 Blood of Dawnwalker

Release date: TBA

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Dark fantasy fans, this open-world RPG is for you. The Blood of Dawnwalker, developed by former CD Projekt Red staffers, is set in a medieval realm inhabited by humans and vampires alike, and you happen to be in both camps. It's an interesting setup for quests, but beware that they're a bit… different from what you're used to, as there's no such thing as a "main quest" in this game. Complete vampiric freedom — sounds like something you'd want to sink your teeth into, doesn't it? —Marloes Valentina Stella

4 Bradley the Badger

Release date: TBA

Where to play: Windows PC

There are a lot of games you could describe as a “love letter” to other games. Bradley the Badger is looking to go one step further: It’s a love letter to the art of making games. Perhaps a spiritual successor to Conker’s Bad Fur Day on some levels, the upcoming platformer stars a wise-cracking mammal who doesn’t just jump around the world, but also programs his way through it. There’s a mysterious meta narrative to all of it, that looks like it’ll tell the story of an artist trying to create the very game you’re playing. As a cherry on top, it features plenty of references to video games, like Bloodborne and The Last of Us. —Giovanni Colantonio

5 Cairn

Release date: Jan. 29

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC

Rock climbing is one of the great, underdeveloped premises for video games. It’s occasionally been done well before: in the smooth fantasy exploration of Jusant, or the turn-based mountaineering tactics of Insurmountable. Cairn is a hardcore, realistic, survivalist take: You need to carefully manage your strength, rest time, and resources like food and pitons, as well as manually select every hand- and foothold, as you mount a freeform ascent of an intimidating peak. Like those other games — and like the sport itself — Cairn promises a rhythmic, meditative, solo challenge. —Oli Welsh

6 Code Vein 2

Release date: Jan. 30

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

At first, we were a little surprised that this anime Soulslike managed to get itself a sequel. However, Bandai Namco’s clearly putting in a major effort with this one, promising improved combat, a richer open world to explore, and time-travel hijinks. It’s not directly connected to the first game, so think of it as a soft reboot. —Jen Glennon

7 Coffee Talk Tokyo

Release date: March 5

Where to play: Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X

Coffee Talk Tokyo follows the same premise as its predecessor. You run a coffee shop, and you get to know your customers by making their favorite drink with expert precision and listening to their problems. But it is, of course, set in Tokyo, and that opens up a whole new range of potential personalities and problems to address, like burned-out office workers and folks trying to figure out how to start a new life after their old one falls apart (literally in one case, with a newly dead patron who’s just beginning her afterlife). —Josh Broadwell

8 Control Resonant

Release date: TBA

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Following its disappointing FBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment is looking to get back to what it does best in 2026. Well, maybe? Control Resonant will finally give us a proper sequel to 2019’s excellent Control, giving players the kind of out-there, single-player experience they’ve come to expect out of Remedy. But what’s exciting about it isn’t that it’s a reliable sequel to a great game; it’s that it’s seemingly throwing its predecessor into a blender. Rather than making another third-person telekinetic shooter starring Jesse Faden, Resonant basically looks like Devil May Cry set in New York City. We have no idea how well it’ll work, but Remedy’s best quality is its willingness to try new things. —Giovanni Colantonio

9 Crimson Desert

Release date: March 19

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Crimson Desert looks like the last hurrah of the "let's make a game so big only 10 people will ever finish it" design era. It looks absolutely gigantic, more like Pearl Abyss' MMO, Black Desert Online, and it also looks weird. Clockwork dragons, little spacecraft-looking things that shoot fire, deer-headed warriors, and shadow demons all exist together, because why wouldn't they? And that's the kind of internal logic that I'm hoping will make Crimson Desert as captivating as the promise sounds. —Josh Broadwell

10 Denshattack!

Release date: TBA

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

In Denshattack!, you can kickflip a train. That phrase alone should be enough to sell this 3D platformer about conducting a train, in which you grind your way through railroads that criss-cross Japan, bringing new meaning (and envy, for American players) to the term “high speed rail.” Jet Set Radio-inspired visuals and a narrative about toppling a corrupt megacorp put it on the express track to greatness. I’m all aboard. —Ari Notis