2026's Most Anticipated Games - Jess' Picks
2026 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years in video games of all time. No matter whether you play on PC, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X|S, or the Nintendo Switch 2, you’re going to have a lot to play in 2026. Given that, we couldn’t simply pool the team’s thoughts into one top 10 countdown of the most anticipated games, so we solicited 10 from each person to discuss. Today, hear what Jess has to say about their 10 most anticipated games of 2026.
10. The Dark Pictures - Directive 8020
For me, playing a new Dark Pictures game is always a very social experience. It’s become tradition – get my closest friends (of varying levels of bravery) together, take on the roles of a bunch of often terrible people, and hope we can get them all through to the end of the story alive. The previous entries in the series have all been of wildly different quality – I wouldn’t say the series is necessarily consistent. But it is unlike any other experience in gaming for me, and I’m thrilled to get to panic for another few hours with a new cast of characters. (Also, space is inherently very scary. From the setting alone, I know this one is going to test me.)
9. Tomb Raider - Legacy of Atlantis
There was no way that young Jess, playing the original Tomb Raider (albeit quite a few years after its release) as a teenager could have predicted that one day it would look like this. That dinosaur? Genuinely scary now. We are about to be absolutely spoiled for Tomb Raider content, and while it wasn’t what I necessarily expected from 2026, I’m thrilled this is where we’ve landed. We’ve come such a long way from those triangle boobs, Lara, but here you are, still kicking just as much ass.
8. Resident Evil Requiem
There was a time when you couldn’t have paid me to play a survival horror game, and yet now here I am, apparently genuinely looking forward to them. I’m not sure when I became so attached to Raccoon City’s favourite (now slightly grizzled) twink Leon Kennedy, but seeing him show up again in his natural habitat – alongside an unsuspecting young blonde white woman – feels oddly exciting. Personally, I’m thrilled that at least some parts of the game will return to Leon’s trademark over-the-shoulder camera view, but I do think they’re onto something by keeping the ‘horror’ sections of the game in the first person camera they’ve become so comfortable with over the last few games in the series. Will the balance work out in practice? We’ll find out!
7. Springs, Eternal
Gone Home was a masterpiece and genuinely changed my view of what I believed games could be and the kinds of stories they’d be willing to tell, so I will of course be following anything Fullbright does very closely. They’ve been a little quiet in recent years, but it seems like this is why – and I’m confident it will be worth the wait. Both Gone Home and their subsequent game, Tacoma, incorporated a little spookiness into their emotional storytelling, and it seems like maybe they’re leaning into that horror vibe a little harder here – and despite two of my previous entries on this list being horror games, I’m not sure I love that they’re going in this direction. But I’m going to trust the vision, and trust that this game is going to make me feel altogether too many things in the best way possible.
6. Out of Words
This one was revealed at The Game Awards at the end of last year and instantly appealed. Split Fiction was one of my favourite games of last year, and I’m more than ready for another whimsical co-op adventure. It’s impossible not to think about It Takes Two looking at those protagonists, though given they’re children I’m assuming the story is going to have less of a focus on divorce and heartache – but hey, I guess you never know. Either way, I’m very into the handcrafted style of this game, and can’t wait to learn more about it over the coming months.
5. Mixtape
This is just so extremely my shit. Beethoven & Dinosaur are Australian treasures, and The Artful Escape was a masterpiece, so I have no doubt that they’re going to pull off this slice of life, coming of age tale. I also know myself and know that any story based around big life changes or ‘ends of eras’ is going to make me cry – so I’m preparing for that too. Plus, this is already shaping up to be the best soundtrack of 2026 – it is, after all, ‘nothing but the hits’.
4. Pokemon Pokopia
Human ditto haunts me in my nightmares, and has done so since the release of the iconic film Detective Pikachu in 2019. It’s messed up, and I don’t like to think about it. That said, this is an incredible cool premise for a game, and I do think it’s a smart way to incorporate Pokemon abilities into what is essentially just Animal Crossing but with pocket monsters. So I’m pushing through my fears that human ditto may kill me silently in a dark alley and embracing the promise of what this game could be – and I think that what it could be is something that adds calm and quiet to my life. But we’ll see – I’m not sure I can ever really trust that ditto.
3. Fable
Please let this be the year Fable finally happens. We haven’t heard anything about it in ages, which probably isn’t a great sign, but I want so badly to believe that it’s on the horizon. The series is so good and the trailers have been so good and have only served to reassure me that Fable’s signature sense of humour is still very much alive and well in the upcoming game. I’m more than ready for my dose of dry British fantasy. So can we just have it now, please?
2. Life is Strange: Reunion
Look. I wish this game wasn’t happening. I think that in many ways, it undermines a lot of the choices that have been made in previous games, and I’m extremely skeptical about the way a lot of things are going to be handled. That said – I love Life is Strange. I will always love Life is Strange. I love Max and Chloe and I love their love, and even though I think their story has been thoroughly told and should be left alone, I also know that I cherish every moment I get to spend with these characters. Controversially, I enjoyed the last entry in the series, Double Exposure, even though there were some valid criticisms. But I’m sorry, y’all, I can’t get this series out of my heart. Even at its worst, it hits something within me that no other series is quite able to hit. So, thanks to some fortuitous timing with its announcement, it’s made its way onto this list.
1. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
I love LEGO games, so very much. I also love Batman games. So the fact that this game is happening is obviously very exciting to me. There was a different game that was once at the top of this list about a dapper man who loves solving puzzles, but talk of AI use in the game’s development means that it has been bumped from the list entirely – and honestly, it sort of feels right that this one takes this spot instead. Do I care that the game’s humour and difficulty levels are likely going to be aimed at children? Absolutely not. Because this game is also going to deliver me Matt Berry as Bane, and there’s nothing more I could possibly want from a game in 2026.
So that concludes Jess’ list of their most anticipated games of 2026. What are some of yours? Hit us up via social media to let us know what games you are keen on in 2026!
