2025 was a big, but admittedly exhausting year, and escapism through video games has peaked in turn. When the real world and its current affairs get you down, it’s easy and enriching to dive into a virtual world instead. But it’s a new year, and while we hope it won’t be as tiresome as the last, we’d best be prepared.
So, where will we be escaping to this year? There will be literally hundreds of choices, games big and small, releasing throughout the year. But thinking realistically, we might not have time to talk about all of them. So to get you started on your wishlists, presaves and preorders, here are ten games releasing in 2026 that the Variety Australia team is most looking forward to playing.
“Reanimal” — February 13
You might notice an immediate similarity between “Reanimal” and “Little Nightmares.” Not a coincidence, it comes from the same creators, now working under the banner of Tarsier Studios. In this minituarised horror co-op platformer, you and a buddy play as an orphaned brother and sister who will go through (literal) hell and back to escape the giant nightmares dredged up from your fractured past. It looks grim and spine-tinglingly spooky, with no shortage of grotesque, towering monsters that shadow your every move through this gorgeously haunting world. “Reanimal” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on Friday, February 13.
“Resident Evil Requiem” — February 27
The horror game franchise to end all horror game franchises is back yet again in 2026. “Resident Evil Requiem” is the series’s first mainline title since “Village,” featuring two protagonists; stealth and scare-laden sequences with Grace Ashcroft, and more action-led moments with an aged and grouchy Leon S. Kennedy than we’ve ever seen before. Both will be playing in a story that strips back the outlandish sentient mould and vampire cults of recent entries to the series for a more grounded approach, a-la “Resident Evil 2,” and a return to the bombed-out ruins of Racoon City. “Resident Evil Requiem” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on Friday, February 27.
“007 First Light” — May 27
IO Interactive’s return to the third-person FPS genre comes with a new dapper assassin. Agent 47 is going on the back burner for the developers of “Hitman,” while they turn their attention to the world of Bond, James Bond, in “007 First Light”. The first major 007 video game since “GoldenEye,” First Light puts players in the shoes of a younger Bond, who’ll have to earn his 00 number while taking down crime kingpins and rogue agents. There’ll be sneaking, shooting, car chases and probably a few martinis, shaken, not stirred. “007 First Light” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on Tuesday, May 27.
“LEGO® Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight” — May 29
In 2025, it seemed unlikely that Batman’s return to the video game medium would be via a LEGO title, but “LEGO® Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight” looks like the caped crusader’s most expansive outing yet will be built in bricks. Charting the mythos of the Dark Knight, from origins to legend, and including all sorts of appearances from his long list of allies and enemies in a LEGO recreation of Gotham City — “LEGO® Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight” seems to incorporate inspiration from the page and the screen, at least going by the many references to Batman films in the reveal trailer. “LEGO® Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on Friday, May 29.
“Grand Theft Auto VI” — November 19
Hopefully, the sixth and most-anticipated entry into Rockstar’s record-breaking “Grand Theft Auto” series can also hold a candle to the quality of its 2013 predecessor, which manages to be a great and profitable game at the same time. “Grand Theft Auto VI” returns to the seedy, swampy cityscapes and shorelines of Leonida, this time following dual protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, who are trying to make a name for themselves when they get caught way over their heads in a massive criminal conspiracy in Vice City and beyond. “Grand Theft Auto VI” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on Thursday, November 19.
“Marvel’s Wolverine” — Spring 2026
He’s the best at what he does, and what he does ain’t pretty. Insomniac Games, following on from the chart-topping, genre-rewriting success of its “Spider-Man” trilogy developed for PlayStation and PC, is turning a new page for a new Marvel icon in “Marvel’s Wolverine.” Swapping web shooters for claws, “Marvel’s Wolverine” steps right into the shoes of Logan himself, promising a globe-trotting adventure that’s packed with plenty of bloody hacking and slashing. While there isn’t an exact release date out yet, “Marvel’s Wolverine” is set to release sometime in the Australian springtime on PlayStation 5, before a likely PC release in 2027.
“The Blood of Dawnwalker” — TBA 2026
One of 2026’s more unconventional potential hits, this third-person action RPG blends a fictional Eastern European setting, RPG elements and plenty of dark fantasy inspiration. What makes “The Blood of Dawnwalker” catch our eye is a non-linear narrative that leaves players 30 in-game days and nights to complete its sole end objective, while completing side quests and exploring the world, and a split gameplay loop, with the half-vampire protagonist offering swordplay gameplay in the day, and vampiric traversal and melee combat abilities come nightfall. “The Blood of Dawnwalker” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on an unconfirmed date in 2026.
“CONTROL Resonant” — TBA 2026
With its bizarre visuals put front and centre, “CONTROL Resonant” looks like a supremely trippy game, but will that be enough for it to successfully fill the sizeable shoes of its predecessor? No, not “FBC Firebreak,” that was a swing and a miss. “CONTROL” set a high bar for supernatural shooters through its gameplay and protagonist Jesse Faden, and Resonant shifts the focus to her brother, once a prisoner, now a superpowered FBC agent set loose in a warped Manhattan to contain a cosmic threat. “CONTROL Resonant” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on an unconfirmed date in 2026.
“Forza Horizon 6” — TBA 2026
Xbox Game Studios is conspicuously absent from the current 2026 major release schedule, but aside from the upcoming “Fable” game, “Forza Horizon 6” is one of its only major releases pencilled in. Forza has had a leading spot in the racing genre for some time now, and the “Horizon” games always bring a fresh coat of paint to an international setting. This time, the series is headed to Japan. Fast cars speeding down a cherry blossom-dotted street? That’s a damn promising setup. “Forza Horizon 6” will be released on Xbox and PC on an unconfirmed date in 2026.
“Mixtape” — TBA 2026
Australia’s local video game industry isn’t as ignored as it once was, and that’s thanks to developers like the Melbourne-based crew of Beethoven & Dinosaur. Their debut title, “The Artful Escape,” quickly joined the hall of fame for music-centric games, and its follow-up “Mixtape” looks like it’ll follow suit. A story of teenage woes, set at that oh-so-formative checkpoint between high school and adult life, “Mixtape” looks to be a dreamy, intensely human mixtape of memories soundtracked by the likes of The Cure, Iggy Pop, Joy Division, Portishead, Roxy Music, Smashing Pumpkins, Devo, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and many more. “Mixtape” releases on current-gen consoles and PC on an unconfirmed date in 2026.