The 2026 game release calendar so far has GTA 6 standing alone in May—who will be brave enough to challenge it?

Jason and Lucia sitting on a pier, enjoying a beer together in the first Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer.
(Image credit: Rockstar)

There are still a lot of games left to come in 2025—October alone is full of Steam wishlist heavy-hitters—but we're close enough to the end of the year to start mapping out our 2026 gaming plans.

It's still rather early, so our 2026 new games calendar doesn't have a ton of dates set in stone yet, but what immediately jumps out at me is the year's return trip to not one but two cities from an era of gaming that still has a chokehold on me. Get in loser, we're going to Raccoon City… and then Vice City. Hold your applause, I'll be here all of 2026.

If you need help with planning elsewhere, we've still got you covered with our 2025 game release calendar and handy Steam Sale dates for reference. Otherwise, it's onto the new games of 2026 list we go.

The biggest games of 2026

A close-up of the main character of Nioh 3. He has long, black hair put up in a high ponytail and dark brown eyes. He's looking just off-screen with some sort of spirit creature behind him.

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

How's the new games calendar shaping up for 2026?

We haven't even finished this year's holiday season, but we've already got a decent idea of what early 2026 looks like for big game releases. While January is light for now, February starts piling it on with Deus Ex Remastered, Nioh 3, and Resident Evil Requiem. Then Crimson Desert finally finds a month to call home in March with 007 First Light right on its heels.

It's probably safe to assume most new games will try and steer clear of the days and weeks around Grand Theft Auto 6's release date on May 26. That's just for consoles, but even without a PC launch window it'll be hard for much else to break through all the noise around Vice City's big return.

Biggest games launching in 2026

Resident Evil Requiem | February 27

Resident Evil Requiem | February 27
Capcom takes us back to Raccoon City soon with Resident Evil Requiem, and director Koshi Nakanishi says the next Resi stars a new lead, Grace Ashcroft. I'm all about another leading lady, but I just have one burning question for him that keeps me up at night: When will I see Leon again?

Crimson Desert | March 19

Crimson Desert | March 19
Crimson Desert's first launch delay was back in 2021, but it sounds like the March 2026 date is its for-real-this-time plan. It's the first singleplayer game from the studio behind Black Desert Online, and one my colleague Harvey Randall called "an absolute riot" in his Crimson Desert preview.

007 First Light | March 27

007 First Light | March 27
007 First Light is a Bond story set early in his career, before he earned his reputation for being a smooth, smug bastard. It's fittingly from the Hitman studio IO Interactive—a team with plenty of experience making espionage action adventure games.

Grand Theft Auto 6  | May 26

Grand Theft Auto 6 (Consoles) | May 26
Who knows when GTA 6 will launch for PC, but I can't ignore Rockstar's return to Vice City during the wait. Rockstar is already counting its chickens before they've hatched, too, calling GTA 6 "the largest game launch in history," in a job posting.

New PC games in January 2026

A young woman with red eyes and white hair staring up and off camera at something ominous in Code Vein 2

Code Vein 2 (Image credit: Bandai Namco)
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New games in January

January 6

StarRupture (Steam)

Extraterrestrial base-building and survival in early access

January 15

Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon (Steam)

The Trails Through Daybreak 2 sequel

January 28

The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin (Steam)

Open world RPG gacha based on the manga series

January 30

Code Vein 2 (Steam)

Anime soulslike sequel

New PC games in February 2026

A woman from Resident Evil Requiem with short platinum-colored hair standing in the dark. The shot is close up on her face and she looks frightened.

Resident Evil Requiem (Image credit: Capcom)
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New games in February

February 5

Deus Ex Remastered (Steam)

An RPG classic with QoL upgrades

February 5

Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined (Steam)

A second DQ7 remake

February 5

Nioh 3 (Steam)

Samurai action-RPG sequel

February 5

Menace (Steam)

XCOM-like RPG from the Battle Brothers studio

February 10

Mewgenics (Steam)

Cat-breeding RPG from the Super Meat Boy creator

February 13

High on Life 2 (Steam)

Psychedelic FPS sequel

February 24

Tides of Tomorrow (Steam)

Ocean survival with asynchronous multiplayer

February 27

Resident Evil Requiem (Steam)

Back to Raccoon City

New PC games in March 2026

A young James Bond in 007 First Light furrowing his eyebrows. His face is dirty and he's in a car with a busted out window

007 First Light (Image credit: io interactive)
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New games in March

March 12

Monster Hunter Stories 3 (Steam)

Turn-based tale with monsties

March 19

Crimson Desert (Steam)

Singleplayer ARPG from Black Desert devs

March 26

Copa City (Steam)

Manage and organize major football events

March 27

007 First Light (Steam)

Baby bond's first spy action missions

March ??

Slay the Spire 2 (Steam)

Roguelike card sequel

New PC games in May 2026

Lucia as she's just released from jail in the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer.

Grand Theft Auto 6 (Image credit: Rockstar)
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New games in May

May 26

Grand Theft Auto 6 (Site)

Crime returns to Vice City, but not on PC

New PC games in September

Michael Meyers standing in the middle of the street in Halloween: The Game

Halloween: The Game (Image credit: IllFonic, Gun Media)
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New games in September

September 8

Halloween: The Game (Steam)

Asymmetrical horror with Mikey

New PC games with a 2026 release window

What appears to be a leviathan from Subnautica 2. The only thing visible is its vague squid-like outline, purple hue, and yellow eyes

Subnautica 2 (Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment)

Games with a confirmed 2026 release window

Plenty of 2026 games don't have a solid release date just yet, but we know they're planned for sometime this year. Here's everything we're watching with a 2026 window:

  • A Tiny Wander (Steam) Puzzle adventures in camping
  • Aniimo (Site) Free-to-play creature nabbing RPG
  • Aphelion (Steam) Astronaut adventure on an ice planet
  • Ascendant (Steam) Neonpunk PvPvE arena FPS
  • At Fate's End (Steam) Lush side-scrolling action from Spiritfarer devs
  • Atmosfar (Steam) Sci-fi road trip flavored twist on suvival crafting
  • The Blood of Dawnwalker (Steam) 14th century vampire action RPG
  • Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes (Steam) Sci Fi fleet manager
  • Beast of Reincarnation (Steam) Pokemon devs do post-apoc action RPG
  • Big Walk (Steam) Multiplayer walk-sim from Untitled Goose Game devs
  • Bloodstained: Scarlet Engagement (Steam) Metroidvania sequel
  • Bubsy 4D (Steam) Atari revives the platformer
  • Bus Bound (Steam) Bus simulator with a growing city
  • Call of the Elder Gods (Steam) Lovecraftian narrative puzzler sequel
  • Cairn (Steam) Survival mountain climbing
  • Cat-Astrophy (Steam) Feline rogue-lite platformer
  • Capy Castaway (Steam) Adorable capybara adventures
  • Chronicles: Medieval (Steam) Chivalric sandboxing ala Mount & Blade
  • Chrono Odyssey (Steam) Fantasy MMO
  • Cinder City (Site) Post-apocalypse 'MMO tactical shooter' from NCSoft
  • Clawsome (Steam) Cute claw-game sim
  • Clockwork Revolution (Steam) Steampunk time-traveling FPS
  • Collector's Cove (Steam) Seaborne exploration and farming
  • The Cube (Steam) Multiplayer RPG shooter around a... giant cube?
  • Crosswind (Steam) Open world pirate survival
  • Danganronpa 2x2 (Steam) Revamped murder mystery double feature
  • Danchi Days (Steam) Revive a festival with puzzle minigames
  • Deer & Boy (Steam) Cinematic platformer with a deer pal
  • Denshattack! (Steam) Do sick rail grinds with a train
  • Directive 8020 (Steam) Supermassive's horror story in space
  • Dosas Divas (Steam) Food themed turn-based RPG
  • Edge of Memories (Steam) JRPG-inspired adventure
  • End of Abyss (Epic) Third-person horror from Little Nightmares creators
  • Enginefall (Steam) Social sandbox on apocalyptic trains
  • Fable (Steam) Quirky fantasy RPG reboot
  • Fatal Frame 2 Remake (Steam) Survival horror remake with a camera
  • Fate Trigger (Steam) Anime-style tactical shooter
  • Garbage Country (Steam) Post-apocalyptic exploration & tower defense
  • Gears of War: E-Day (Steam) The Marcus Fenix origin story
  • Grave Seasons (Steam) Stardew Valley with a supernatural killer
  • Invincible VS (Steam) 3v3 tag fighter based on the world of the show
  • John Carpenter's Toxic Commando (Steam) 4-player co-op FPS horde shooter
  • Hark the Ghoul (Steam) First person dungeon crawling
  • Hela (Steam) Third person adventure as an adorable mouse
  • Last Flag (Steam) Third-person 5v5 CTF with cartoony TF2 vibes
  • Lords of the Fallen 2 (Epic) Sequel to the 2023 dark fantasy action RPG
  • Marathon (Steam) Bungie's technicolor extraction shooter
  • Moonmintroll: Winter's Warmth (Steam) Adorable Moomin adventure sequel
  • Mortal Shell 2 (Steam) Body-swapping soulslike seque
  • Mudang: Two Hearts (Steam) Action thriller set in future Korea
  • Neverway (Steam) Horror life-sim RPG with retro lo-fi style
  • Onimusha: Way of the Sword (Steam) Latest of Capcom's samurai action series
  • Outbound (Steam) Van life meets survival crafting and exploration
  • Out of Words (Epic) Stop motion puzzle platformer for two
  • Outward 2 (Steam) Hardcore RPG sequel
  • Planet of Lana 2 (Steam) Cinematic puzzle adventure sequel
  • Pragmata (Site) Outerspace action adventure
  • Railborn (Steam) Sci-fi survival crafter, but on your own train
  • Replaced (Steam) Sci-fi action platformer
  • Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (Steam) Prequel story of Sophia
  • Road Kings (Steam) Semi-truck sim with career modes
  • Romeo is a Dead Man (Site) Third person action ultraviolence
  • SacriFire (Steam) Pixel RPG with combo battle system
  • Scott Pilgrim EX (Steam) Pixel brawler based on the graphic novel
  • Sea of Remnants (Steam) Pirate RPG with fleet-building and huge cast of allies
  • Snap & Grab (Steam) Photography-based heist sim
  • Stars of Icarus (Steam) Sci-fi crew-based starship PVP combat
  • Subnautica 2 (Steam) Subsurface survival sequel
  • Super Meat Boy 3D (Steam) Meaty platformer goes 3D
  • There Are No Ghosts at the Grand (Steam) First person musical puzzle sim
  • Toem 2 (Steam) Monochrome photography adventure sequel
  • Valor Mortis (Steam) Napoleonic-era soulslike FPS from Ghostrunner creators
  • Wanderburg (Steam) Howl's Moving survivorslike
  • War for Westeros (Steam) Game of Thrones RTS
  • Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 4 (Steam) Long desired sequel to the RTS series
  • WTF: Waifu Tactical Force (Steam) Anime PVP FPS with meta base building
  • Zero Parades (Steam) Espionage RPG from remains of ZA/UM

More new games for 2026 and beyond

A man with a mustache wearing a spacesuit with his visor up in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn (Image credit: Owlcat Games)

Announced games that could still surprise us

We see plenty of new game announcements with no solid release date or general window, but they're still worth tracking. Some of these could surprise us in 2026, or maybe they'll carry on to next year's calendar.

  • Atomic Heart 2 (Steam) Weird-topia RPG shooter gets a sequel
  • Black Myth: Zhong Kui (Trailer) Sequel to Black Myth: Wukong
  • Farever (Steam) Multiplayer spin on Zelda from Northgard devs
  • La Divinia Commedia (Steam) ARPG adaptation of a classic poem
  • Saros - Another haunting space adventure from Returnal devs
  • The Expanse: Osiris Reborn (Steam) Sci-fi action RPG in the Expanse universe
Andrea Shearon
Evergreen Writer

Andrea has been covering games for nearly a decade, picking up bylines at IGN, USA Today, Fanbyte, and Destructoid before joining the PC Gamer team in 2025. She's got a soft spot for older RPGs and is willing to try just about anything with a lovey-dovey "I can fix them" romance element. Her weekly to-do always includes a bit of MMO time, endlessly achievement hunting and raiding in Final Fantasy 14. Outside of those staples, she's often got a few survival-crafting games on rotation and loves a good scare in co-op horror games.

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