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Title: Beyond the Horizon: The Most Anticipated Games of 2026 Introduction If you thought 2025 was going to be a blockbuster year for gaming, just wait until you see what’s lining up for 2026. While the immediate future is packed with heavy hitters like Grand Theft Auto VI and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (currently slated for 2025), the delay-prone nature of game development means many of the industry's biggest titans are likely to land in 2026. As we look further down the pipeline, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of refinement, massive sequels, and the fruition of long-gestating projects. Here is a preview of the announced and highly anticipated gaming releases slated for 2026. The "Safe Bet" Blockbusters While few publishers have stamped "2026" on their marketing materials just yet, industry trends and development cycles suggest these giants will arrive that year. 1. Grand Theft Auto VI (The Likely Delay Candidate) Let’s address the elephant in the room. Rockstar Games has officially targeted a 2025 release window for the return to Vice City. However, Rockstar is infamous for polishing its games until they shine. Given the sheer scale of the map and the leap in technology required, many analysts and betting markets are quietly predicting a slip into early 2026. Why we’re watching: The first trailer broke the internet, and the hype is unmatched. If it lands in 2026, it will undoubtedly be the biggest entertainment launch of the year, possibly the decade. 2. Fable Playground Games, the masters behind the Forza Horizon series, are taking their first crack at a serious RPG with a reboot of the beloved Fable franchise. While a 2025 window has been tossed around, the transition from racing mechanics to deep RPG combat and storytelling is massive. Why we’re watching: We haven't had a true Fable entry since the Xbox 360 era. Early footage suggests a whimsical, dark fairytale aesthetic that runs on Unreal Engine 5. If Playground brings the same joy to exploration that they bring to driving, this could be a system-seller for Xbox. 3. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Nintendo recently shocked fans by finally revealing gameplay for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. While they haven't given a hard date, the revitalization of Retro Studios usually implies a "when it's done" mentality. While late 2025 is possible, a 2026 release feels like a comfortable fit for Nintendo’s schedule, allowing them to space it out from other Switch successors launch titles. Why we’re watching: It has been nearly two decades since Metroid Prime 3. The return of Samus in first-person form is one of the most requested comebacks in history. The Next Generation of RPGs Role-playing games are getting longer, bigger, and more expensive to make, pushing several massive titles into the 2026 window. 4. Assassin’s Creed Hexe Ubisoft is entering a new era with the Codename Infinity platform, and Assassin's Creed Hexe is a major pillar of that strategy. Set in 16th-century Europe during the witch trials, this title promises a return to the stealth-heavy, darker roots of the franchise, moving away from the massive RPG bloat of Valhalla. Why we’re watching: Rumor has it that this will be the most narratively dense Assassin's Creed in years, ditching the vast open worlds for a tighter, more terrifying experience. 5. Civilization VII The Civilization series is the king of the "one more turn" addiction. With Civilization VI released in 2016 and supported for nearly eight years, a sequel is overdue. Development has likely been in full swing for years, and a 2026 window fits perfectly with the lifecycle of the previous game. Why we’re watching: Firaxis always reinvents the wheel. How will they handle districts now? What will the new combat mechanics look like? For strategy fans, this is the event of the decade. The Wildcards & Wish List These games are currently floating in "TBA" (To Be Announced) limbo, making 2026 a very realistic possibility. 6. Hollow Knight: Silksong Okay, we’ve been burned before. We’ve been waiting for this sequel for what feels like eons. However, Team Cherry has stated that the game is content-complete and in the polishing phase. It is highly unlikely it will arrive in late 2024 alongside Shadow of the Erdtree. Could 2026 finally be the year? Why we’re watching: If 2017’s Hollow Knight was a masterpiece, Silksong promises to be bigger, harder, and faster. The hype for this indie giant rivals AAA titles. 7. Monster Hunter Wilds (Potential Expansion?) While the main Monster Hunter Wilds game is slated for 2025, Capcom is known for its aggressive expansion cycles (G/U versions or Title Updates). A massive expansion or the "Iceborne" equivalent for Wilds would be a prime candidate for late 2026, keeping the hunt alive for another two years. Conclusion While 2025 might be the year of the initial splash with the arrival of the Switch 2 and GTA VI, 2026 looks to be the year where the next console generation truly finds its footing. From the fairy-tale lands of Albion to the witch-hunting grounds of Central Europe, the lineup is shaping up to be diverse and deep. Keep your savings jars ready, gamers. The future is bright, and it’s arriving in 2026.

The first episode of Fallout's second season debuted yesterday, and within its hour or so run time solved one of the biggest cut content mysteries from New Vegas, which had been left unanswered for 15 years. Please be aware of spoilers for Fallout season two episode one below. Along with introducing some new faces, the second season of Fallout also reunites us with the likes of Lucy and The Ghoul, who left together at the end of season one on the trail of disgraced (at least, in the eyes of many) Vault-Tec executive Hank MacLean. Hank, meanwhile, was last seen fleeing towards a ruined New Vegas in his pinched Brotherhood of Steel Power Armour. And, that brings us to the first episode of season two, with Lucy and The Ghoul following the bloody trail Hank has left in his wake. This includes a little stop off at Vault 24, a cut location from Fallout: New Vegas. We only know about this place because players discovered a Vault 24 jumpsuit tucked away in New Vegas' game files, which could only be found using console commands Now, as I am sure you are aware if you have read this far, many of the vaults in Fallout - both the show and the games - were set up to conduct experiments and such within. This has included the TV show's Vault 4, which experimented with mutants, and Fallout 76's Vault 63, which was set up by Vault-Tec's Hugo Stolz and his wife as a research facility for various technologies that would help with setting up post-War societies. There was also that poor chap that got put into Vault 77 totally on his own save for some puppets. So, what was tucked away in Fallout: New Vegas' Vault 24? For a long time it seemed likely we would never know, but, thanks to Amazon's show, we now have an answer. And that answer is… communists! When Lucy and The Ghoul step into the vault, which is now derelict and covered in vegetation, they come across skeletons strapped down in front of a propaganda video, which when they were alive would have been brainwashing the poor chaps. These aren't the only skeletons that were left to rot in the vault. Lucy and The Ghoul find many more strapped down within Vault 24, with pseudo-Soviet gear about the place. "These are Americans," Lucy realises, "and the Vault turned them into communists." This seems like a pretty odd thing for the Vault-Tec heads to have done, but to be fair, when did they ever do anything that couldn't be labelled as pretty odd? (Again, that poor man with the puppets). On further exploration, Lucy and The Ghoul come across someone alive down there. A Wastelander with a chip in his head like the one House used at the start of the episode, which allowed him to control a goon's mind, is sitting strapped down and clearly not of sound mind. This mind controlling chip is what Hank went into the vault to get a hold of, though it still needs some work to perfect, as so far the only people we have seen with the chips in their heads have not lived very long… that's probably a plot thread for another episode. So, there you have it. After 15 years, we now know what's in Vault 24. https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/Dogmeat-enters-Vault-24-in-Amazon's-Fallout-show.jfif?width=570&height=320&fit=crop&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp The second season of Amazon's Fallout is releasing on a weekly basis, with the final episode airing in February of next year. The team is already hard at work on season three, though, with the next series being written as we speak. Filming is then expected to begin in summer 2026, Fallout series executive producer Jonathan Nolan said earlier this month.

Hasbro is shuffling its video game division after making a big splash at the Game Awards James Ohlen joined Wizards of the Coast back in 2019 after a 22-year stint at BioWare to create a new IP for the Hasbro-owned tabletop gaming company. Six years later, after cofounding Archetype Entertainment to ship a very Mass Effect-looking RPG called Exodus, he’ll no longer be head of the studio when the game eventually ships in 2027. “At this stage, James felt his work on the game was complete and that the polishing and tuning were in great hands with the team,” Hasbro VP of Communications Abby Hodes told Bloomberg in a statement. She added that Ohlen asked to “shift his creative focus” and would remain a consultant for the company on tabletop gaming. Updated with a new trailer during last week’s Game Awards 2025 showcase, Exodus touts all of the things fans loved about Mass Effect, including bespoke relationships with NPCs, but with a new time dilation twist where the impact of choices players make will show up when they return to past locations decades or even centuries in the future. It’s an expensive-looking game from a brand new studio that began work during the pandemic, which might be part of why the delayed project is still a couple of years from launching. But Exodus isn’t just the potential start of a new franchise, it’s an entire world that Hasbro wants to use as a springboard for other products. Wizards released an Exodus TTRPG book earlier this year and would no doubt love to look at trading card and TV spin-offs if the game eventually becomes a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33-like hit. Bloomberg also reports that Ohlen stepping down comes alongside Blizzard veteran and Dreamhaven co-founder Paul Della Bitta becoming head of Wizards’ Digital Ventures division underneath fellow Blizzard veteran John Hight. Plenty of other BioWare veterans still remain at Archetype, including Chad Robertson and Drew Karpyshyn.

Who knows how many more holidays of physical game shopping we have left? This time of year makes me miss being a kid and unwrapping a cool new RPG I could then spend the winter quietly toiling through. Not an internet guide in sight. Just a fan living in the moment. So I’m always on the lookout to see what games are getting discounted during the holiday sell-off in case there are one or two things I can pick up and add to my physical collection for cheap. I might even wrap them and put them in a stocking or under the tree and pretend they’re from Santa. Here are a few of the good deals out there so far. I’ll be on the lookout for more and will update the list if I find them. Please feel free to share any good ones you’ve spotted in the comments as well. Visons of Mana The whimsical action-RPG is currently just $20 everywhere across both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (physical only). It’s a surprisingly decent stab at reinvigorating the Mana franchise after more than a decade without a real sequel. Final Fantasy 16 This one’s also $20 at most stores this week, a steal for a 2023 GOTY contender that shines despite its most glaring flaws. The music, performances, and cinematic boss fights are all top-tier and the action feels great even when it gets repetitive. Unicorn Overlord This Vanillaware strategy RPG also gets a bit repetitive in the back half but is worth it for the current price of just $25 across PS5 and Switch. The story makes no sense but the art is exceptional and the mash-up of turn-based combat and RTS micro-management is enough to keep you powering through. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 I’m still not very far in Warhorse Studios’ open-world immersive sim but I’m liking it a lot more than the first game. It’s also surprisingly cheap for a 2025 Game Awards nominee. It’s just $40 for PS5 and only $30 for Xbox. The PS5 version’s also been going in and out of stock at GameStop for the same lower price. Fantasian Neo Dimension Don’t let the mobile game origins fool you. Fantasian Neo Dimension is the good stuff. Mistwalker’s Hironobu Sakaguchi channels his early Final Fantasy roots to deliver a slick turn-based adventure that feels like it would have been right at home on the PS1. Amazon has the PS5 and Switch copies for just $30. Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection I’ve been meaning to pick this one up for a while and for some reason it’s just $20 right now on Amazon. The games themselves are very similar but the hybrid strategy gameplay remains peak Game Boy Advance nostalgia. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age I feel like FF12 is a bit underrated these days. It’s pound-for-pound one of the densest entries in the series and the remaster does an excellent job of polishing up the PS2 visuals and improving some of the job board progression to make it feel more like a familiar job-based MMO system. It’s only $25 on both PS5 and Switch at the moment. Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Is the Pixel Remaster collection overpriced? Yes. Are the smoothmaster visuals a bummer? Also yes. But you can’t get too picky about owning a piece of history. Adding it to your collection for just $40 isn’t bad. Super Mario RPG You’ll probably never own the original SNES version of Super Mario RPG. Used copies start at $50. Nice ones are quite a bit more. The Switch remaster, which looks excellent and improves combat with a new ultimate system, is a great pickup at just $25 right now. Persona 3 Reload The physical version for PS5 is currently just $17 at Amazon and only $25 a Best Buy. It’s a stellar remake and probably my favorite game in the series at this point. Not as flashy as Persona 5 but with way better melancholy teen vibes.

If you thought Dying Light: The Beast was hard before, wait until you see the advanced difficulties of the Nightmare Experience. If you've been looking for more of a challenge from Dying Light: The Beast, then you're about to get it. Developer Techland has dropped Update 1.5 for Dying Light: The Beast, and it's giving players the chance to test their skills in the Nightmare Experience. To turn up the heat on players, human and infected enemies are now smarter, more aggressive, significantly stronger, and more reactive to the players' actions. Volatiles may now even appear during the day in some of the Dark Zones, and players have far fewer resources to deal with them all. If that wasn't enough, there's a new super enemy, the Alpha Volatile. Techland calls it "the most intelligent Volatile in the history of Dying Light." It's even smarter than the traditional Volatiles and its heightened senses can track the player across the entire map unless they reach a safe zone. The Alpha Volatiles can be killed, but good luck trying to pull that off. At night, the player is the prey for this creature. Players can also get new finishing maneuvers, including one-handed blunt weapons and one-handed slashing weapons. The dev team must not have thought the new Volatiles were enough to make Nightmare Experience a true challenge. Now players have to deal with hunger, which is tracked through The Hunger System. If players don't keep their character fed, they will succumb to debilitating effects that will weaken their stamina, health regeneration, and combat efficiency. The developers even added more challenge to the game by using the flashlight--its battery can become too low to use if players don't periodically recharge or replace it. The rest of the additions to the game are included below. Dying Light: The Beast Update 1.5 Notes Gameplay New Game+ & Legendary Levels Adjusted the NewGame+ and Legendary Levels progression curves to reduce farming exploits and balance the experience better. Starting a NewGame+ will now check the Legend Level of players to adjust enemies difficulty accordingly. Reaching Legend Level 300 before reaching NewGame+ 10 will make enemies' difficulty adjust accordingly. Legend Levels Fixed the possibility for players with no Legend Levels progress to pick up Legend Levels reward weapons left by coop teammates and obtain blueprints of such weapons Balanced mods bonus damage related to Legend Levels Rewards Balancing of durability of legend weapons Balanced situation where car HP scaled inconsistent with player damage for legend levels Fix for the buff “+15% damage (humans) of “Butcher’s Dream” failing to apply correctly Fix for critical hit damage does not scaling accordingly with legend levels Fixed cases of weapon mods and charms multiply base damage different than the one visible to the player NewGame+ Balancing amount of XP granted on higher NewGame+ levels Suiciders, Gas Tank Bitters and Gas Tank Virals fixes of explosion strength for higher NewGame+ levels Fixed the case of XP loss on Story Mode NewGame+ upon player’s death Fixes related to AI having higher ranks than quest rank in cases where it is not intended Performance & Stability Fixed multiple COOP crash cases when peer joins the host Fixed a crash triggered by changing FPS limiter values Fixed instances of FPS drops when switching graphics settings from Ultra to High Graphical improvements Raytracing Fixed laggy tree shadows when Raytracing enabled Applied various lighting fixes in Side Quest interiors on Raytracing mode Fixed COOP synchronization issues on PS5 Fixed graphical artifacts in the Exile cave upon adjusting Upscaler settings Implemented various occluder fixes across the environment Fixed rectangular blood shapes on the Peacekeeper weapon Fixed of reward icons glowing irregularly depending on how players highlight or claim rewards Environmental & navigational fixes Resolved an environmental issue in the Exile Cave where players get stuck behind a tent Corrected several geometry gaps visible when climbing ledges in the old town Addressed several geometry gaps visible when climbing ledges in the swamps area UI & Audio Fixed the big message for Legend Level gained suggests using "U" key for the Skills Menu instead of the correct "L" key Resolved missing strings related to Legend Levels Applied several Steamdeck UI issues related to misaligned or overlapping text Fixed weapon damage display for high Legend Levels (above 10m) Fixed the crest of recommended Legend Levels in the NewGame+ config screen not matching the actual Legend Levels crest of players on higher NewGame+ levels Re-enabled Photo Mode at the beginning of NewGame+ Adjusted the NewGame+ category title in Public Games section to prevent overlapping with other titles in certain languages Corrected the camouflage skill sound not playing correctly

I’m going to save you an in-depth history lesson: about a decade ago, Valve tried to launch its own line of gaming PCs—working with partners to provide hardware while it aimed to provide a Linux-based software platform—called ‘Steam Machines’. It didn’t work out. Now, though, Valve has a working software solution in SteamOS (the software that underpins the fantastic Steam Deck), and the knowledge and means to build its own hardware. So, it’s trying again. The Steam Machine, as Valve is calling it, is a small-form-factor pre-built PC running SteamOS (built on the open-source Linux, rather than Windows or MacOS), and will be available to buy in “early 2026”. Valve did show off quite a bit of info about the Steam Machine, but it left some important details out: a specific release date, and how much it’ll cost. What we do know, though, is that the Steam Machine will be able to play most modern games at 4K resolutions at 60 frames-per-second using upscaling technology (as well as natively at lower resolutions), it runs at a significantly lower voltage than a traditional gaming tower, and it’ll bring a lot of the best features of the Steam Deck to a more powerful device. It’ll also launch in Australia day-and-date with the rest of the world—we won’t be waiting an additional two years like we did with the Deck—alongside a revamped Steam Controller, and its latest VR offering, the Steam Frame (both seen above). Like many of my fellow nerds, I’m really excited to see what Valve brings to the hardware space, and I’m hoping the Steam Machine will bridge the gap between PCs and consoles in the same way the Steam Deck did with PCs and handhelds. We’ll have to wait a little bit more before we see where it lands, so here’s what we know about the Steam Machine so far: Tech Specs Valve’s ‘Steam Machine‘ Confirmed Specifications Price TBA OS SteamOS (Linux) Internals – AMD Zen 4 CPU (4.8GHz, 6 cores) – AMD RDNA 3 (2.45GHz, 8 GB DDR6 VRAM) – 16GB DDR5 RAM Ports – 4x USB-A Ports – 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 – DisplayPort 1.4 (up to 4K 240Hz, 8K 60Hz) – HDMI 2.0 (up to 4K 120Hz) – Gigabit Ethernet – SD Card Reader Storage – 512GB or 2TB M.2 Storage – Can be upgraded by user Dimensions – 156mm x 152mm x 162mm – 2.6 kg Other – Replaceable front cover Is it a Gaming PC? Or a Gaming Console? It’s worth noting that while Valve is very much positioning the Steam Machine as a gaming PC, it’s also skirting the line into console territory. According to Valve, you should be able to plug the box into your TV, projector, monitor, or whatever you’re using and get running quickly and seamlessly. It’ll have sleep-to-wake functionality with the new Steam Controller, which is something PC gaming has traditionally struggled with, meaning you can easily jump back into a game on your TV when you get home from work. Plus, with how well SteamOS simply works as a full-screen gaming OS, rather than a more traditional Windows-like environment (which is very cumbersome to navigate using a gaming controller), it’ll be very well suited to a home theatre-like role—plugged directly into your TV, rather than sequestered away on a desk. Assuming it all works as it should, the Steam Machine could be a great bridge between those who want the freedom of PC gaming without giving up the comfort of a living-room console, and given my months of Steam Deck use, I can say that a lot of these things already work pretty well: the biggest problem I tend to hit with the Deck is that it’ll run out of battery while asleep, which shouldn’t be an issue for a device that is perennially plugged in. It’s also worth noting that one of the other ways it eschews closer to consoles is in the Steam Machine’s virtual inability to be upgraded. It should be pretty simple to swap out the device’s storage, but here you effectively get what you pay for. You’re not going to be tossing in a new GPU once performance starts lagging as you could with a more traditional desktop PC, and without a Thunderbolt/USB-4 capable port the Steam Machine can’t function with an external GPU. Instead, Valve is banking that a lot of people will be comfortable gaming without cutting-edge hardware, but with the added software customisability of a PC—and, based on Steam’s monthly hardware surveys, its probably spot on. Plus, there are plenty of people without the patience to tinker with hardware but who still would prefer to game on Steam than a console. Who’s the Steam Machine For? It’s worth stating here that if you’re someone who already has a high-end gaming PC capable of hitting 4K on ultra with respectable frame rates, it’s unlikely you’ll get a lot out of a Steam Machine aside from a potentially cheap living room box to stream games to. You could, instead, simply install a similar Linux-based OS (such as Bazzite) and make your own Steam Machine. If you’ve been looking to get into PC gaming on a budget: the jury is still out, but this one should be an answer to that problem. If you’re coming from a console, though, there’s quite a bit to talk about. Valve says the Steam Machine lands somewhere around six times the power of a Steam Deck—which sounds like a massive jump, but actually puts it pretty close to today’s entry-level console architectures. The technically-minded folk at Digital Foundry believe the capabilities on show here theoretically put the Steam Machine between the Xbox Series S and the base PlayStation 5. These would be very respectable benchmarks to hit, though we still don’t know anything about how it’ll compare on pricing. The Steam Deck is still one of the cheapest PC handhelds on the market, thanks to the fact that it natively runs SteamOS, and Valve takes a cut of every game sold on the Steam store—the de facto gaming store on PC. Getting the device into your hands cheaper means more games sold on Steam, which means more money for Valve in the long run. We don’t know if that’ll be the approach Valve is taking this time, but its hinted that it aims to keep the Machine affordable. Similarly to modern consoles, the Steam Machine will rely on upscaling technology to hit its quoted “4K 60fps” capability. However, if you’re happy playing games at 1080p, or even 1440p for certain titles, the Steam Machine should function well even without any kind of upscaling. Additionally, it costs nothing to play online games through Steam. Comparatively, it costs AU$30 a year to jump in on Nintendo’s cheapest membership tier, AU$102.95 for a year of PlayStation Plus ‘Essential’, and AU$155.40 on Xbox’s Game Pass ‘Essential’ tier (paid at AU$12.95 monthly). You do get a lot more value in some of these memberships beyond just playing online (free games, discounts, game streaming, etc), so it isn’t exactly a fair comparison—but if you don’t want any of those things, and just want to play games you buy online with friends this could be an attractive way to get there. Are There Any Red Flags? It can’t all be good though—the included SD Card Reader should make transferring games between your Steam Deck and Steam Machine a breeze, but actually playing those games off an SD card isn’t going to be a great experience. You’ll likely still want to transfer games onto local storage to keep read times quick—especially if you’re playing something competitive. As with the Steam Deck, which launched with underpowered capabilities, the Steam Machine isn’t going to be leading the pack graphics-wise—even among other mini PCs. While RDNA 3 graphics are good, RDNA 4 is already a thing and there are far more powerful pre-built mini PCs on the market: though it’s worth noting they’re all quite expensive as a result. If Valve is trying to keep the device affordable and small, while still performant, as it says it is, keeping some costs in check is inevitable. Then there’s the issue of Linux. While Windows and MacOS are pretty well-embedded into our lives at this point, Linux is a bit tricky to get started with. Yes, SteamOS is a pared back, simple version of the OS, but if you’re reliant on specialised software to do your job there’s a large chance Linux won’t fit your needs (unless you’re willing to get very, very in the weeds to make it work). If you only use your PC for gaming, streaming content, and browsing the web, you’ll be completely fine—though there will still be a learning curve. Beyond that, even gaming can get tricky on Linux. Valve has made huge strides in this space in the past decade with its Proton translation layer, which I’m not going to go into at all (this story is long enough already), but many newer games require a type of anti-cheat that Linux itself does not support. ‘Kernel-level’ anti-cheat effectively embeds itself into the deepest depths of your PC’s software with the aim of keeping an eagle-eye on whether or not you’re cheating in online matches, though it also appears in single-player games from time to time. Game developers swear this level of visibility is necessary to keep hacking in their games under control, but many people see this as complete overkill and an invasion of their privacy. It’s a thorny issue that, again, I don’t have time to get into here. The result is that many modern games, such as Battlefield 6, will not run on the Steam Machine without some tweaking from the developers—and few developers will bother unless there is a large contingent of players flocking to Linux to make it worth their while. That may not be a big deal to veteran PC players who know enough about this issue to go in with the knowledge needed, but if someone is buying their first gaming PC only to find out that their favourite game simply won’t run after already dropping an unspecified amount of money on the hardware—that’ll be a kick in the teeth. What do you think? Are you interested in a new player entering the console wars? Are you interested in jumping into PC gaming, but haven’t wanted to deal with the hassle? Are you interested in a small-format PC?

2025 delivered one of the strongest lineups in PC gaming history, with over 10,000 Steam releases, massive AAA blockbusters like Monster Hunter Wilds and Civilization VII, long-awaited sequels like Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong, and critically acclaimed indies topping Metacritic charts (e.g., Hades II at 95, Blue Prince and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at 92). Here's a chronological table of standout PC releases (curated from major calendars; all confirmed for PC/Steam, many multi-platform): Date Game Genre/Notes Jan 9 Freedom Wars Remastered Action RPG remake Jan 23 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth JRPG epic (PC port) Jan 30 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Open-world superhero action (PC port) Feb 4 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Medieval RPG Feb 11 Civilization VII 4X strategy Feb 18 Avowed First-person fantasy RPG Feb 28 Monster Hunter Wilds Action RPG Mar 6 Split Fiction Co-op action-adventure (91 Metacritic) Mar 20 Assassin's Creed: Shadows Stealth-action in feudal Japan Mar 27 Atomfall Survival shooter Mar 27 The First Berserker: Khazan Soulslike ARPG Apr 8 South of Midnight Action-adventure Apr 10 Blue Prince Puzzle adventure (92 Metacritic) Apr 24 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Turn-based RPG (92 Metacritic) Sep 4 Hollow Knight: Silksong Metroidvania (90 Metacritic) Sep 25 Hades II Roguelike (95 Metacritic, top-rated) Oct 3 Digimon Story: Time Stranger JRPG Oct 10 Battlefield 6 Multiplayer FPS Oct 10 Little Nightmares 3 Horror platformer Oct 21 Jurassic World Evolution 3 Management sim Oct 21 Ninja Gaiden 4 Action hack-and-slash Oct 21 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 RPG Oct 29 The Outer Worlds 2 RPG shooter Oct 30 Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake JRPG remakes Oct 30 Arc Raiders Co-op extraction shooter Nov 14 Where Winds Meet Open-world action Nov 15 Escape from Tarkov (full release) Hardcore FPS Nov 19 Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Roguelike shopkeeper Dec 4 Octopath Traveler 0 JRPG prequel Dec 4 Routine Horror exploration Dec 8 Skate Story Stylish skateboarding This focuses on highly anticipated/AAA titles and top critics' picks; full SteamDB calendars show thousands more indies monthly (e.g., Dec has dozens upcoming). For Steam's top-rated by user reviews, early 2025 hits like those in March (96%+) and October dominated peaks over 400k concurrent. Check PC Gamer or SteamDB for exhaustive lists/updates.