We all know that on November 19th, the internet will likely break under the weight of Rockstar’s return to Vice City, but looking at a calendar and waiting for winter is a miserable way to spend a year.
Thankfully, 2026 isn’t just a waiting room for Grand Theft Auto 6. The months leading up to it are absolutely stacked with massive sandboxes, weird experiments, and long-awaited reboots. If you enjoy getting lost in digital worlds, you’re going to be busy. From the grim streets of 14th-century Europe to the neon glow of a fictionalized Japan, the variety on offer is frankly ridiculous.
A Proper British Return to Fantasy
For a certain generation of Xbox owners, nothing hits quite like the promise of Fable. It has been over a decade since we last set foot in Albion properly, and Playground Games seems to understand exactly what made the original special. It wasn’t just the swords and sorcery; it was the tone. It was the ability to be a legendary hero one minute and a chicken-kicking nuisance the next.
The reboot lands this year, and early looks suggest they’ve nailed that specific brand of British whimsy. This is the one to watch if you’re looking for a fantasy game that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
On the flip side, if you prefer your fantasy with a bit more grit, keep an eye on The Blood of Dawnwalker. This is coming from Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by the director of The Witcher 3. That pedigree alone should make you sit up and pay attention. You play as a half-vampire in a sandbox version of 14th-century Europe. There’s no hand-holding here; you carve your own narrative through a world where humanity is on the back foot. It sounds bleak, bloody, and brilliant.
The Year of Japan
Strange how these things happen in clusters, isn’t it? 2026 is undeniably the year open-world developers fell in love with Japan. The biggest news for petrolheads is that Forza Horizon 6 is finally heading east — fans have been begging for this setting for years. The mix of tight mountain passes for drifting and dense city highways for top-speed runs is going to be immense. Plus, knowing Playground Games, it will likely be the best-looking game on the market.
Then you have Nioh 3, which was released in early February. Team Ninja has taken their punishing combat mechanics and applied them to a fully open map. It’s a bold move. Usually, “Soulslike” implies tight, curated corridors. Seeing this translate to a sprawling, alternate-history Japan is fascinating.
And we can’t ignore Showa American Story. This might be the weirdest title on the list. Imagine an 80s America that was culturally colonized by Japan, then overrun by zombies. It’s a B-movie fever dream come to life, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need to cleanse the palette between serious dramas.
Systems Over Spectacle
Some of this year’s most exciting titles are trying to change how we play, not just where we play. Take Chrono Odyssey as an example. It’s an MMORPG built in Unreal Engine 5, which means it looks incredible, but the hook is time manipulation — you can pause and rewind time during combat and in a genre that usually relies on cooldown rotations, that is a massive shake-up.
For the tabletop crowd, Solasta 2 drops in March. It’s bringing the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition ruleset to a much larger world than its predecessor. With a voice cast that includes Ben Starr, it’s clearly aiming for those Baldur’s Gate 3 fans who are hungry for another tactical fix.
Don’t Miss the Releases
The sheer volume of quality titles dropping this year is overwhelming. It feels a bit like the industry has handed us a massive 300% casino bonus. The return on investment for gamers this year looks staggering.
Whether you want the family-friendly collecting marathon of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight or the hardcore challenge of Mortal Shell 2, the calendar is full. So, by all means, get excited for November. But don’t sleep on the rest of 2026, as you might just miss your new favourite game.
