New Year: Press Start

As the new year comes, new games come along with it. When new games come, new hype follows. We’re going to take a look at what developers are expected to bring to players within the new year.

This list could not be complete without starting with Grand Theft Auto VI. Following years of a long hiatus, the anticipated release was so much so that it was anticipated for years. Various YouTubers have been known to fake unboxings as a form of clickbait to attract young audiences. Rockstar Games has released a trailer amassing over 270 million views, which has been leaked, leaving employees without pay temporarily. Even had to delay the game twice after the initial expected release on May 26, 2026, which was moved to November 19, 2026. Rockstar even let a terminally ill cancer patient, who is “a huge GTA fan,” play the game before his unfortunate, inevitable passing. Despite the negative feedback for the delays, the hype is still here, and the release will potentially guarantee a make-or-break for Rockstar Games.

A freshman, when asked “What was your reaction or thought when Grand Theft Auto 6 got delayed twice?” said, “Have you heard about that one kid who had cancer or something like that, and they gave (GTA 6) to some kid with cancer for giggles.” He continued,“If I’m 30 and GTA 6 comes out, then I’ll have kids by then!” A senior was asked the same question and how they were holding up with the wait, only to say, “They’re not coming out with (GTA 6).”

Moving over to Microsoft, which is recently reviving the long-absent Fable series. Fable was developed by Lionheart Studios, which was bought out and acquired by Microsoft in 2012, but Lionheart went defunct around four years later. After a decade of inactivity from the franchise, Microsoft is reviving it under a reboot of the now-controversial Xbox Game Pass. It returns the player to the magical land of Albion, bringing a new world among new mechanics and visuals. It is currently not planned for an exact release date at the moment, but it is confirmed to be released this year.

Microsoft is also allegedly planning to release another game in the Forza series. Forza Horizon VI’s announcements were released based on leaks and rumors; however, some information might be false or planned for the future. The game takes place within the Horizon Festival in Japan to become a racing legend, featuring locations such as the nation’s capital, Tokyo, and a tourist location, Mt. Fuji. The game is allegedly planned to release on May 19, 2026.

Microsoft’s biggest competitor, Sony, also has a game in-development under their belt known as Marvel’s Wolverine. A game to depict Wolverine searching for answers about his past, by going on adventures in cities around the world, even in locations like Madripoor. It’s planned for release sometime this autumn.

Nintendo is planning to make a new Pokémon game known as Pokémon Pokopia. The plot centers around you playing as a Ditto transforming into a humanoid form to befriend other Pokémon and get accustomed to human life through Pokémon interaction. Pokémon has mostly been gaining positive attention from its legacy rather than its current games. Although ratings are pretty good with an 8/10 on Metacritic, there have been some reviews from recent games in the franchise, such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Likely from technical issues and repetitive gameplay, it may feel like a rushed, low-effort release. If Nintendo were to potentially save itself from making the same mistakes, it might have to delay the game by another few months. It’s planned for release on March 5, 2026.

Nintendo is also planning on releasing The Duskbloods. A game that revolves around warriors known as The Bloodsworn, who are summoned across time and locations and humanity to obtain first blood, meaning there’s actually no true fixed location or time period within the game. It’s planned for release in Early 2026, although this is not confirmed.

There are many more games out there, but the last that we’re going to touch on is Witchbrook, developed by Chucklefish, being released to multiple platforms, including PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox. This game depicts an RPG simulator. It was initially supposed to be released during the winter of 2025, but had to be delayed to further patch bugs and improve graphics. It’s planned for release sometime in 2026 after 10 years of development.

As the new year just started, we don’t even know if any of these games are going to be released, come out, or if they’re even going to be worth it. But at the end of the day, it’s just the start of the new year. So be hyped when you can for the new games to come out, and happy New Year!