This past year gave us some truly great games, including Ghost of Yotei, Dispatch, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hades II, to name a few. However, it also gave us some examples of questionable design and development, such as Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and MindsEye.

With 2025 now behind us, it’s time to look forward to the innovations and stories coming over the next 12 months.

Here’s what we at Dawn are looking forward to playing in 2026.

Releases on November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S

Mikail: This was an obvious one, since it’s not only the most anticipated game of the year, but also the past decade.

Following years of hype, trailers and memes (we had a Pakistan-India war before GTA VI), Rockstar’s next entry in one of the most profitable but controversial video game franchises will be upon us next November. When it drops, it could be the biggest entertainment launch in history.

The trailers showcase a photorealistic Vice City, which I’m itching to explore, highly detailed characters, and a Bonnie and Clyde-esque story featuring the two protagonists, Lucia and Jason.

After seeing the interactive world created in 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2, and bearing in mind Rockstar’s track record for quality, this is going to be one for the books.

Releases on January 29, 2026 on PlayStation 5 and PC

Nazish: One of the first games coming up this year, Cairn is a survival climber that does not shy away from arduous realities of mountain climbing. It looks almost educational in the way it covers all the inglorious parts — straining every muscle to crawl up steep cliffs, wrapping bandages around the sores on your hands, and the sheer, cold solitude.

I’m especially intrigued by how grimly realistic and immersive this one looks. Not in terms of its visuals, but in the way it casts mountain climbing as the dangerous, daunting task it........

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