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Now that 2025 is locked down, GameCentral takes a look at the biggest games for the years ahead, from The Witcher 4 to the next 3D Mario.
After years of anticipation and feverish speculation, ahead of every gaming presentation, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally set to launch next week.
It’s one of the rare few games which are in the upper echelons of fan wishlists – the kind you book weeks off work for, where you forget to eat because you’re breaking down trailers, or that encourages you to avoid dodgy alleyways to guarantee your survival for its release day.
Few games have the power to affect human behaviour in the same way, but there are a notable amount on the horizon. If you need another reason to worry about your mortality, we have listed the most anticipated games (either confirmed or inevitable) which are guaranteed to make a splash over the coming months and years.
GTA 6
It’s the biggest video game of all time, so let’s get this out of the way first. It’s been 12 years since Rockstar launched GTA 5, one of the most profitable pieces of entertainment ever, so its successor is bound to be the biggest game of 2026 – whether it’s any good or not.
Based on the trailers, it’s shaping up to one of the most graphically-impressive games we’ve ever seen and – in an unexpected turn for the series – one which is hinged around a loved-up couple. Prepare for a seismic launch when it hits on May 26, 2026.
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Resident Evil Requiem
Before GTA 6, the only other title worthy of sleepless night status is Resident Evil Requiem – in more ways than one. The sequel to Resident Evil Village sports a new protagonist named Grace Ashcroft, along with a terrifying new monster to stalk your nightmares.
It’s set to be released on February 27 next year, so it’s one of only a few titles on this list with a concrete release date. Whether it manages to be a bold reinvention or another well designed iteration remains to be seen, but it’s certainly going to be an early highlight.
Persona 6
Technically, this one hasn’t been announced yet, but everyone knows it’s coming. The success of Persona 5 guarantees another sequel in this long-running role-playing series, yet developer Atlus is still busy knocking out remakes in the interim – between Persona 3 Reload and the upcoming Persona 4 Revival.
These remakes, along with the countless Persona 5 spin-offs, have only heightened the expectation for Persona 6 and how it could shake-up the somewhat familiar formula.
The Witcher 4
Over a decade after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and with a successful Netflix show under the franchises’ belt, anticipation has never been higher for The Witcher 4. Developer CD Projekt has already debuted several cinematic trailers but we still haven’t seen any gameplay, from what promises to be the start of a new Witcher saga.
The sequel is slated for after 2026, so we still have a long wait ahead of us, but with Ciri taking the reins, this looks set to rejuvenate the series in a big way.
New 3D Mario
Another one that hasn’t been announced but is inevitable because… Mario. The big question hanging over any new Nintendo console is when the next 3D Mario adventure will hit the system, and with it being eight years since Super Mario Odyssey, the countdown clock feels like it’s only a few chimes away from a full reveal.
We’ve had glimpses at what the future of Mario could be through projects like Bowser’s Fury, but after the impressive Donkey Kong Bananza, expectations are sky high for what could be up Nintendo’s sleeve for its most prized mascot.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3
The conclusion of this massively ambitious project will likely prove divisive amongst Final Fantasy 7 veterans, based on the changes in the first two entries, but this looks set to be a grand epic unlike any other.
Sales for the second entry, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, weren’t exactly stellar, but once the trilogy is complete we imagine a whole host of newbies will climb aboard to take Cloud, Tifa and Barrett to the finish line. A release date (and even a title) is yet to be announced.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
You might be wondering why a new sci-fi game starring Tati Gabrielle is riding with these major franchise heavyweights. However, this is the new IP from Naughty Dog, the acclaimed developer behind Uncharted and The Last Of Us.
Sony is likely banking on this to kickstart a whole new franchise for PlayStation, and while we’ll have to see if it can meet those expectations, this will certainly be a highly-polished PlayStation 5 showcase when it does drop, likely after 2026.
New Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons will forever be synonymous with the Cpvod era, where lockdown madness helped drive sales beyond 48 million. It opened up a whole new audience to the series, so the next entry will likely be a major priority for Nintendo.
A sequel to New Horizons hasn’t been announced yet, but with the Switch 2 officially out in the wild, this feels like a franchise which will arrive on the system sooner rather than later.
007 First Light
While everyone continues to stir over who’ll be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig, 007: First Light has already (sort of) answered the question. Patrick Gibson is set to play a young version of Bond in 007 First Light, a new game from the developer of Hitman.
The stealth sandbox gameplay developer IO Interactive is known for feels like a perfect match for 007, and while a young Bond raises some alarm bells, this blockbuster might be the start of a new era for everyone’s favourite spy.
God Of War prequel
Developer Santa Monica is cooking up some kind of new God Of War project – we know that based on recent job ads – but what we don’t know is what exactly it is. Rumours suggest it might be a prequel set in Ancient Greece, which is smaller in scope compared to 2022’s God Of War Ragnarök, but as the months roll by without an announcement, expectation is inevitably on the rise.
Even if it is a smaller project, the weight behind the God Of War IP guarantees it’ll be a hit to some degree, especially with a live-action TV adaptation in development.
The Elder Scrolls 6
Bethesda’s long-awaited sequel to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was announced back in 2016, and we’ve still seen nothing from it nine years later. The studio has taken some knocks since, with 2023’s Starfield, so there’s more pressure to deliver with the follow-up to its most successful game ever.
The Elder Scrolls 6 was last slated for ‘2026 or later’ so we have some time to wait still, but this role-player will inevitably be a major talking-point when it eventually launches.
Kingdom Hearts 4
Kingdom Hearts might be a Marmite franchise, but for the Disney and/or Square Enix sickos, this is a reason to wake up in the morning. The fourth entry in the series was announced in 2022 with a cinematic trailer and we’ve seen nothing substantial since, and no indication of when it could be released.
There was a 14-year gap between Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3 (albeit with many spin-offs in-between), but all signs suggest we won’t have as long a wait for the next mainline sequel.
Marvel’s Wolverine
There are a stack of Marvel games in the pipeline, between Blade, Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra, and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, but the most anticipated is arguably Wolverine from Insomniac. The team have already nailed Spider-Man across three games, so hope is high they’ll deliver the same quality with the most famous X-Men character of all.
We still don’t know when the game will be released, despite it being announced four years ago, but it feels like we’re due an update at some point soon.
The Duskbloods
FromSoftware has become the most acclaimed developer working today, between Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The studio took a slight left turn with multiplayer spin-off Elden Ring Nightreign, and it seems like the studio will be experimenting again with its next title, The Duskbloods.
The action role-player carries all the hallmarks of a FromSoftware title, yet it supports up to eight players across PvP and PvE modes. Notably, it is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive too. We might have a lot of questions about it, but considering it’s from director Hidetaka Miyazaki, this will undoubtedly be an accomplished experience to watch out for next year.
Bioshock 4
This seems to be stuck in development hell, with leadership swaps and reported alterations to the narrative, so there’s a lot riding on this sequel, to live up to the franchises’ past glories.
The director of Bioshock, Ken Levine, has his own game in development called Judas which looks very similar in style, so it remains to be seen if Bioshock 4 – when it does eventually come out – can go onto have a new lease of life without its original creator.
Gears Of War: E-Day
Gears Of War might have been a key franchise for Microsoft during the Xbox 360 era, but it has been a case of diminishing returns for the past few entries. This sixth mainline title is banking on nostalgia by being a prequel, set 14 years before the original.
Whether the presence of Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago is enough to rejuvenate this stale shooter remains to be seen, but it looks set to be a pivotal title for the future of Xbox.
Ōkami 2
While not as popular as other franchises on this list, affection for the original Ōkami has only grown in the years since it originally came out in 2006 on the PlayStation 2. As such, this surprise sequel might land far bigger than anyone expects.
If anything, the most exciting thing about it is the return of director Hideki Kamiya, who is best known for titles like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and Resident Evil 2.
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