The biggest games still coming in 2026 and 2027
Half of 2026's heavy hitters have already landed, but the back half is stacked, and it ends with the biggest launch in entertainment history. Here is what is actually still on the way, what has slipped to 2027, and which dates you can trust.
The rest of 2026 is loaded: the vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker (3 September), Marvel's Wolverine (15 September), Gears of War: E-Day (6 October), and then the main event, Grand Theft Auto VI on 19 November, the most anticipated launch in gaming history. Beyond that, 2027 is where the RPG giants gather: Fable has slipped to February 2027, and The Witcher IV, Naughty Dog's Intergalactic and the long-mythical Elder Scrolls VI are all circling 2027 or later. Just remember: in this industry a release date is a hope, not a promise.
By the middle of 2026, a good chunk of the year's biggest games has already shipped. Resident Evil Requiem arrived in February, IO Interactive's Bond origin story 007 First Light landed in May, and the calendar keeps moving. But the truly enormous releases were always saved for the back half, and the run from September to November is one of the most stacked stretches the medium has ever seen. Here is what is genuinely still on the way, and what to make of it.
What are the biggest games still coming in 2026?
Four titles dominate the rest of the year, and they arrive almost back to back.
- The Blood of Dawnwalker (3 September). The most intriguing new name here. It is the debut from Rebel Wolves, a Polish studio founded by veterans who built The Witcher 3, and it shows: a dark, late-medieval open-world RPG where you play Coen, a man who is human by day and a vampire by night. It has already gone gold, so this one is locked.
- Marvel's Wolverine (15 September). Insomniac's PS5 exclusive, and Sony's biggest first-party swing of the year. We have a full breakdown in our Wolverine guide, but the short version: a focused, brutal, single-player action game, not an open world.
- Gears of War: E-Day (6 October). The return of Xbox's blood-and-chainsaws flagship, a prequel set 14 years before the original, following a younger Marcus Fenix and Dom through Emergence Day itself. It is an Xbox Series X/S and PC exclusive and lands on Game Pass on day one.
- Grand Theft Auto VI (19 November). The one everything else is scheduling around. More on it below.
So GTA 6 really is coming this year?
Yes. Grand Theft Auto VI has a confirmed release date of 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and after years of slips, publisher Take-Two has publicly insisted there will be no further delays. It returns to a modern Vice City with the series' first female lead, Lucia, alongside her partner Jason.
It is difficult to overstate the scale. GTA 6 is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch ever made, the kind of event that shifts console sales, delays other studios' games out of its path, and dominates the conversation for months. If you only care about one release this year, this is the one, and its shadow is the single biggest reason the 2027 calendar looks the way it does. Our full GTA 6 explainer covers the map, the editions and everything Rockstar has confirmed.
What about 2027 and beyond?
This is where the heavyweight role-playing games gather, and where the dates get much softer.
- Fable. Playground Games' reboot of the beloved British fantasy series was aiming for late 2026, but it slipped to 23 February 2027 to avoid the GTA 6 blast radius. It is confirmed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, a sign of Microsoft's shift toward putting its exclusives everywhere.
- The Witcher IV. CD Projekt Red's next epic, built in Unreal Engine 5 and starring Ciri as the protagonist, is firmly a 2027-at-the-earliest prospect. The studio's own finance chief has confirmed it will not arrive before 2027.
- Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Naughty Dog's ambitious new sci-fi IP, its first wholly original world in years, is not coming in 2026 and is widely reported for 2027 or later on PS5.
- The Elder Scrolls VI. The white whale. Bethesda has confirmed only that it is in development and is now the studio's top priority, with no official date. Realistic reporting puts it no earlier than 2028, and plenty of people are betting later still. Treat any specific date you see as a guess.
The biggest games still on the way, at a glance
| Game | Studio | Release | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Blood of Dawnwalker | Rebel Wolves | 3 Sep 2026 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S |
| Marvel's Wolverine | Insomniac | 15 Sep 2026 | PS5 |
| Gears of War: E-Day | The Coalition | 6 Oct 2026 | Xbox Series X/S, PC |
| Grand Theft Auto VI | Rockstar | 19 Nov 2026 | PS5, Xbox Series X/S |
| Fable | Playground Games | 23 Feb 2027 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S |
| The Witcher IV | CD Projekt Red | 2027 or later | TBA |
| Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet | Naughty Dog | 2027 (expected) | PS5 |
| The Elder Scrolls VI | Bethesda | Unconfirmed (2028+) | Xbox, PC (others TBD) |
Which should you actually be excited about?
Honestly, it depends on what you own and what you like.
If you have a PS5 or Xbox, GTA 6 is the event, non-negotiable, the game the whole year bends around. Beyond that, Gears of War: E-Day is the pick for Xbox loyalists and Marvel's Wolverine for the PlayStation crowd. The genuine dark horse is The Blood of Dawnwalker: a brand-new studio staffed by the people behind The Witcher 3 is exactly the kind of pedigree that produces a surprise classic, and it is out first.
For 2027, temper your excitement with patience. The Witcher IV, Intergalactic and The Elder Scrolls VI are all potentially generation-defining, but they are also all far enough out that their dates could move again, and in Bethesda's case, "far enough out" might mean 2028 or beyond.
One honest caveat: the dates will move
If there is a single rule in modern gaming, it is that release dates slip. Fable already fell out of 2026. GTA 6 itself was once a 2025 game, then a May 2026 game, before landing on November. Studios routinely announce a year, then a season, then a date, then a delay. So take everything past the next couple of months as a strong intention rather than a guarantee, mark the locked ones (GTA 6, Wolverine, Gears, Dawnwalker have firm dates), and keep the 2027 slate in pencil. For more, see the Gaming section, and our deep dives on GTA 6 and Marvel's Wolverine.
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