Top 15 Games to Watch Before 2026 Comes to an End

Believe it or not, we officially have only four months left in 2026. And if that realization just made you feel slightly older, at least there’s plenty of gaming left to soften the blow. The final stretch of the year is packed with long-awaited sequels, ambitious new projects, and a few very familiar names.

From August through November, there’s something for almost every kind of player to look forward to. We’ve picked out 15 games that deserve your attention before 2026 clocks out, and yes, that includes the obvious elephant in the room, GTA 6. Even with Rockstar’s juggernaut waiting at the finish line, there’s plenty worth watching before we get there.

1 Hell Let Loose: Vietnam (August 13)

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is a 50v50 multiplayer shooter built around large battles, squad coordination, vehicles, artillery, and territory control. Its Vietnam setting adds dense jungle, rice fields, helicopters, and patrol boats to a series where knowing where to look can matter as much as knowing when to shoot.

The open beta attracted more than 350,000 players before the launch moved from June to August. If you’ve never played Hell Let Loose, this should give you a good idea of what you’re signing up for: slower, team-focused warfare where running off alone usually ends badly.

2 The Sinking City 2 (August 18)

The Sinking City 2 is a single-player survival horror game from Frogwares, set in the 1920s and steeped in Lovecraftian horror. You’ll play occult investigator Calvin Rafferty while exploring a flooded version of Arkham, fighting monsters and investigating another thoroughly unpleasant mystery.

The first game mixed detective work with horror, while the sequel puts considerably more weight on combat and survival. You won’t need previous knowledge to understand Calvin’s story, making this an easy one to pick up even if the original passed you by.

3 Mortal Shell II (August 20)

Mortal Shell II is an action RPG with Soulslike combat, an interconnected open world, and eight playable warriors known as Shells. Each one gives you different abilities and a different story to uncover, giving you plenty of room to settle on a fighting style that suits you.

The biggest combat change removes stamina entirely. You’ll be able to attack more freely while looking for opportunities to break enemy posture and land critical strikes, which is expected to make this sequel considerably more aggressive than its predecessor.

4 Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (August 27)

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy takes place 15 years before A Plague Tale: Innocence and follows Sophia, a young treasure hunter who travels to the mysterious Minoan Island. Her adventure mixes exploration, puzzles, swordplay, and a strange connection to the island’s supernatural forces.

You won’t need to know Amicia and Hugo’s story to follow Sophia’s journey, which makes this prequel a useful entry point for newcomers. Fans of the earlier games, meanwhile, get to see this world from an entirely different perspective.

5 Star Wars Zero Company (August 27)

Star Wars Zero Company is a single-player, turn-based tactics game set during the Clone Wars. In this game, you’ll command an unconventional squad led by Hawks, a former Republic officer, with operatives including a Clone Trooper, a Mandalorian, a Jedi Padawan, and an Umbaran sniper.

Between missions, you’ll customize your squad and build relationships with its members. If you’re new to tactical games, think of it as a Star Wars campaign where positioning, abilities, and planning matter more than how quickly you can swing a lightsaber.

6 The Blood of Dawnwalker (September 3)

The Blood of Dawnwalker is an open-world dark fantasy RPG set in 14th-century Europe, where vampires have taken control of the region. You’ll play Coen, who develops vampiric abilities while trying to save his family and keep hold of his humanity.

The studio behind this game, Rebel Wolves, was founded by former CD Projekt Red developers, including veterans who worked on The Witcher 3. The vampire powers should also change how you approach fights and exploration, while the game’s time pressure gives Coen another problem besides staying alive.

7 Onimusha: Way of the Sword (September 4)

Onimusha: Way of the Sword brings Capcom’s sword-fighting series back after more than 20 years. You’ll play Miyamoto Musashi in an alternate Edo-era Kyoto overrun by demons, using an Oni Gauntlet and a sword to carve through the Genma.

The Issen counter system returns, while Chain Issen lets you follow one perfectly timed counter with another. A demo is already available, so you can decide whether Musashi’s blood-soaked swordplay is your thing before the full game arrives.

8 Marvel’s Wolverine (September 15)

Marvel’s Wolverine is Insomniac’s standalone PlayStation-exclusive action game starring Logan, following him as he searches for answers about his past. His claws, healing factor, and close-quarters combat naturally give the game a very different rhythm from Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man games.

We’ll get to see how Insomniac handles a hero who cannot swing between buildings or web enemies from a safe distance. After three Spider-Man games, watching Logan solve problems with six inches of adamantium should make for a fun change of pace.

9 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV (September 17)

Dawn of War IV is a real-time strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, where you’ll command armies rather than a single hero. Four factions are set to arrive at launch: Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and Adeptus Mechanicus, each with its own units and approach to warfare.

The campaign contains more than 70 missions across its faction stories, while Skirmish, multiplayer, and Last Stand add replayability. You don’t need to know the enormous 40K lore either. If you enjoy RTS games, the giant armies are reason enough to keep this one on your radar.

10 Control Resonant (September 24)

Control Resonant takes Remedy’s supernatural action series into a warped Manhattan, where buildings shift, strange creatures roam the streets, and reality has stopped behaving itself. Dylan Faden is the sole playable character this time, while his sister Jesse remains missing.

You’ll get new abilities and larger areas to explore as Dylan deals with the latest paranormal disaster. If you’ve never played Control, the premise is easy enough to grasp: strange things are happening, and Dylan has to figure out what the heck caused them.

11 Silent Hill: Townfall (September 24)

Silent Hill: Townfall is a standalone psychological horror game developed by Screen Burn Interactive. Rather than returning to the series’ familiar American setting, the story takes place in an isolated part of Scotland, giving the developers a very different backdrop for their nightmares.

The game also puts more emphasis on narrative-driven puzzles alongside its horror. Konami has kept many story details quiet, so there is still plenty we don’t know. That mystery is probably worth preserving until you can experience it yourself.

12 Gears of War: E-Day (October 6)

Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the long-running third-person shooter series, taking you back 14 years before the original game. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago face the Locust invasion on Emergence Day, the event that began humanity’s desperate war for survival.

You’ll be able to play the campaign alone, in split-screen, or online with friends. The game also introduces Horde Siege, giving larger groups a reason to stick around after the campaign. You don’t need to know the older games to understand why this day matters.

13 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (October 23)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is Infinity Ward’s next first-person shooter, with its campaign centered on a North Korean invasion of South Korea. You’ll move between Korean battlefields and locations including New York, Paris, and Mumbai as the conflict spreads.

Multiplayer launches with 12 new 6v6 maps, while DMZ returns as another major mode. Even if you’ve never followed the Modern Warfare storyline, you can jump straight into the shooting, and there should be plenty of that.

14 Phantom Blade Zero (October 29)

If you’re a fellow action RPG enthusiast, Phantom Blade Zero is probably already on your radar. Inspired by Wuxia martial arts, the game follows Soul, an assassin who has only 66 days left to live. After being betrayed and left for dead, he must now hunt down those responsible while uncovering a conspiracy much larger than his own revenge.

The combat has already shown off an impressive collection of swords and other weapons, with Soul chaining attacks together at a ridiculous pace. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to test whether that flashy swordplay feels as good in your hands as it looks in trailers.

15 Grand Theft Auto VI (November 19)

Grand Theft Auto VI needs little explanation compared to almost anything else on our list. Rockstar is returning to modern-day Vice City with Jason and Lucia, two criminals whose lives become tangled in a conspiracy stretching across the fictional state of Leonida.

The wait has been so long that the game could probably sit quietly in a corner for three hours and still dominate the internet. You’ll finally get to see what Rockstar has built when GTA 6 arrives on November 19, with Vice City once again ready to cause trouble.

Which of these 15 games are you most excited to play before 2026 wraps up? Is there another upcoming release you think deserved a spot on the list? Let us know in the comments below!