What To Expect From PlayStation in 2026

2025 was somewhat of a quiescent twelvemonth for PlayStation. Yes, we got the Game of the Year-nominated Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and Sucker Punch’s breathtaking sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yotei. But speech from that, determination wasn’t truly a batch of enactment from Sony’s first-party studios. Instead, you had to look to developers extracurricular of Sony’s stables, who thankfully kept the PS5 ticking implicit with an array of absorbing games. Right astatine the backmost extremity of 2024, Infold launched the console-exclusive Infinity Nikki and has been delighting stylists astir the globe implicit the past 12 months, and smaller projects specified arsenic Sword of the Sea, Dispatch, and Baby Steps person each been enjoyed connected PlayStation 5.

Of course, the information that determination were not galore console exclusives didn't mean determination weren't a full big of large games to play connected our PS5s past year. Quite the opposite, successful fact. Awards-sweeper Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong, and acclaimed RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 led the third-party offerings. Plus, 2025 truly was the twelvemonth of Xbox going afloat multiplatform with its library, arsenic Forza Horizon 5, Gears of War Reloaded, and The Outer Worlds 2, to sanction conscionable a few, each made their mode to PlayStation. And that’s showing nary signs of slowing down successful the coming year, either, with a definite Master Chief acceptable to grace a Sony console for the archetypal time.

The information is, Sony has conscionable been beauteous quiescent erstwhile it comes to exclusives of its own, with small caller to outcry astir from a hardware perspective, either. And that’s earlier we adjacent get into the problems Bungie (now a PlayStation Studio, remember) has faced with Marathon. So, are things looking much breathtaking successful 2026? Well, Marathon volition surely beryllium hoping truthful arsenic it aims to combat PlayStation’s caller live-service travails. Let’s excavation into it, arsenic good arsenic everything other to expect from Sony this year.

First-Party and Exclusives

Heading into 2026, each eyes are connected Logan, arsenic Insomniac aims to bolster its agelong winning streak of Ratchet and Clank and Spider-Man games by taking connected different comic publication hero. Marvel’s Wolverine is presently pencilled successful for a “late 2026” launch, though we’ll spot if those plans alteration astatine each owed to a definite Rockstar crippled moving to a akin timeframe. Whenever it does release, though, we look to beryllium successful for a dainty if our archetypal look astatine gameplay during September’s State of Play is immoderate indication.

While overmuch is inactive yet to beryllium revealed astir its story, we’re anxious to larn much and spot conscionable who other from the X-Men and the wider Marvel Universe volition beryllium popping into Logan’s world. Mystique and Omega Red person already been confirmed, but surely Sabretooth is simply a must, arsenic good arsenic a cameo astatine the precise slightest from either of Insomniac’s Spideys, Peter Parker oregon Miles Morales. Which of the X-Men bash you privation to spot most?

As for PS5 exclusives that really person merchandise dates confirmed, there’s lone Saros, Nioh 3, and Phantom Blade Zero. The erstwhile is Housemarque’s follow-up to the acclaimed Returnal, and looks to beryllium sitting successful a akin mould of colourful, particle-filled, challenging shooter wrong an alien satellite shell. Now arriving connected April 30 aft a flimsy delay, it volition instrumentality players connected an expedition to a mislaid colony arsenic we measurement into the shoes of Rahul Kohli’s Arjun Devraj and termination and dice our mode to uncovering its mysteries done its repeating, roguelike structure.

Nioh 3 is simply a console exclusive for PlayStation, arsenic it's besides arriving connected PC erstwhile it launches connected February 6. A chronological sequel to the events of the series’ archetypal game, Team Ninja is backmost with a caller dose of its ain marque of punishing soulslike enactment successful feudal Japan. Things are being shaken up this time, though, acknowledgment to the instauration of a “ninja playstyle” which promises to power wholly otherwise from the accepted samurai option. Trust a workplace called Team Ninja, which is besides liable for the Ninja Gaiden series, to privation to adhd ninjas to Nioh. That's capable ninjas for 1 sentence, I think.

Phantom Blade Zero is simply a hotly anticipated wuxia enactment RPG coming from Chinese developer S-Game. The pb quality is called Soul, truthful you tin astir apt conjecture what genre this task besides borrows heavy from, too. I tin corroborate this myself – aft concisely going hands-on with it astatine gamescom 2025, I recovered that determination is so a punishing combat strategy with a analyzable skillset to master. But determination are different enactment crippled influences, too, truthful the combat tempo is overmuch higher than successful your emblematic Soulslike. Up for immoderate punishment? Well, you’ll person to clasp connected a small longer yet, arsenic Phantom Blade Zero volition beryllium released connected September 9.

Now onto the worldly we’re led to judge volition beryllium coming successful 2026, we conscionable don’t cognize erstwhile yet. First up is Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, the caller superhero warring crippled from Guilty Gear developer Arc System Works. A uniquely stylised mentation of the Marvel universe, it looks acceptable to beryllium a existent contender successful the warring crippled assemblage if its caller closed betas are thing to spell by.

Freshly revealed astatine The Game Awards, 4:Loop is simply a caller co-op shooter from Left 4 Dead creator Mike Booth and Bad Robot Games, the video crippled helping of movie manager J.J. Abrams' accumulation company. A PS5 and PC exclusive, it seems to infuse immoderate roguelike elements with a sprinkling of Helldivers and Left 4 Dead. No merchandise day has been fixed yet, but playtesting volition commencement soon.

Then we person Marathon, the caller extraction shooter from Destiny developer Bungie, which was initially meant to get successful 2025, but had a unsmooth twelvemonth to accidental the least. Delayed into this twelvemonth and present coming retired successful March, the workplace volition beryllium hoping for a large comeback communicative this twelvemonth and subordinate the inclination of precocious failed Sony live-service shooter offerings specified arsenic Concord. Instead, it’ll beryllium looking to the likes of the wildly palmy Arc Raiders and PlayStation’s precise ain Helldivers 2 for a template to follow. Shooter pedigree doesn’t travel overmuch stronger than Bungie, truthful fingers crossed that it tin crook astir those archetypal impressions.

Speaking of live-service shooters, Fairgames is reportedly inactive successful improvement astatine Haven Studios contempt the departure of its founder, Jade Raymond, successful May of 2025, and adjacent much recently, the game’s originative director, Daniel Drapeau, leaving successful September. With inactive nary gameplay to beryllium seen and nary motion of a merchandise day for this “competitive heist shooter”, superior questions present person to beryllium raised astir whether it volition ever spot the airy of day.

Laser swords much your cupful of tea? Well, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet mightiness beryllium the 1 for you. We’re precise overmuch dreaming if we deliberation this is coming immoderate earlier than 2027, but hopefully, we get a bully look astatine gameplay for Naughty Dog’s caller sci-fi crippled implicit the adjacent 12 months. Expectations are precocious from 1 of Sony’s astir beloved developers, though, with creator Neil Druckmann calling it the “most ambitious game” they’ve ever made.

But what astir each of those different PlayStation studios cooking up exclusives? Well, Guerrilla whitethorn not beryllium processing the precocious revealed mobile MMORPG Horizon: Steel Frontiers itself, but has been recruiting for its ain multiplayer introduction into Aloy’s universe. Could we spot that successful 2026? What astir Santa Monica’s adjacent project? Is it yet clip to spot what Cory Barlog’s enigma crippled is, if a caller God of War isn’t imminent? All bully questions. None of which I person the answers for.

I could tally done each of the remaining Sony studios here, but, truthfully, I did that backmost successful August, and precise small has changed since. So, you tin work that here.

Third-Party and Multiplatform

Another look guardant to the twelvemonth up successful games, and different accidental for maine to accidental however excited I americium for GTA 6. Surely, after its astir caller hold to November, 2026 is the twelvemonth we yet get our hands connected the latest Grand Theft Auto. Please, Rockstar, don’t bash it to america again.

Our nonaccomplishment is simply a clump of games’ gain, though, with Spring opening up wide for a just fewer to capable that GTA-shaped void. These see Capcom’s latest introduction into its legendary fearfulness series, Resident Evil Requiem and IO Interactive’s archetypal non-Hitman task successful a agelong time, James Bond adventure, 007 First Light. Plus, Pearl Abyss’ expansive open-world enactment of Crimson Desert volition beryllium soaring onto consoles and PC successful March arsenic well. Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is looking to prime up wherever Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy near disconnected and infuse its satisfying melee combat with that indelible minifig charm erstwhile it launches connected May 29.

But truthful overmuch of 2026 remains uncertain — apt mostly owed to GTA shifting astir much than James Brown did connected signifier successful the ‘70s. Let’s commencement with immoderate multiplatform games we are beauteous assured are coming this year, earlier moving connected to ones that volition apt stay rooted successful our dreams.

Yes, Master Chief volition soon beryllium controlled by a DualSense. Halo: Campaign Evolved is heading to the PS5 successful 2026 arsenic Microsoft continues to unleash its room onto different platforms. This Unreal Engine 5 remake of the 2001 Xbox classical could beryllium the spectre astatine the feast for Bungie, the archetypal developers of Halo: Combat Evolved, if its ain Marathon motorboat doesn’t spell arsenic planned. At slightest it won’t beryllium competing successful the multiplayer market, arsenic this caller variation of Halo lone includes the communicative campaign.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra precocious shifted retired of its archetypal model of aboriginal 2026 to “beyond aboriginal 2026”, truthful your conjecture is arsenic bully arsenic excavation arsenic to erstwhile we’ll beryllium playing Amy Hennig’s Captain America and Black Panther successful World War 2 story. Legendary PlayStation leader Lara Croft volition beryllium returning successful a “reimagining” of her archetypal game, titled Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Finnish developer Remedy is backmost with different introduction successful its connected universe, Control: Resonant. Also announced astatine The Game Awards was the pleasantly astonishing Star Wars: Galactic Racer from the makers of Burnout and Need For Speed that is scheduled to driblet successful 2026.

Capcom is besides acceptable for a large twelvemonth extracurricular of Resident Evil, with Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Pragmata some acceptable to hit. As was the mode successful 2025, 2026 besides looks acceptable to support you blessed if you’re a instrumentality of katanas and unnerving robots. As it volition for vampire fans too, with The Blood of Dawnwalker looking truly promising acknowledgment to a non-linear communicative and sandbox-like structure, crafted by a squad led by erstwhile Witcher 3 devs. Then there’s Mixtape, a crippled I’ve added to this database arsenic 1 of my personally astir anticipated of 2026. The sophomore task from The Artful Escape workplace Beethoven & Dinosaur, this 80s-inspired coming-of-age escapade is decidedly 1 to support connected your radar.

Is 2026 yet the twelvemonth we get to play a caller Ken Levine game? The Bioshock creator hasn’t fixed america 1 since 2013’s Infinite, and Judas has been successful improvement for a long time now. Let’s anticipation this is the year, due to the fact that it’s thing I request successful my life. As is The Witcher 4, but adjacent I’m not foolish capable to judge that CD Projekt Red’s Ciri-led RPG is coming anytime soon. But consciousness escaped to astonishment me. I’d emotion that.

Hardware and Tech

We’re not needfully expecting immoderate large hardware splashes this year, with the adjacent console generations theoretically not owed until precocious 2027 astatine the earliest. Sony tech wizard — and astir importantly, creator of Knack — Mark Cerny did precocious sermon caller graphics capabilities successful a speech with AMD, which sparked PlayStation 6 speculation into overdrive, but it's inactive apt a mates of years distant astatine least.

Rumours are besides abound of a caller PlayStation handheld, aft suggestions were made implicit the past summertime that Sony could adjacent beryllium pursuing Nintendo’s blueprint for the Switch, and turning the PS6 into a hybrid location and portable console. Of course, this is each conscionable chaotic speculation, but with almighty hardware lone reducing successful size and unreality capabilities ever-growing, it doesn’t consciousness similar excessively overmuch of a agelong to imagine. As I said, though, we’re inactive rather a mode disconnected proceeding thing factual successful regards to the aboriginal of PlayStation hardware.

And that’s everything we know, on with a fewer guesses thrown in, astir what to expect from PlayStation successful 2026. What games are you astir excited for this year? Let america cognize successful the comments below.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.