Now that The Game Awards has come to a close, it’s clear that 2026 is going to be a banger of a year, filled with some of the most insane IPs and DLC to date. But even with some ridiculously popular titles like Resident Evil: Requiem and a new Tomb Raider installment, the year is still ending with what will likely be the most massive launch in gaming history: Grand Theft Auto 6 on November 16.
Well, that’s the date that’s listed for now, but that can very well change (and I wouldn’t be surprised if it does). As someone who legit thought I was going to die at the midnight launch of Grand Theft Auto V while working at a GameStop, I can only imagine the hype that’ll be behind the newest installment once the actual release date starts getting closer.
But, you know what that means for some of the games getting released earlier in the year? Yeah, Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to lay waste to them and every gamer’s collective memory of anything else released this year.
Despite not having official release dates, a good chunk of announcements were slated for some time in 2026, and it’s a little difficult to imagine that any of them would launch right after Rockstar’s flagship. Maybe the developer is secretly doing everyone a favor?
Fear-Focused Scheduling is Giving Us Some Bangers
I’ll be the first to say that I’m not complaining about the first half of 2026’s game release schedule. Lara Croft shooting up dinosaurs looks absolutely insane, and I’m not a Star Wars fan, but I’d be blind not to know how exciting Star Wars: Galactic Racer is to satiate fans before Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic releases.
Even the titles with concrete dates like Toxic Commando in March and Pragmata in April look like they’re going to offer a taste of variety within the lineup of games coming out.
But I desperately want to know if this strategy will pay off when the end of the year rolls around. Judging by the nominees and eventual winners at The Game Awards 2025, players will definitely ensure that their favorite titles will be in the spotlight for as long as possible, as exemplified by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and its developer, Sandfall Interactive.
The game launched back in April of this year, and was followed by a few other titles also on The Game Awards Game of the Year nominees, like Death Stranding 2 in June and Hollow Knight: Silksong in September.
When comparing Sandfall’s employee number of roughly 30 people to Rockstar’s hundreds, it almost seems like there’s a clear winner there. But really, it comes down to what players are going to find themselves in, and whether that’s in Vice City has yet to be seen, despite the millions of dollars of advertising we’ve already seen for it (and the millions we should be expecting).
No matter how you look at it, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most intense years in gaming. Whether we’ll see new strategies popping up driven by the titan looking on the horizon is yet to be known. However, the thrill of everyone else trying to outrun it’s oncoming shadow has definitely made things more interesting.
