Summer Game Fest 2026 has come and gone, leaving us with two incredibly busy periods in the game release schedule: September-October 2026 and February-March 2027, which publishers big and small have identified in their not-so-disguised attempt to avoid a collision with Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI when it makes its debut on November 19, 2026.
To fans of the roleplaying games genre, though, the recent flurry of game announcements has brought the near-certainty that next year will be memorable and perhaps unparalleled even in the future, thanks to the return of several beloved franchises/IPs and studios. Also, unlike recent years, when either Western- or Japanese-style RPGs completely dominated the conversation, next year's schedule is surprisingly balanced between the two main RPG styles.
The Known Quantities
2027 opens with a bang in mid-February, when developer P-Studio plans to launch Persona 4 Revival, a remake of the beloved 2012's Persona 4 Golden. The game will be available on February 18, which is also when advanced access to the long-awaited (and very promising) Fable reboot by Playground Games begins. RPG fans will be immediately forced to make a choice, though the stark stylistic differences mean it won't be a tough one: Western RPG traditionalists will flock to Albion, while JRPG loyalists dive straight back into Inaba. Team Ninja's Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember sits somewhere in the middle, and skews far more towards action; its early 2027 launch window could mean either late February or early March.
But that's just the beginning of an exciting first half of 2027 for RPGs. Two major sci-fi epics openly inspired by Mass Effect, Archetype's new IP EXODUS and The Expanse: Osiris Reborn by Owlcat Games, are poised to launch nearly back-to-back. Officially, EXODUS is scheduled for "early 2027", while The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is set for Spring, suggesting that the former may land in March and the latter perhaps in April or May. Of course, such things can change, but both games are looking great so far and will undoubtedly soothe the wounded gaming souls of those who dearly miss BioWare's sci-fi franchise - in the undying hope that the Canadian studio will redeem itself with their upcoming Mass Effect game.
Another massively anticipated action RPG set for Spring 2027 is Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the long-awaited conclusion to the 10-year-in-the-making remake trilogy. Final Fantasy fans are already counting down the days to take early control of the Highwind airship and seamlessly explore the vast open world, and the developers have promised a massive, challenging endgame to send the trilogy off in style.
The third quarter should deliver the launch of Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish, a new action RPG set in the dark universe of World of Darkness. While it may not have the hype of others on this list, it delivers a rare RPG experience in which the player character is constantly underpowered compared to most of its monstrous foes. Developer Teyon has already proven its prowess with licensed gems like Terminator: Resistance and RoboCop: Rogue City, making this a dark horse to watch.
Finally, three massive blockbusters anchor a broader 2027 window: inXile's first-person steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution, inspired by the classic Arcanum; the newly announced Xenoblade Genesis, a brand new chapter in Monolith Soft's Nintendo-exclusive saga; and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past, the surprising third expansion pack for the award-winning game, developed by CD Projeckt RED in collaboration with Fool's Theory. All of these are practically guaranteed to attract RPG fans like moths to a flame whenever they drop in the 2027 calendar.
The Wildcards
The aforementioned games would already be enough to keep any RPG fan busy throughout the entire year and then some, but they might not be the only roleplaying games due in 2027. Other challengers may well appear in the coming months, and some of them could be absolute heavyweights.
2027 has long been considered a potential target for Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls VI and CD Projekt RED's The Witcher IV. The former game officially entered production in August 2023, as Starfield was wrapping up, while the latter was declared in full production over a year later.
Even though we already got Unreal Engine 5 tech demo footage of The Witcher IV and none of The Elder Scrolls VI (which is, however, progressing well, we were just told), given that time difference and the Songs of the Past expansion for The Witcher 3, Bethesda's game appears to have the most chances for a late 2027 launch. Granted, CD Projekt could still launch the DLC in early 2027 and then the new game before the end of the year. Either way, any one of these two landing next year would make millions of RPG fans overjoyed about returning to some of their favorite fantasy worlds.
On the Japanese side of the spectrum, Persona 6 is also likely to launch next year, according to rumors, and the same might be true for Kingdom Hearts IV. Finally, returning to Western RPGs, fans of deep systems and player agency should keep an eye on independent developer WolfEye Studios, which might launch its ambitious retro sci-fi first-person action RPG with immersive simulation elements in 2027; it's certainly been long enough, as Weird West launched in March 2022, and they now have the backing of publisher NEOWIZ.
Which of these RPGs are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section!
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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