After a great 2025, which saw the return of the beloved Silent Hill and the launch of several excellent horror games, 2026 is poised to be a landmark year, and not only for the launch of the new entry of the series, which effectively established the survival-horror genre. With a popular horror franchise finally making its video game debut, and some welcome returns, 2026 will be yet another year of frights.
Here are our five most anticipated horror games launching in 2026, alongside a few other titles worth mentioning that are launching in the coming 12 months.
Other Wccftech's Most Anticipated 2026 Games per genre: Role-Playing Games, Action, Indie Games, Platformers, DLC/Expansion
In our Best Games of 2025 and Most Anticipated of 2026 Awards story, you can learn which games our staff and the community won in the polls!
Resident Evil Requiem (February 27, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2)
CAPCOM is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its flagship franchise by returning to where the nightmare began: Raccoon City.
Labeled as the ninth mainline entry in the series, Resident Evil Requiem jumps ahead 30 years past the initial outbreak, following new protagonist and FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft, as she investigates yet another mystery within the now destroyed city. Her investigation will eventually cross her path with a much older, battle-hardened Leon S. Kennedy, returning for what could be his final adventure in the series.
With the ability to swap between first and third-person perspectives and a stalking "nemesis" mechanic that promises to be more persistent than ever, Resident Evil Requiem looks to be the definitive survival horror experience of the year.
Reanimal (February 13, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2)
From Tarsier Studios, the twisted minds behind the first two Little Nightmares titles, comes Reanimal, a spiritual successor to the series, sporting a new setting and a co-op focus that aims to make the experience more engaging.
This horror adventure follows a brother and sister on a harrowing journey through a hellish, grotesque landscape to rescue their missing friends. Retaining the signature "grotesque beauty" of Tarsier’s previous work, Reanimal takes everything up to eleven in terms of scale and creature designs, offering an experience that promises to be as unnerving as it will be to play.
Aptly releasing on Friday the 13th, Reanimal will once again prove how nobody does atmospheric terror at a small scale like Tarsier Studios.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake (March 12, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2)
Although fairly niche compared to series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the Fatal Frame franchise is widely appreciated by survival horror fans thanks to its marked Japanese feel. And in 2026, both newcomers and veterans of the franchise will be able to experience the second entry in the series like never before.
Developed with involvement from Team NINJA (which is also launching Nioh 3 this year), Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake brings the tragic story of twin sisters Mio and Mayu to modern hardware with improved visuals, overhauled lighting and new gameplay features, such as the "Hold Hands" mechanics that use the sisters' bond to restore health and spirit power, adding a tactile layer to the exploration of the cursed Minakami Village.
With a more versatile Camera Obscura to boot, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is set to become the scariest way to use a camera in 2026.
Halloween: The Game (September 8, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
IllFonic, the masters of the asymmetric horror genre, have adapted countless horror franchises as video games, but all these games are set to pale in comparison to Halloween: The Game.
Unlike their previous titles, Halloween: The Game is being built with a single-player story mode alongside its 1-vs-Many multiplayer. Working in partnership with Compass International Pictures and original director John Carpenter, the game aims to replicate the slow-burning stalking of the 1978 movie, while giving players the chance of either donning Michael Myers' iconic mask to stalk the poor citizens of Haddonfield or play as one of these citizens trying to survive the night HE came home.
While there is still a lot that is unknown about the game, the involvement of John Carpenter and the level of care being put into Halloween: The Game are set to make this asymmetrical multiplayer game one to remember.
Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival (TBA 2026, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
Although it featured almost every element to be a perfect horror game, the Hellraiser franchise was never turned into a proper video game. This is set to change with Saber Interactive's dive into the "pleasures of the flesh" with Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival.
This first-person survival horror game marks the return of Doug Bradley as Pinhead, bringing the legendary Cenobite back to the forefront of the franchise. Players control Aidan Lynch, a man who must navigate the Labyrinth - the Cenobites' extradimensional home - to save his girlfriend from eternal suffering. With a focus on brutal melee combat, puzzle-solving via the Genesis Configuration box, and a narrative consulted on by Clive Barker himself, the game is set to be a "delectable" prospect for those with a strong stomach for gore.
With the development team not holding back to deliver the most accurate rendition of the franchise's universe, Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival is set to be one of the most extreme survival horror games of 2026.
Honorable Mentions
While the five games listed above are out most anticipated horror games launching in 2026, a few more games are coming in the next 12 months that are worth keeping an eye on for all horror fans.
- Silent Hill: Townfall (TBA 2026 - TBA platforms)
- The Sinking City 2 (TBA 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
- Directive 8020 (TBA 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
- ONTOS (TBA 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
- I Hate This Place (January 29, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch)
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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