2025 was practically defined by Indie Games, with Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 running away with (almost) every Game of the Year win, Hollow Knight Silksong and Hades 2 finally landing and consuming the entire industry for at least a month. While other titles like Peak, Blue Prince, The Seance of Blake Manor, Dispatch, Ball x Pit, Eternal Strands, Routine, and Megabonk, to name a few, stole attention away from big-name releases across the whole year.
So, will 2026 be any different? We can probably bet on at least one unsuspecting indie game taking the spotlight that no one sees coming, but it's more of a gamble to say 2026 will be as defined by indies as 2025 was.
That said, there are a few indie games that we know are coming up that could absolutely dominate the conversation, even be Game of the Year contenders. These are Wccftech's most anticipated indie games for 2026.
Other Wccftech's Most Anticipated 2026 Games per category: Role-Playing Games, Platformers, DLC/Expansion, Action, Shooters, Horror, Sports/Racing, Fighting, Adventure Games, Strategy/Simulation, Multiplayer, Most Anticipated Games
Slay the Spire II (March 2026 - PC)
A game that made our list for 2025's Most Anticipated Indie Games, Slay the Spire II returns to the 2026 list after it was delayed "to a secret Thursday in March 2026" back in September 2025. Mega Crit may not have put a specific release date on it, but specifying that it will arrive on one of four possible Thursdays feels like the studio is confident it won't have to delay the early access release again - at least not so far that it won't arrive in 2026.
Slay the Spire II is the long-awaited sequel to one of the most popular deckbuilding roguelike games of all time, and Mega Crit is one of the biggest success stories to come from the indie world. It's early access arrival will be one of the bigger events of 2026 for indie games, and even in its early access form, it could be a potential contender for Game of the Year 2026.
Mina the Hollower (TBC 2026 - PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2)
Another game that was supposed to arrive in 2025 but got pushed into 2026, Mina the Hollower is the long-awaited return of Yacht Club Games, the studio behind the critically acclaimed platformer Shovel Knight. What was not intended to be "a major delay" ended up becoming one, and a report from Bloomberg revealed deeper issues within the studio as to why the game was taking so long.
That said, Yacht Club is an incredibly talented team, and this old-school Legend of Zelda-style adventure game with an energetic mouse and the same incredible pixel-art the studio is known for behind it all means that you cannot count Mina the Hollower out.
The Eternal Life of Goldman (TBC 2026 - PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch)
Weappy Studio's upcoming 2D platformer, The Eternal Life of Goldman, is arguably one of the most visually stunning upcoming games. Its art will remind you of Cuphead almost immediately, and if the platforming gameplay can match how good it looks, then this could be one of the surprising hits of 2026.
If it arrives in 2026, that is. There's currently no release window for it, but it appeared at multiple showcases in 2025. If it wasn't going to be ready to release soon, or at least if Weappy Studios didn't think it would be ready, we probably would have seen less of it. Hopefully, once 2026 begins, we'll start to see more of the game and get a proper release date. For now, we'll wait with baited breath.
Replaced (March 12, 2026 - PC, Xbox Series X/S)
Sad Cat Studios has had a long road to the release of Replaced. When it was first showcased in 2021, it was one of the highlights of that year's Xbox show, and it immediately shot up to being one of the most highly anticipated indie games. At least, that was until Russia's invasion of Ukraine interrupted its development, and the game had to be delayed.
Now, it's due out on March 12, 2026, and it hasn't lost any of the lustre it had when it was shown in 2021. It still looks like it will be this incredible, cyberpunk adventure that leans on some gorgeous-looking pixel art and a deep narrative. Who knows if it will live up to those expectations, of course, but it's exciting to know that Sad Cat Studios is getting the chance to try.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire (March 19, 2026 - PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Once the original likeness of Mickey Mouse was old enough to be in the public domain, everyone knew that we had an onslaught of Mouse-adjacent projects coming our way. One of them, Bad Cheese, was a first-person horror game that arrived in September 2025. Another, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, is a first-person shooter where you play as private investigator Jack Pepper in what looks like an eccentric and bombastic adventure.
It's another game on this list that has been a long time coming, since it was first revealed back in 2023. It even stars Troy Baker as the lead character. All together with its art, animation, gameplay, and narrative, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire could be one of 2026's top indie games when it arrives on March 19, 2026.
Honorable Mentions
Not everything can make our main picks for our most anticipated indie games, so here are several more honourable mentions of games that you should still be aware of.
- Silver Pines
- Order of the Sinking Star
- I Hate This Place
- Subnautica 2
- Hytale
- Capy Castaway
- Desktop Explorer
- Big Walk
- Mixtape
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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