2025 has been a great year for role-playing games, and 2026 is setting out to be another incredible year for one of the most popular gaming genres around. While next year won't see the release of many new properties, 2026 will see the return of some beloved series, with new entries in their respective franchises as well as remakes that breathe new life in all time classics.
Here are the five RPGs officially confirmed for a 2026 launch that we feel deserve your attention the most at this point in time.
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!
Nioh 3 (February 6, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5)
Following games like Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and Rise of the Ronin, Team NINJA is finally returning to the series that has defined the studio's course since 2017: the Nioh series.
Unlike Nioh 2, which refined the formula of its predecessor, bringing it to heights that made it rival FromSoftware games in terms of mechanical complexity, Nioh 3 is set to provide a brand new experience with the introduction of open-fields that will provide a more involving way of engaging with the game's world inspired by different time periods in Japan, including the Sengoku and Bakumatsu eras.
This open-field approach, however, won't water down the mechanics that define the Nioh series. With the introduction of two fighting styles - Samurai and Ninja - new mechanics inspired by other games developed by the studio, and a challenging, uncompromising experience, Nioh 3 is set to become one of the best games by Team NINJA, if not the very best.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (February 5, 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2)
While Dragon Quest XII is nowhere to be seen, the popular JRPG franchise hasn't been dormant. Over the past couple of years, the first three entries in the series received excellent HD-2D makeovers, which will be followed this year by a full-on remake of Dragon Quest VII.
Although the seventh entry in the series was already remade on Nintendo 3DS, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is set to become the definitive edition of the game, overhauling everything from visuals to gameplay. With its beautiful handcrafted artstyle and diorama environments, a streamlined story experience which aims at trimming the original's very long story, new scenarios focused on the Hero, Maribel and Keifer, an improved Vocations system with the ability to equip two Vocations per character, new spells and skills for an enhanced battle experience, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined promises to deliver the prime turn-based JRPG experience in 2026.
Will this be enough to make the long wait for Dragon Quest XII more bearable? We will find out this February.
The Blood of Dawnwalker (TBC 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
In early 2022, we learned that former The Witcher III: Wild Hunt director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz had founded a new studio called Rebel Wolves. Later that year, the team announced that NetEase had provided an investment to create a new triple-A RPG, which was later revealed to be titled The Blood of Dawnwalker. Their game is actually being published by Bandai Namco, though, which is why NetEase's move to pull back from many Western studios did not affect Rebel Wolves.
The Blood of Dawnwalker clearly borrows a lot from the framework of The Witcher III (which is only a great thing, as that is one of the finest open world RPGs ever made), but it also adds a few key innovations, such as the fact that there is essentially no difference between main and side quests. The protagonist, Coen, has 30 days to save his family; how to reach that goal is entirely up to the player. Tackling specific objectives is radically different during the day, when Coen is human, and at nighttime, when his vampiric abilities manifest. Because of these elements, the developers said its role-playing freedom was inspired by pen-and-paper games.
Its setting and peculiar twist on vampire lore, with them actually coming out in the open and ruling the Carpathians-inspired Vale Sangora, is also intriguing. For more on The Blood of Dawnwalker, check out our exclusive interview with Creative Director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz from Gamescom 2025 ahead of the game's release date announcement event set for April 28.
CONTROL Resonant (TBC 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
While the first game was a brilliant action-adventure title, Remedy is taking a "not-so-safe" approach for the sequel. CONTROL Resonant officially shifts the series into full-fledged action RPG territory.
Seven years after the original, the lockdown on the Oldest House has collapsed, and the paranatural chaos has spilled out into a quarantined, "open-ended" Manhattan. Stepping into the shoes of Jesse’s brother, Dylan Faden, players will have to fight this new reality-warping threat with the help of the Aberrant, a brutal, shapeshifting melee weapon that pairs with expanded psychic abilities.
With a heavy focus on build-crafting, varied enemy types that can match your mobility, and a meticulously authored version of New York City, CONTROL Resonant looks to be Remedy's most ambitious project to date, and one of the most interesting action RPGs to launch in 2026.
Fable (TBC 2026 - PC, Xbox Series X|S)
It was early 2018 when we heard the first rumors that Playground Games had decided to accept the arduous task of rebooting the long-dormant Fable series. The game itself was officially announced during the 2020 Xbox Games Showcase, but it quickly became clear that it still had a long road ahead of its release. In 2022, a former Playground developer who worked on the project's early stages commented that the studio's lack of experience with role-playing games and their frugal approach to development were slowing down progress.
Fable resurfaced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 with an in-game trailer that featured actor Richard Ayoade, and then again in 2024 with a trailer that featured actor Matt King as well as some gameplay. More importantly, that trailer came with a promise of a 2025 launch, which of course did not happen. In February 2025, Xbox Studios head Craig Duncan announced that the game required additional development time and was thus delayed until 2026, accompanied by some promising new gameplay footage.
There has been no further news from the studio. A rumor suggested that Fable might not even make it next year, although for now, there's no solid evidence to confirm that. As such, we remain hopeful in a 2026 release.
Honorable Mentions
As mentioned above, 2026 is poised to be a fantastic year for role-playing games, and selecting only five titles proved to be a daunting task. Below are several more notable titles that are expected to make waves in the next 12 months.
- Code Vein II
- Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
- Solasta II (Early Access)
- Ys X: Proud Nordics
- Edge of Memories
- Valor Mortis
- Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
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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