2026 is the best year ever for video games and GTA 6 isn’t even out yet – Reader’s Feature

It might not be a good year for developers and the industry at large but one reader thinks 2026 has all the rest beaten in terms of the quality of its games.

Reading the two reviews this week, of both The Blood Of Dawnwalker and Onimusha: Way Of The Sword, it’s been a fantastic year for games.

Despite everything going on in the industry, us gamers™ are eating good. (I asked my nephew, he said I’m using that phrase right.)

This will go down in the history books as the best year of this decade, at least. For comparison’s sake here are some of the best years in gaming.

1998: The year that shaped 3D gaming

Notable games: Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, Resident Evil 2, Starcraft, Pokémon Red/Blue, Banjo Kazooie, and Future Cop: LAPD.

2004: The year that ended the PlayStation 2/GameCube/OG Xbox era

Notable Games: Half-Life 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, World Of Warcraft, Need For Speed: Underground 2, Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 2, Fable, Fatal Frame 2, and The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay.

2007: The year that established modern gaming

Notable Games: Bioshock, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin’s Creed, Uncharted, The Witcher, Super Mario Galaxy, Portal, Crysis, and Deal Or No Deal.

2017: The year it all just clicked

Notable Games: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Persona 5, NieR: Automata, Horizon Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 7, Hollow Knight, Cuphead, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Fortnite, and Agents Of Mayhem.

And that brings us to today.

2026: The year gaming peaked despite itself. The year that has probably been the most expensive for me since I paid 75 English pounds for Turok: Dinosaur Hunter all the way back in 1997. Hell of a year though.

January started off strong with Code Violet. The Dino Crisis spiritual successor that was the first PlayStation 5 exclusive of the year. OK, so not a great start to the year but 2004 had Sonic Heroes as its best game.

Things really picked up in February though. We got Nioh 3, Mewgenics, Reanimal and to top it off Resident Evil Requiem. Capcom started off as they meant to go on with an absolute belter of a game. I’m a huge fan of Resident Evil. The third person survival horror roots, the Leon Kennedy action era and the first person horror movie saga. And this delivered on all those fronts and somehow didn’t feel forced or contrived. It felt like a genuine celebration of Resident Evil. Something Capcom has done well with the remake trilogy as well.

I didn’t play Nioh 3 as that kind of thing isn’t my bag, baby. But it got stellar reviews and I’m sure the fans were very happy with it. And Mewgenics was weird, wonderful, and addictive.

March we had Pokémon Pokopia taking the world by storm and selling out everywhere. The first Pokémon spin-off game I’ve seen mentioned outside the superfans. I’ve even seen a running dialogue in the Underbox between two members of this ragtag group of commenters, sharing their experiences with each other on a daily basis. I’ve never seen that before and it was delightful. We also got Slay The Spire 2 and Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake.

April was another strong showing from Capcom, with Pragmata knocking it out the park. Mouse: P.I. For Hire is also a weird and wonderful game that shows indies still have some style. And to top off the month we got Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream, a game 13 years in the making that surprisingly had no leaks.

May provided us with Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight, Forza Horizon 6, and Mina The Hollower. It also gave us one of the best James Bond games in years. A game I personally thoroughly enjoyed and completed in a few days. Something I haven’t done for a long time.

We got a bit of respite in June and July, with the most notable releases being remakes: Star Fox and Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Both stellar games according to the reviews and with Black Flag being one of my favourite games I’ll definitely be sailing the seas as a Welshmen in the next 12 months.

And in August we got a surprisingly great friendslop game with Big Walk. That seems to have done extremely well and based on reviews is a unique and emotional experience. I’m currently out making new friends just to get the opportunity to play it. Star Wars Zero Company proving that the XCOM formula is still great and works with any IP. And the big one for me, Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.2. Metal Gear Solid 4 finally free from the PlayStation 3 and playable on modern systems with Peace Walker as an added bonus.

Which brings us to today and The Blood Of Dawnwalker and Onimusha: Way Of The Sword both getting great reviews and my wallet screaming at me to give it a break. And the year isn’t even over. Just this month we have Marvel’s Wolverine, Silent Hill: Townfall and Garfield: Escape From Monday.

October has Phantom Blade 0, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, Gears Of War: E-Day, and I know GC is excited about the Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remaster.

And then there’s November, the biggest entertainment release ever. The game we’ve waited over 10 years for. The cultural phenomenon that’s probably bound to make billions and be played and talked about for the next decade. I’m talking of course about Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered. The 2002 kaiju brawler from the GameCube. As a huge Godzilla fan, I can’t wait to get stuck into this one.

Oh, and Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out two weeks later and it might do well. And that might be it for you. The gaming year ends on November 19th but I’m forgetting one more highly anticipated game: Attack On Titan 3 on December 10th.

I think Nintendo has a remake out too. One of their lesser known games. It involves a flute or ocarina or something and there’s some time travel where Link has to get his parents back together or he’ll never be born. Might even buy a Switch 2 to play it.

So there you have it, the best year ever for games is 2026.

By reader Rob Taylor, Attorney at Bird Law

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