Twenty twenty-two was a monster year for video games, but don’t rest just yet. This year should finally see two of the biggest releases we’ve seen in a long time: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Starfield, the next big immersive RPG from the Elder Scrolls and Fallout developer.
We’re also firmly in the era of blockbuster remakes and remasters, including Dead Space, Resident Evil 4, and Tales of Symphonia.
As usual, only about half the games on this list have confirmed release dates, and a few may slip into next year. But for now, here are our most anticipated games of 2023!
Fire Emblem Engage
Platforms: Switch
Release date: January 20
Though we’ve had a few spin-offs, it’s been four years since we’ve seen a proper main-entry Fire Emblem tactical game (Fire Emblem: Three Houses). Fire Emblem Engage is a return to the tactical strategy we love from the series, combined with high-quality anime designs and voice acting. The new Emblem Ring system adds fan-favorite characters from past series, such as Corrin, Lucina, and Marth, allowing us to merge with them in battle.
Forspoken
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5
Release date: January 24
Forspoken has previously been delayed from May 24, 2022, to October 11, 2022, and now finally set to release next week. But we’d much rather have a delayed, polished game than a mess. We’re looking forward to this action-adventure starring a woman from our world who’s thrust into a world of monsters and magic. Created by the development team behind Final Fantasy 15, a free demo is available on PlayStation 5.
Hogwarts Legacy
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox
Release date: February 10, 2023
Potter fans may finally be getting the non-Lego game they deserve. Hogwarts Legacy is easily the most ambitious game set in the Potterverse. It’s a fully 3D action-RPG in which you create your own you witch or wizard and explore iconic locations, cast spells, and attend the titular school, over 100 years before the main books and films.
Wild Hearts
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Release date: February 16, 2023
Monster Hunter has gone fully mainstream in the last few years, which means other publishers and developers are taking note. Wild Hearts is developed by the Dynasty Warriors developers and published by EA, promising a monster hunting experience that injects a bit of Fortnite-style on-the-fly crafting via constructable siege weapons.
Octopath Traveler 2
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch
Release date: February 24, 2023
The sequel to the HD-2D retro-inspired JRPG, Octopath Traveler 2 retains the eight character, eight story path structure of the first game. We’re getting an all-new cast of characters, including a danger, a merchant, a scholar, and a hunter, and all new, more steampunky setting in the world of Solistia. The sequel promises to interweave its character stories more than the first game.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Release date: March 17, 2023
In a time of Star Wars fatigue, action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was a breath of comforting air in 2019. Set five years after the events of Fallen Order, sequel Jedi Survivor resumes the tale of Jedi Knight Cal Kestis, as he continues to evade the increasingly powerful Galactic Empire.
Dead Island 2
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Release date: April 28, 2023
Zombie games will never die, but they may take a long to release, as is the case with Dead Island 2. The sequel is over a decade in the making, but will expand the goofy-yet-violent action-horror series into a full open world action game set in Los Angeles.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Platforms: Switch
Release date: May 12, 2023
Breath of the Wild took the world by storm with its intuitive gameplay and perfectly designed open world — not to mention quickly showing off what the Switch could do at launch. The Zelda games don’t typically get direct sequels, but Nintendo ain’t no fool. They are being very tight-lipped about Tears of the Kingdom, however. What little we’ve seen has made us incredibly excited for another masterclass, open world Zelda game.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Release date: May 26, 2023
Suicide Squad has been one of the more successful elements of the DC cinematic universe, and now we’re getting our very own big budget action game. From the developers of the Batman: Arkham series, Kill the Justice League pits Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and King Shark in a world where the heroes have been transformed into villains due to the mind-controlling alien, Brainiac. The game supports up to four player co-op, or solo with AI controlled allies.
Street Fighter 6
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Release date: June 2, 2023
The Street Fighter series has been enjoying a global renaissance in the last few years, and Street Fighter 6 looks to build on the momentum of its predecessor. Get ready for over-the-top characters, killer combos, and lots and lots of DLC.
Diablo 4
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Release date: June 6, 2023
The classic loot ’em up action-RPG series returns with the first main installment in over a decade. Players choose from one of five classes as they hunt through hordes of demons using powerful skills and gaining that sweet loot. For the first time, Diablo 4 takes the series into an open world structure, while also adding horse-riding and optional players vs player combat.
Final Fantasy 16
Platforms: PlayStation 5
Release date: June 22, 2023
Fans of Final Fantasy’s MMOs (FF11 and FF14) will want to pay special attention to Final Fantasy 16, as it’s created by that same internal development team. Final Fantasy 16 is set in a world where certain individuals host powerful entities capable of mass destruction. One of them happens to be protagonist Clive’s younger brother.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Platforms: PC
Release date: August 2023
Once the pinnacle of D&D licensed video gaming, the Baldur’s Gate series has been dormant for nearly two decades. If anyone can cast raise dead on it, it’s Larian Studios (Divinity: Original Sin). The RPG studios has been producing an epic, big-budget sequel via Early Access for the last several years. And we’re finally getting an official 1.0 release this year.
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox
Release date: 2023
Released last year via paid early access, Disney Dreamlight Valley will fully launch this year as a free-to-play Disneyfied Animal Crossing. Players customize their own avatar, meet their favorite Disney heroes and villains, and help complete quests or play minigames. Earn Star Coins to buy clothes, furniture, and seeds for farming, all while rejuvenating the titular valley.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox
Release date: 2023
Though funding indie video games via Kickstarter has waned, many developers have felt inspired to create new editions of classic games. In the case of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, it’s inspired from the Suikoden series, one of the best JRPGs of the PlayStation 1-2 era. A prequel side-scrolling spin-off, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, was released last year.
Hollow Knight Silksong
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox
Release date: Q1/Q2 2023
The sequel to 2017’s sublime 2D action-platformer Silksong has been a long time coming, but should be worth the wait. In an interesting twist, Silksong stars Hornet, who was featured as a boss in the first game. Silksong will feature side quests, weapon crafting, and an optional perma-death mode.
Kerbal Space Program 2
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Release date: February 24, 2023 (Early Access)
Kerbal Space Program 2 will feature the same great realistic physics and science from the original spaceship builder. But this time we get to actually land on the planets we so painstakingly traveled to, building orbital and planetary habitats and colonies. The sequel also promises multiplayer and interstellar travel.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Platforms: PlayStation 5
Release date: 2023
Marvel’s Spider-Man is one of the best superhero games we’ve ever played, and we have high hopes for the sequel. Judging by the trailer, we’re getting both Peter Parker and Miles Morales (who received his own spin-off in 2020) together in the same game, as they face off against infamous Spidey villain Venom.
Slime Rancher 2
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S
Release date: 2023
We adore the original Slime Rancher, a uniquely adorable first-person creature collector and sim management game on an alien planet. The sequel brings better graphics, a bigger world, and many more adorable slimes to capture, feed, and breed. It’s available now via Early Access.
Starfield
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S
Release date: Q1/Q2 2023
Bethesda Game Studios (Fallout 4, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim) is one of those juggernaut developers that doesn’t release many games, but when they do, it’s often an era-defining moment. Starfield’s marketing has been remarkably tight-lipped about this hard sci-fi adventure set 300 years in the future, as the player takes on the role of a space explorer.
