The recent Xbox Game Showcase and Summer Game Fest offered exactly what I look forward to every year. Loaded with tons of reveals, trailers, and fresh gameplay footage, our wishlists were quickly overflowing. This year was no exception, with both events spotlighting some of the biggest upcoming releases for Xbox, PS5, and PC, as well as plenty of unexpected surprise announcements.
As someone who primarily plays on PC, and as a gamer, I truly feel there’s never been a better time to continue adding to my ever-growing backlog (future me, don’t look at my bank account).
What stood out most was how much new footage we actually got on already anticipated titles, giving us a clearer picture of what’s to come, while also introducing new games that are worth tracking. But the biggest moment for me personally was finally Confirmation of The Wolf Among Us 2a game I have literally I’ve been waiting for 13 years. That would have been enough, but it’s just one of five standout games that I’m hooked on.
Gears of War: E-Day
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Few games at Xbox Showcase have made as much of an impression as Gears of War: E-Day. This series means a lot to me, as the original Gears of War was one of the first games I played as a child, and it’s the one my dad and I bonded over countless hours of multiplayer play. So you can imagine my excitement when the showcase delivered expanded gameplay footage and an exclusive post-show in-depth dive, giving fans the best look yet at the next chapter in Xbox’s flagship shooter series.
Set 14 years before the original game, E-Day takes players back to the horrifying first day of the Locust invasion, following younger versions of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as humanity faces its greatest catastrophe. The gameplay shown at the showcase heavily reflected the elements that made the original trilogy so beloved, including brutal cover-based combat, intense close-quarters combat, and a dark tone.
What I’m most excited about is that it feels like a return to the series’ roots, while still benefiting from modern technology. The game is built entirely on Unreal Engine 5 and looks absolutely amazing, with detailed environments, improved movement mechanics, and some of the most impressive visuals shown during the showcase.
Gears of War: E-Day launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on October 6, 2026
Resident Evil: Veronica
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It’s a great time to be a Resident Evil fan. Not only are there movies coming out this year, but there are movies coming out next year as well. another game. At Summer Game Fest 2026, Capcom officially pulled back the curtain on the Resident Evil: Veronica remake. The announcement kicked off the event with a cinematic trailer that instantly confirmed that the long-rumored remake is real, giving fans a chance to properly see Claire Redfield return for the first time in a completely reimagined survival horror experience.
Built on Capcom’s latest RE Engine, the game is positioned as a ground-up remake rather than a simple remaster, continuing the studio’s recent relaunches like Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4. The trailer shows a new take on the story set after the events of Resident Evil 2, with Claire once again at the center of the Rockfort Island nightmare.
Resident Evil will always remain one of gaming’s most successful and consistent series, as it stays true to its survival horror roots (something we clearly saw in Requiem) while constantly evolving. Claire is also my favorite character in this series, so it’s great to see her back in action!
Resident Evil: Veronica will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2027
Wolf Among Us 2
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I really mean it when I say my jaw dropped to the floor when I heard the announcement (or rather confirmation) of The Wolf Among Us 2. What I say at this point may sound like a broken record, but especially as someone who was obsessed with all things Telltale, I have very vivid memories of the first game when I was younger (The Walking Dead being a core memory). Wolf Among Us 2 is finally back after years of silence. And perhaps the biggest takeaway is the simple fact that this project is still alive and well even after a famously turbulent development cycle.
The release includes a fresh trailer that follows Bigby Wolf as he pursues a new dark mystery involving a series of brutal murders that threaten the precarious balance between humanity and Fable. Set six months after the original game, the footage teased a more cinematic third-person presentation alongside the series’ trademark choice-driven storytelling.
The release date for this sequel is confirmed to be in 2027, and the remaster of the original game will also be released in late 2026, giving newcomers a chance to catch up. For fans who have been waiting to dive back into this wonderful world since 2013, Summer Game Fest felt like the moment when the wait became reality again. But now it also means that waiting is somehow even more difficult.
The Wolf Among Us 2 launches in 2027 on PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch/2
state of collapse 3
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During the Xbox Showcase, State of Decay 3 finally stepped into the spotlight once again with a proper gameplay reveal, and it looks like the series is evolving in the right direction. I’m currently playing State of Decay 2. This is a very easy and fun game, perfect for a sandbox survival loop where you can spend hours just building a community and fighting hordes. And that’s before you even get into my obvious love for zombies, apocalypse settings, or RPG-style progression systems.
State of Decay 3 evolves the series into a larger, more ambitious survival experience set in a brutal post-apocalyptic world long after humanity’s first outbreak. It has become important not just to survive the collapse, but to rebuild communities in a world that has become more dangerous and unpredictable. The core loop (scavenge, survive, build) is still familiar, but everything has been scaled up. Manage your settlement, recruit survivors, and expand multiple bases in a much larger open world that is said to be approximately four times larger than State of Decay 2.
On top of that, new “plague nests” act like evolving infection hubs that spread infection and react to your actions, making the world feel more reactive. I’m already excited for what’s next in this series. Given the idea of things escalating and fighting back in smarter, more unpredictable ways, State of Decay 3 feels like the natural next thing to get into.
State of Decay 3 will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2027
Alien: Isolation 2
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Alien is my favorite movie of all time, so it’s no wonder I fell in love with Alien: Isolation. Everything about this world is incredibly cool, from the claustrophobic horror to the classic xenomorph biomechanical design. I could honestly complain about it time. That’s why I almost screamed when Creative Assembly finally released the first substantial look at Alien: Isolation 2. The pre-alpha trailer oozed tension and atmosphere, capturing everything that made the original one of the best horror games ever made.
While the original had players trapped in the claustrophobic Sevastopol train station, the sequel appears to have expanded the scope to a colony world that features both indoor environments and more open outdoor locations, all while a relentless Xenomorph continues to hunt players down. Creative Assembly also confirmed that the authenticity of the original 1979 film Alien remains core to the game’s design.
as huge For fans of the first game, this was definitely one of the standout moments of Summer Game Fest. The footage looked every bit as horrifying as I expected. And despite not having a firm release date, Alien: Isolation 2 has rocketed to the top of my wishlist.
Alien: Isolation 2 will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2
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