The 15 most anticipated games of 2023

Dead Space is a remake of Electronic Arts’ 15-year-old sci-fi survival-horror classic, aiming to retain the horror, gore, and tense storyline of the original. This ambitious rework goes beyond simply recycling a solid formula, though, to take full advantage of next-gen technology to boost immersion and cinematic quality. Best of all, intrepid fans won’t have to wait long to board Necromorph-infested USG Ishimura, as Dead Space lands later this month – like a limb-severing plasma cutter explosion .

An open-world action RPG set at the titular wizarding school, this ambitious fantasy adventure promises enough spellcasting, potion-making, and fantastic monster encounters to entertain even the most discerning Harry Potter fan Can also please. But it won’t be a simple retelling of the days when the little wizard defeated Voldemort, either, as fans will don the robes of original, bespoke characters from an all-new story set 100 years before the events of the series.

The highly-anticipated sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order revisits ginger-haired hero Cal Kestis’s lightsaber-wielding skills. But the former Padawan’s new Jedi rank will translate into the sequel’s layered combat, building on the original’s already deep exposure to fresh fighting stances and a new force-throwing ability. Five years after the first game, Survivor also continues Cal’s Order 66 evasion story, introducing brand new Imperial baddies and, of course, allowing players to travel across the galaxy with fan-favorite companion droid BD-1.

Capcom’s recent remake of Resident Evil 2 and its direct sequel proved that these survival horror classics are well worth revisiting. The upcoming Resident Evil 4 — arguably the most popular entry in the franchise — looks set to continue this trend, as zombie dogs burst through windows. With modern, reimagined gameplay and an all-new cinematic presentation, the latest installment of Leon S. Kennedy’s Nightmare should turn out to be one of the most adrenaline-fueled rides of the year.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched with the Nintendo Switch in 2017, not only ensuring the system’s success, but redefining one of the medium’s most beloved franchises to deliver its best entry to date . Its long-awaited direct sequel, Tears of Kingdoms, appears to replicate that achievement, retaining and refining its predecessor’s fast-paced open-world gameplay while also adding a host of new features to it. Killing Calamity Ganon with a stick was luckier than getting details on these new elements, but we do know the game will encourage more vertical play with a series of islands floating above Hyrule.

Long before Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man took the superhero game crown, Rocksteady Studios was making games in the genre with its critically acclaimed Arkham series. With the trilogy wrapped up in 2015, Bat fans have been anxiously awaiting the British developer’s return to the DC Universe. It’s finally here this year, inviting players to unleash the mayhem-wreaking shenanigans of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark. In addition to building on the solid foundations of the Arkham games, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also adds a four-player co-op mode, ensuring that the good guys – who have clearly been corrupted by Brainiac – don’t stand a chance.

When one of the genre’s biggest franchises finally returns and flexes its muscles in an all-new numbered entry, anxious fighting game fans will be in for a treat. Street Fighter 6 will feature a strong launch roster of 18 fresh and familiar fighters, dueling online and locally in three dedicated modes: Fighting Ground, World Tour and Battle Hub. Throwing in evolved game mechanics and enhanced visual presentation, this fantastic sequel should be as popular as the game-winning Hadouken when it hits the shelves this summer.

It’s been over a decade since Diablo III fans have been hacking, slashing, and casting spells, but brave dungeon dwellers will soon be invited back to their sanctuary. While the franchise’s free-to-play Diablo Immortal may have tackled the itch of demonic destruction, mainline Diablo IV — positioned as a return to the series’ thumb-bubbling roots — promises to live on. In addition to looting, leveling, and taking down ugly beasts, the highly anticipated sequel will also bring fans’ long-awaited reunion with love-hate villain Lilith.

There are more sequels, spin-offs, and remakes of Square Enix’s popular and historic RPG series than you can shake the sword of the nemesis. But while the franchise keeps fans busy with these regularly released world expansions, a brand new mainline entry is an even rarer beast. That makes Final Fantasy XVI a big deal, one that will undoubtedly deliver — and evolve — the series’ rock-solid combination of stunning visuals, thoughtful combat, and an original epic story.

After more than 20 years of waiting, RPG fans can finally return to the Forgotten Realms of the hugely popular Baldur’s Gate series. But the Dungeons & Dragons-based sequel makes more sense than players have long expected. Developed by Larian Studios, the team behind the acclaimed role-playing game series Divinity, Baldur’s Gate III represents the rare pairing of a beloved property with the studio best suited to adapt it. In fact, the highly anticipated PC game has been honed in on two years of fan feedback and early access, and we can’t wait to party and teach those ugly mind flayers some manners.

The long-running Assassin’s Creed series has largely kept to its annual release schedule, but it’s been nearly three years since Vikings-themed Valhalla showed us its Hidden Blade. Assassin’s Creed Mirage will not only see the series return in 2023, but it will also find it a significant change from its predecessors. While recent chapters have featured massive open worlds, branching narratives, and action RPGs, Mirage promises a return to the franchise’s cut-throat roots, with cleaner, more linear storytelling and stealthier gameplay.

The titular island town of Redfall is a quaint New England getaway that wouldn’t look out of place in a travel brochure…except for the bloodthirsty monsters roaming the streets. Thankfully, the open-world first-person shooter arms players to the teeth and pairs them with up to three survivors of a vampire hunt. Its concept may sound similar to other online co-op games, but from Arkane Studios – the talented team behind the acclaimed Dishonored series – we wish it contained more content than mindless trigger-pulling. action.

The ambitious scope and scale of Starfield is matched only by fans’ enormous expectations for Bethesda Game Studios’ first new universe in a quarter of a century. While much has been revealed about the sci-fi action RPG—including the impressive/intimidating ability to plant your flag on 1,000 planets—just as much remains a closely guarded Keep it a secret. We wish it wasn’t of this world, but even if it only matched the quality of the studio’s Fallout and Elder Scrolls work, we’d happily spend hundreds of hours in starspace living out our space cowboy fantasies .

A cult horror classic released in 2010, Alan Wake seemed an unlikely candidate for a sequel. But as its recent remake has found a new audience — not to mention its developer, Remedy Entertainment, has significantly increased its fan base with the success of horror sci-fi entry Control — the titular, haunted novelist is indeed coming back. Details about his new supernatural story are scarce, though Remedy revealed that the game will have a more survival-horror vibe than its action-focused predecessor.

DC’s villain will also face stiff competition from the aforementioned web-thrower, as Insomniac Games unveils the next numbered entry in its popular PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man franchise. After a stellar launch in the series in 2018 and an excellent spin-off starring Miles Morales in 2020, this latest wall-crawler is certainly one of the most anticipated titles of the year. The sequel puts fans under the spandex of Peter Parker and Morales’ Spider-Man while pitting them against an unsavory gallery of rogues, including the iconic Marvel menace Venom.