The year has only just begun but there’s already plenty of new video games to look forward to, from Red Dead Redemption II to God Of War.
2017 was one of the best years ever for video games, which means that 2018 has a very hard act to follow. And at the moment it’s very difficult to tell whether it’s up to the job. There’s far less concrete information about this year’s line-up than is usual at this point in time, and a lot of games that people assume are going to be out this year, like The Last Of Us Part II, have made no such promise.
The Easter period in particular has relatively few big-name games announced so far, which is certainly in contrast to last year. It’s also relatively hard to know what to expect from E3, or what Nintendo might be planning to unveil over the course of the year.
And while on the face of it no new hardware releases, or even announcements, are expected we wouldn’t want to be the ones to rule them out completely. But in a way the lack of certainty is a good thing, it means there are some genuine surprises to look forward to and hopefully they’ll all be good ones…
Confirmed for 2018
26 January – Monster Hunter: World (XO/PS4/PC)
The year’s first big release is Capcom’s most concerted attempt yet to make Monster Hunter a hit in the West, and after a successful open beta they might just manage it this time.
6 February – Shadow Of The Colossus (PS4)
A remake of Team ICO’s second game still seems a little odd without the first, but fans won’t be complaining at the chance to replay such a classic with all-new graphics.
22 February – Metal Gear Survive (XO/PS4/PC)
We’re not sure if anyone is that optimistic about the first Metal Gear game since Hideo Kojima left Konami, especially with the weird alternate dimension/zombie plot, but it’s due out very soon.
20 March – Sea Of Thieves (XO/PC)
Rare’s return to ‘proper’ games is an innovative pirate-themed co-operative game, that’s not quite like anything else out there. And after multiple delays it should be one of the biggest games of the spring.
23 March – Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PS4)
Another game that’s suffered multiple delays, but Level-5’s role-playing sequel still looks as gorgeous as ever, even though, unlike the original, it’s not an official collaboration with Studio Ghibli.
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27 March – Far Cry 5 (XO/PS4/PC)
The gameplay looks largely the same as always but there’s an unusual amount of bite to the story in Ubisoft’s latest sequel, as you help fight against a violent religious sect in the American heartland.
Q1 – God Of War (PS4)
Some rumours peg this as a March release date, which certainly seem believable, but either way it does seem to be on course to be one of Sony’s first big exclusives of the year.
Spring – Crackdown 3 (XO/PC)
After its initial delay there’s still no exact release date for this Xbox exclusive, but hopefully it’ll be worth the wait. Especially as the cloud computing destruction effects looked so impressive in the initial previews.
First half 2018 – Spider-Man (PS4)
Sony’s always been vague about the release date for their big comic book exclusive, but since it has Ratchet & Clank creators Insomniac as the developer it’s very likely to be worth the wait.
First half 2018 – Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
The new game from Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls creator David Cage has already picked up quite a bit of controversy for its portrayal of child abuse, but it’s unclear if that’s caused a rethink.
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First half 2018 – State Of Decay 2 (XO/PC)
Microsoft will be pushing this just as hard as their first party games when it comes out, which makes sense as it looks a considerable improvement on the already successful original.
First half 2018 – Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night (Wii U/XO/PS4/PC/PSV)
The Kickstarted spiritual successor to Castlevania, by the man behind Symphony Of The Night, has been delayed quite a bit already, but hopefully it won’t be again.
Q2 – Red Dead Redemption II (XO/PS4)
Destined to be one of the biggest games of 2018, although we know relatively little more about it now than we did a year ago. It’s already been delayed once and it wouldn’t be surprising if it was again.
Second half 2018 – Shenmue III (PS4/PC)
Another major game that’s suffered multiple delays already, and there’s nothing to think it won’t be delayed again. Although the official line is that it will be out this year.
Q2/Q3 – The Crew 2 (XO/PS4/PC)
Several of Ubisoft’s games, including Far Cry 5, got delayed last year, but that’s usually a good sign – and hopefully suggests this sequel to 2014’s open world racer is being taking seriously.
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Q4 – Metro Exodus (XO/PS4/PC)
4A Games’s new post-apocalyptic first person shooter made quite an impression when it kicked off Microsoft’s pre-E3 press conference, but it’s actually a normal multiformat release.
Q4 – Anthem (XO/PS4/PC)
EA’s answer to Destiny, from the creators of Mass Effect, is going to be under incredible scrutiny for its use of loot boxes. Although at this point very little is known about its gameplay.
2018 – Dreams (PS4)
It still hasn’t got a release date but the new game (or however the ambitious new creation tool is classified) from the creators of LittleBigPlanet has been promised for 2018.
2018 – Kingdom Hearts III (XO/PS4)
Square Enix still hasn’t showed much of the game yet, beyond that awesome looking Toy Story world and confirmation of Big Hero 6, but they have said that it’s definitely out this year.
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2018 – SoulCalibur VI (XO/PS4/PC)
One of the last big reveals of 2017 is due out sometime this year, although probably not for a while considering so far all Bandai Namco has announced is two characters.
2018 – Untitled Yoshi game (NS)
Although it still doesn’t have a name this new 2D platformer has been demoed quite a bit so far, and seems to be one of the few Switch games Nintendo is guaranteeing for 2018.
2018 – Untitled Fire Emblem game (NS)
Fire Emblem is a major franchise for Nintendo now, but it’s never been a hit on any modern home console, which is presumably what they’ll be looking to change with this new Switch game.
2018 – Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (NS)
A sequel just as surprising as Bayonetta 3, this follow-up to the subversive Wii games has been promised for this year and will hopefully see Lollipop Chainsaw creators Suda51 back to his best.
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2018 – World War Z (XO/PS4/PC)
Big budget film tie-ins are extremely rare nowadays, but if they all looked as good as this one maybe they wouldn’t be. It’s definitely scheduled for this year too, presumably for around the time of the movie sequel.
2018 – Project Octopath Traveler (NS)
The demo of Square Enix’s new retro-inspired role-player went down extremely well last year, so there’s plenty of interest in the final release. Although that name is only a working title.
2018 – Valkyria Chronicles 4 (XO/PS4/PC)
At last a proper sequel to the beloved original, and one that has a specific release date of March 21 in Japan. But it won’t be until a good few months after that, that it’s released in the West.
Also confirmed for 2018
16 January – Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (PS4/PC)
23 January – Lost Sphear (PS4/NS/PC)
23 January – The Inpatient (PSVR)
26 January – Dragon Ball FighterZ (XO/PS4/PC)
2 February – EA Sports UFC 3 (XO/PS4)
8 February – Civilization VI: Rise & Fall (PC)
13 February – Owlboy (XO/PS4/NS)
13 February – Dynasty Warriors 9 (XO/PS4/PC)
15 February – Kingdom Come: Deliverance (XO/PS4/PC)
15 February – Secret Of Mana (PS4/PC/PSV)
16 February – Bayonetta 1 and 2 (NS)
6 March – Bravo Team (PSVR)
13 March – Devil May Cry HD Collection (XO/PS4/PC)
20 March – Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life (PS4)
23 March – A Way Out (XO/PS4/PC)
8 May – Conan Exiles (XO/PS4/PC)
Q1 – Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (XO/PS4/PC)
Q1/Q2 – Dragon Quest Builders 2 (PS4/NS)
Q1/Q2 – Fe (XO/PS4/NS/PC)
Q1/Q2 – Kirby Star Allies (NS)
Q2 – Onrush (XO/PS4)
Q2/Q3 – Jurassic World Evolution (XO/PS4/PC)
Q3/Q4 – Skull & Bones (XO/PS4/PC)
Q4 – Mega Man 11 (XO/PS4/NS/PC)
TBA – Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (XO/PS4/PC)
TBA – Code Vein (XO/PS4/PC)
TBA – Concrete Genie (PS4)
TBA – Darksiders III (XO/PS4/PC)
TBA – Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age (PS4/NS/3DS)
TBA – Strange Brigade (XO/PS4/PC)
TBA – The Walking Dead: The Final Seasons (TBA)
TBA – The Wolf Among Us: Season 2 (TBA)
TBA – Vampyr (XO/PS4/PC) Q1/Q2
Possible for 2018
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Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)
Since we saw almost nothing of the remake in 2017, it’s hard to be too optimistic about when the first chapter of its episodic release will be out. But surely it must come before the end of the year.
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps (XO/PC)
This seems a shoe-in for 2018, but since Microsoft has never confirmed a release date, or year, you can’t take it for granted. Especially as they’ll want to take things slow with the sequel to one of the Xbox One’s best exclusives.
Unnamed Pokémon game (NS)
Whether the promised Pokémon game for Switch comes out this year or not probably depends on whether it’s just a remaster of the 3DS games or something completely new.
Forza Horizon 4 (XO)
The more arcade-orientated spin-off from Microsoft’s Gran Turismo killer is in danger of becoming more popular than the mainline series, so a new sequel announcement this year seems very likely.
Days Gone (PS4)
Sony’s latest zombie epic has mysteriously gone AWOL, and with no explanation of why. It could have been cancelled, but if it hasn’t it looked far enough along that it should be out this year.
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Death Stranding (PS4)
We know only a little more about Hideo Kojima’s game now than we did a year ago, so on that basis a 2018 release seems unlikely. Although he did say it’d be out before the year Akira is set in… which is 2019.
Metroid Prime 4 (NS)
After teasing it at E3 the assumption has always been that the new Metroid would be one of Nintendo’s big 2018 games. There’s no guarantee of that though, seeing as nothing has been seen of it so far.
Age Of Empires IV (PC)
Considering how even the remaster of the original game was delayed into 2018 it’s hard to say when the new sequel will appear. There’s a chance it’s this year, but we’d probably bet against it.
Halo 6 (XO)
Microsoft seems to realise that Halo isn’t quite the killer app it used to be, but it seems unlikely they’ll put off the final act of the current trilogy much longer and a reveal at E3 in June is very likely.
Unlikely for 2017
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The Last of Us Part II (PS4)
Although many assume this will be out this year work only started on the sequel in late 2016. There seems an outside chance it might be ready for late 2018, but that’s probably a stretch.
Bayonetta 3 (NS)
The first two games might be coming to Switch this year, but the new sequel almost certainly isn’t. The teaser showed no gameplay and it seems almost a certainty that it won’t be out until 2019.
Beyond Good And Evil 2
The new trailer was one of the big shocks at E3 last year, but nothing about it or the subsequent tech demos suggests that the long-awaited prequel is going to be out anytime soon.
Untitled Avengers game
Square Enix acquired the rights to Marvel’s Avengers early last year and said they’ll be orchestrating a proper reveal this year – that implies the game probably won’t be out until at least 2019.
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New FromSoftware game
The phrase ‘Shadows Strike Twice’ sounds more like a tag line than a name, but that and an image of a spindle made out of a thigh bone is all we’ve got to go on for the next game from the makers of Dark Souls and Bloodborne.
Ghost Of Tsushima (PS4)
One of Sony’s biggest new announcements of last year was this new open world samurai adventure from the makers of inFamous. It looks great but there seems little chance it’ll be out anytime soon.
Cyberpunk 2077 (XO/PS4/PC)
Following the success of The Witcher 3, developer CD Projekt RED are unlikely to feel any need to rush this sci-fi follow-up and we’d think it lucky if we even see much in the way of previews this year.
Half-Life 3 (PC)
Ha, ha, ha! Good one.
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