Hogwarts Legacy
Release date: February 10
Platform: PS5, Windows, Xbox X/S (more platforms will be added)There is a chance that some will look at Hogwarts Legacy’s in terms of the controversy around J.K. Rowling but for most Harry Potter fans, it’s going to be a moment to celebrate, especially those who have wanted an open-world adventure. The upcoming role-playing game — developed by Avalanche Software and distributed by Warner Bros — will have a player-designed character learn magic at Hogwarts during the 1800s. The playable character will be customisable and players will have the option to choose their Hogwarts House.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Release date: March 17
Platforms: PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/SRespawn Entertainment’s sequel to its mega-successful 2019 game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order once again stars Cal Kestis, a Jedi who survived Order 66 by hiding on a junker planet. There’s very little available in terms of story but as far as gameplay goes, there are new additions, such as blaster + lightsaber combo as well as the crossguard lightsaber.
Dead Island 2
Release date: April 28
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/SFirst it received a release date of February 3 and now April 28. Though the game title mentions ‘Island’ but the open-world experience is expected to unfold in Los Angeles during a zombie outbreak. Players will be able to take on the role of slayers with unique abilities. Among the playable characters are Jacob, Amy, Ryan and Dani. What we know so far is Dani likes roller derby and has a hulking physique while Ryan is a pole dancer with a firefighter routine.
Diablo 4
Release date: June 6
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/SBlizzard’s open-world style Diablo will bring players face to face with resurrected Lilith, daughter of Mephisto. Players can take one of five classes — Barbarian, Sorceress, Druid, Rogue and Necromancer — and have hundreds of skills.
Final Fantasy XVI
Release date: June 22
Platform: PlayStation 5Square Enix’s Creative Business Unit III is developing the game, and the team includes veteran Final Fantasy developers like Naoki Yoshida. From the trailers that have released, the gameplay suggests that players take on the role of Clive in a revenge story that spans decades. The world is at war over the Eikons and a Blight spreads across the lands.
Forspoken
Release date: January 24
Platforms: PS5, WindowsNew Yorker Frey Holland mysteriously appears in the strange world of Athia and she has to battle Break-mutated creatures and traverse the open-world using “magic parkour”. It will take 30-40 hours to complete the main narrative of Forspoken, which is more than the average 25-30 hours playtime of AAA games.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Release date: May 26
Platforms: Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/SStarring Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark, Task Force X is on a mission to take down Brainiac-controlled Justice League. In their way are Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman, who have all been brainwashed. The open-world action game will be set in Arkham-verse version of Metropolis
Redfall
Release date: Q1/Q2 2023
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/SThe supernatural co-op shooter is set in the titular town of Redfall, Massachusetts. Players take on the role of either cryptozoologist Devinder Crousley, telekinetic student Layla Ellison, combat engineer Remi de la Rosa or sharpshooter Jacob Boyer. They have to fight vampires and more. The developer is Arkane Austin, known for games like 2018’s Prey reboot as well as games in the Dishonored franchise.
Spider-Man 2
Release date: Fall 2023
Platform: PS5The sequel to the 2018 blockbuster about the web-slinger will allow players get to slip into the shoes of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as well as villains like Harry Osborn, Venom and Kraven the Hunter. Last year, in a teaser trailer for the game, Sony revealed Venom will be featured as a villain.
Starfield
Release date: Q1/Q2 2023
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/SOne of the most anticipated games of the year and the first major IP from Bethesda in a long time, the sci-fi RPG puts players in The Settled Systems, seeking answers to life’s biggest mysteries. The gameplay unfolds around 20 years after the Colony War, so there is some sort of peace. Starfield “is about hope, our shared humanity, and searching for the answers to life’s greatest mystery”.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Release date: Sometime this year
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/SThe project has had an on-and-off run for years and now it seems to have a release timeline. The sequel takes players into The Zone, an irradiated area around Chornobyl that’s now inhabited by strange plants and animals. The player has to explore the photorealistic open world covering a 64-km² radioactive zone with a variety of environments.
Alan Wake 2
Release date: Sometime this year
Platforms: PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/SRemedy Entertainment is preparing the sequel to the moody novelist simulator. Nothing has been revealed about the survival horror game, except that it is connected to Control and a larger Remedy Connected Universe. The studio says “it is a deep, layered mystery”.