Opinion - Hopes for Gaming Christmas 2026
What I hope I'll see this summer
What used to be E3 season is now a batch of online streaming events and Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest show. I like to call this time Gaming Christmas. This is one of the more exciting times to be a gamer as new games are revealed, release dates are given, and every now and then, new hardware is shown. So, I wanted to write down some of the things I want to see this year for Gaming Christmas, as well as a couple of predictions.
Third-Party
There is no bigger game (in terms of hype) coming from the third-party side of things as Grand Theft Auto VI. I expect a trailer anytime soon, as well as pre-orders going live. Not much here except waiting for the marketing hype train to start rolling. We also have some interesting rumored games such as a remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, which I do think we will see in one of the events. Another Capcom game is the new Onimusha, for which we should get a solid release date.
On the RPG side, I don’t expect to see anything regarding Witcher IV; I would be pretty surprised if we see anything pre-Game Awards. Maybe we finally see an update on Kingdom Hearts IV, but I’m thinking that game may have been pushed to next-gen (or cross-gen, at least). I’m sure Square will completely surprise us with something - maybe a remake of a beloved classic? No surprise for the third and final installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which I think will reveal a 2027 release date.
Ubisoft should give us a look at Assassin’s Creed: Hexe, but outside of that, I don’t expect any mega surprises from them. I don’t know why… I could just be wish-casting, but I think we could see a new game from From Software that’s not The Duskbloods. From the indie side, it’s always hard to predict those games because they are more original and people aren’t looking to leak anything, but obviously, I think we’ll get some new games from that side of things that will pique many people’s interest.
As for dreams, totally crazy announcement - I’m still holding out hope for a Dino Crisis remake. Come on, Capcom, pull the trigger.
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Nintendo
As a Nintendo guy, Nintendo tends to either break or make the summer events for me. When they have a solid to all-time great show, it can really make Gaming Christmas incredible, while a dud of an event can ruin it for me. I think this year they’ll have a solid show - maybe nothing earth shattering, but perhaps it comes close. First, let’s address the elephant in the room - the heavily rumored Ocarina of Time remake. Now, Ocarina of Time has received a remake before on the 3DS, but this sounds like a potential from the ground up remake, hopefully showcasing the Switch 2’s graphical capabilities. I do believe this game is real, and I’m hoping it’s a little more than just a simple remake. Ocarina of Time’s legacy is secure, but it has faced more critical issues regarding how it has aged for today’s modern gamers.
We have some release dates to get from Nintendo, specifically for Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. Outside of that, we still aren’t sure what the end of the year has for the Switch 2 exclusives. I think the next mainline 3D Mario game is going to be a 2027 title, but we might get a teaser trailer at the eventual summer Direct. There’s a chance we see something for Zelda beyond just the Ocarina of Time remake, maybe another port or a 2.5D entry. One studio people seem to be forgetting is Next Level Games, and I think Luigi’s Mansion 4 might be revealed at the Direct.
Of course, Nintendo has a better history with surprises than anyone, so they could pop up with something really cool out of nowhere. For my dream announcement, a Super Metroid remake from the same team that made Metroid Dread would be awesome.
PlayStation
PlayStation 5 has been a weird console, on one hand, it’s been very successful even with price hikes, and it’s been the de facto console of the generation. However, many aren’t happy with Sony's first-party output, and its failed live service experiment didn’t help. Now, we have this major State of Play on the way, and I can’t help but wonder if the new brass at Sony wants to get PS5 owners excited again, especially considering Microsoft’s recent PR wins. I think the State of Play is going to be pretty huge, not the greatest event ever, but enough to have people talking. If it’s not a great show, it won’t be a good sign for the final two years of the PS5.
We know there’s a God of War prequel/spinoff on the way, focusing on Faye. I have mixed feelings about this one, because I know it’s probably going to be very good, but I kind of wanted something new from Cory and the team, but if you’re going to stay in God of War why go backwards instead of forward in the story? We’ll see how it looks when we see it. Intergalactic is starting to sound like a cross-gen game for PS5 and the PS6 launch, with how much longer it probably has. I’m not a big Horizon guy, but fans of the series are going to be waiting for the third entry for a while because it sounds like the recent multiplayer games were the main focus from Guerrilla. As for other rumors, there’s a remake of inFamous, which I kind of don't care for, but I can be happy for the fans of the games. Outside of that, we don’t know much, other than that Spider-Man 3 will more than likely be a thing.
I hope Sony completely surprises us sooner rather than later. I’m starting to notice their first-party lineup is getting more and more predictable. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I love me some consistent IP, but you need to at least change up the IP like Nintendo has a history of doing, or mixing it in with new original ideas.
Return of XBOX?
We finish it off with Xbox, which, despite its rough last few years, has been for me the MVP of Gaming Christmas. Xbox has so much they own now that it’s hard not to go off on a rant of possibilities and potential announcements. So, I’ll focus on what I expect and want to see. First, let’s get a release date for Fable and Gears of War: E-Day, my hype levels for Fable have only grown everytime I see it, so seeing more of it and not showing a release would be a mistake in my opinion. We will see E-Day, which is a game I’m mixed about for similar reasons as the Faye God of War rumor, but I’m expecting a graphical showcase. I would also be willing to bet we see something on Blade.
I still hold out some hope for something new from Rare, even if I know I’m just setting my expectations up for failure when I do that. Maybe the rumored Fallout 3 Remaster is shown, and maybe we see something regarding Elder Scrolls VI (again, most likely setting myself up for failure there). Xbox has such a wealth of IP that I can name so many dream announcements, Banjo-Kazooie, new Halo, and so on.
I think we will see more hardware-related announcements than people expect. I’m still predicting we'll see OEM Xbox hardware from ASUS and maybe from a company like Lenovo. The cloud-focused Elite Series 3 controllers have been leaked and are expected to ship by the end of the year. Maybe we see another handheld, but they may want to keep the focus on the OEM consoles. Lastly, I do think Project Helix may get something, even if it’s just a small shoutout with one new piece of information, and we may get Xbox 25th anniversary branded hardware.
Gaming Christmas or Summer Games Fest, whatever you may call it, is the most exciting time to be a gamer. This is when a lot of awesome moments are made that stick with us for a long time. So, enjoy it. We live in a pretty crappy era of history, and the news sucks more than not, so take this win and enjoy it. I think it’s going to be a good one.