It's been a relatively quiet year for first-person shooters, all things considered, so I'm eagerly looking towards the end of the year to get my fill of them. Admittedly, Infinity Ward has just spoiled us with Modern Warfare 2 – which is acting as a showcase for the future of the Call of Duty series – and its release kickstarts a fantastic few weeks of new shooters.
2022 has been a strange year for the FPS genre. It certainly doesn't help that high-profile releases – Starfield, Redfall, and Stalker 2, to name but three – were hit by the wave of video game delays that has impacted the 2022 calendar. But it's been otherwise sparse. At the top of the year we had Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, which is a fantastic co-op shooter, and Shadow Warrior 3, which delivered the sort of pure carnage that we've come to expect from Flying Wild Hog. Scorn is at its best when combat was avoided entirely, and Dying Light 2 is largely a melee-focused experience.
While I too feel the impulse to start looking towards all of the new games for 2023, there are some key shooters set to come out across PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One in the coming weeks that are well worth paying attention to. From co-op shooters to new battle royales and beyond, the FPS games set to release before the end of 2022 could deliver where the rest of the year hasn't been able to.
Warzone 2
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release date: November 16, 2022
Warzone has undoubtedly been one of the best battle royale games on the market, and now Activision is set to bring it into a new generation. Warzone 2 has been built in tandem with Modern Warfare 2 – sharing the same gunplay, progression systems, and underlying design – and that's left us incredibly excited for what's going to drop on November 16. There's a brand new map to explore, a suite of new weapons to wield, and some wide-ranging changes to the core pacing of the battle royale game type to enjoy too. This one is going to be big.
Warhammer 40,000 Darktide
Developer: Fatshark
Release date: November 30, 2022
Following the success of the Warhammer: Vermintide games, developer Fatshark is trading the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world for the industrial Warhammer 40,000 universe, and I couldn't be happier. This is another four-player affair, with a focus on building your character and emphasizing your personal playstyle with unique trails and skill sets. The gunplay looks fantastic, the visual design is truly awesome, and all signs are pointing towards Darktide being an unmissable FPS experience for 2022 – regardless of whether you grew up collecting Warhammer 40K or not.
Read more: Warhammer 40K Darktide hands-on preview
High on Life
Developer: Squanch Games
Release date: December 13, 2022
High on Life might just be my most anticipated first-person shooter of 2022. Developer Squanch Games – who counts Rick & Morty's co-creator Justin Roiland among its staff – is building a frantic FPS that leans heavily into metroidvania world design ethos. Oh, and the guns talk. They talk with you and at you, and to friends and foes alike. It's pretty wild, and while the humor won't be for everybody, everything I have played of High on Life so far has shown it to have all the makings of a unique FPS with no obvious peers.
Read more: High on Life hands-on preview
Choo-Choo Charles
Developer: Two Star Games
Release date: December 9, 2022
I mean, it's one hell of a concept, isn't it? Choo-Choo Charles is what would happen if Thomas the Tank Engine finally snapped, evoked the power of the rail-line demi-god, and went on a frantic killing spree across an open world island. You'll be able to outfit a train of your own, help settlers in exchange for powerful new weapons, and then ultimately challenge Charles to a mortal duel. Oh, and I should probably mention that Choo-Choo Charles is a horrendous looking spider-train with a face that would make Pennywise the Clown blush. Honestly, it looks absolutely nightmarish.
Atomic Heart
Developer: Mundfish
Release date: Q4 2022
Okay, I'll be honest, I'm trying to manifest Atomic Heart into a 2022 release. Developer Mundfish has teamed up with publisher Focus Entertainment to get this sprawling FPS-RPG hybrid out into the world, and it has given the new shooter a real loose 'Winter' release window – December 2022 to March 2023, basically. Atomic Heart looks as imaginative as it does intuitive, offering such a wide breadth of opportunity that it kind of looks like BioShock meets Far Cry and Fallout. Seriously, get this one on your wishlist because, regardless of whether it slips to 2023, Atomic Heart demands your attention.
