In Kane Parsons' upcoming horror movie Backrooms, it's not just the titular space – known to fans of his original viral shorts as 'The Complex' – you have to fear. Though it's definitely the thing that creeped Renate Reinsve out most during production.

"I was a little concerned that I would actually go a little bit insane in there, and that would be good for the character," the Oscar-nominated actor tells GamesRadar+ when we ask how the 30,000 square-foot set impacted her performance. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone that excited when I came on set. [Kane] was just, like, tripping, seeing what he had built on his computer, built around us – and it was truly a scary, eerie place to be. I wouldn't actually go alone anywhere."

In Backrooms, Reinsve plays Dr. Mary Kline, a therapist whose client list includes down-and-out furniture shop owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Since his wife left him, Clark has been sleeping at the store, and one evening, he stumbles across a yellow-wallpapered, seemingly endless dimension. All corners, uncanny-looking household goods, and not-quite-right signage, the only thing keeping him company in there is the buzzing of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Well, that's what he thinks initially, anyway...

Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell round out the supporting cast.

"It's surprisingly existential on a lot of different levels. I think you can read it into a lot of things, the way culture and AI and technology is developing," continues Reinsve, cautiously trying to avoid slipping – or should we say, no-clipping? – into spoiler territory. "There's this extrapolated world, where you don't see an ending to it, that is scary. [But] it's also about the psychology of these characters and how things can get distorted but kind of look the same, and how you sometimes can only make sense of something irrational with something else that is irrational. It has a lot of layers."

Backrooms releases on May 29. For more, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Curry Barker isn't a fan of conventional jumpscares. The director of upcoming horror Obsession, which is already being hailed as one of 2026's best movies, is so against them in fact that he's trying to invent whole new ways to send shivers up cinemagoers' spines.

"[This is] not something that people say, I'm just making this up, but I have kind of my own modern jump scare that I try to pursue – but it's not a jump scare at all. It's just, like, my version of a jump scare is," Barker tells GamesRadar+. "It's like, if you have two or three, even four, moments in your movie where you can make the audience go, 'Oh, I didn't like that. That was weird. That made me feel… To me, that's a modern jump scare."

Starring Michael Johnston, Megan Lawless, Inde Navarrette, and Barker's longtime collaborator Cooper Tomlinson, Obsession follows shy guy Baron 'Bear' Bailey, who wishes on a retro toy that his crush Nikki liked him back. Or, more accurately, "loved him more than anyone in the entire f***ing world"... and quickly comes to regret it.

Bear's dream quickly turns into a nightmare as Nikki's new unrelenting devotion not only threatens to ruin his life but those of everyone around him, too.

It's a genuinely nerve-shredding flick that's packed full of uncanny visuals and strange sounds – and feels like it has the potential to usher in a new kind of genre flick. If you've watched any of Barker and Tomlinson's short films over on their YouTube channel That's A Bad Idea, especially The Chair or Warnings, you'll already have an idea as to the kind of chills to expect.

"Jump scares can be kind of predictable, and sometimes unearned, you know?" Barker continues. "Someone opens a closet and a ball falls out but because the music is loud, it's supposed to be a jump scare? A modern audience kind of rolls their eyes [at that], right? I mean, I do. I can only speak for myself, but I'm a huge audience for horror, so I try to ask myself, 'How would I react?' If I don't think it would be good, then I wouldn't put it in my movie.

"You won't see it coming," he grins. "Because what's the point of a jump scare you can see coming, right? My job is to trick you, and that comes from comedy. Tricking someone is kind of how you make someone laugh. You make them think that something's going one way, and then if you surprise them, you'll usually get a laugh."

Obsession releases on May 15. While we wait, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.

With it being set between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, it's hard to imagine Stranger Things: Tales From '85 matching its predecessor's 10-year run. It might have a few more chapters up the sleeve of its Hellfire Club tee, though, says showrunner Eric Robles.

"I think it's a little bit of both, you know?" he tells GamesRadar+ when we ask whether they imagine the show will return to plug more gaps in the future, or if they'd want to explore doing more of a What If? thing. "I can't predict how big this thing can grow. Like, it might become something that everybody wants more of, and then we'll just continue to grow and see where it goes from there. I'm happy to do that. We're all happy to do that, because I feel like we've only just started creating this world that's becoming its own thing."

"The more ownership that we have as, not only the filmmakers, but as a community of people who enjoy this," he continues. "Then we can start to kind of branch out and keep growing."

'Keep growing' is an appropriate turn of phrase given what Tales From '85 is about – and, specifically, what happens right before the season 1 finale cuts to black. Since Eleven closed the Gate to the Upside Down, there aren't any Demogorgons running around Hawkins in January 1985. Instead, the kids find themselves up against some ferocious flora. Warning! The rest of this article contains spoilers for Stranger Things: Tales From '85.

After realising that new substitute teacher Mrs. Baxter wasn't intentionally trying to create monsters with her plant-reviving serum, and that her thieving boyfriend Dan was wanted to steal her scientific glory rather than unleash the botanical beasties, The Party manages to kill the Queen and stop it from opening another gate. As everyone settles back into their quiet lives rightside up, the scene cuts back to a slain creature in the Upside Down, as a flower grows out of its back, glows blue, and sprouts a Demogorgon head and screeches. A sign of what's to come, perhaps?

"We do have fun plugging a couple little holes throughout. You know what I mean? As we're kind of going through, we're just kind of like, 'Oh, that's a cool little Easter egg that we can do,'" adds Robles. "So I think we kind of service both at the same time. I think as long as people don't try to put us in a perfect box and just enjoy the ride, I think you're gonna have fun on the adventure."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is streaming now. For more, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is set to reunite us with Eleven, Will, and co as it fills us in on what the youngsters got up to between the winter-themed Snow Ball and the opening of Starcourt Mall. All in animated form, too.

It'll also introduce us to Hawkins' newest new kid: Nikki Baxter...

Now, it's fair to say that fans have been a little dubious as to Nikki's involvement so far. She's got a super alternative look that many – read: those who seem to have forgotten Eddie Munson already – argue doesn't fit in with the show's small-town aesthetic and we know that The Party isn't still hanging out with her in season 3, since it takes place 5 months beforehand. So she's either a baddie or... well, she'll die?

We won't spoil that here, but when we sat down with showrunner Eric Robles recently, he couldn't hide his fondness for the pink-haired punk. "I really fell in love with this idea of Nikki in those early days with the Duffer Brothers," he tells GamesRadar+. "One of the things that they do so well is introduce new characters to the show and at first we're all like, 'Oh, I don't know about this Max character… Are they bringing a girl into this?' And then we end up being like, 'We need Max!', right? Same with Robin, with Eddie. When we were talking about it, we're like, 'Well, if this a DnD party, then they're missing the barbarian, right? They need the barbarian. "

In the 10-episode spin-off, which Robles would prefer you not to refer to as a 'Saturday morning cartoon', Nikki (voiced by /Until Dawn's Odessa A'zion) strikes up a fast friendship with Will (Ben Plessala) after she defends him from a school bully. She overhears the kid that's picking on him call him 'Zombie Boy' and since she's fresh to the school and has no idea where that stems from, she innocently thinks it's a rad moniker – and encourages Will to embrace it.

"When we were talking about what she could bring to the table, we realized that Will really has gone through a lot but he hasn't got anybody to really talk to, right?" adds Robles. "Mike is caught up in the relationship with El right now. Lucas and Max are dealing with their own drama at the same time and Dustin's out for the next big adventure, right?

"There just wasn't somebody that Will could really connect to in that way. So we liked the idea of bringing somebody in who's never gonna judge [him], and just look at him like, 'Zombie Boy is an awesome nickname. Are you kidding me? Own that, dude'. That idea of somebody giving him that strength was really great and allowed us to give him someone to talk to and grow from."

Robles concludes by suggesting that Nikki is retroactively "the catalyst" for Will stepping into himself in Stranger Things' later seasons – and finding the strength to stand up to big bad Vecna. "He really evolved and we're just hoping that a little bit of that came about because Nikki was in his life," he smiles. Cute, or what?

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

The art style. The slightly more child-friendly tone. The episodic cliffhangers? It's no wonder we're all getting big "Saturday morning cartoon" vibes from Netflix's new animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85. Hell, it's even set during the time cereal-munching kids would plonk themselves in front of the telly to kickstart their weekend...

In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, though, showrunner Eric Robles explained why he's deliberately "trying to stay away from the term" in the run-up to its release.

"[It] could mean anything from Care Bears to He-Man to Robotech," he tells us. "Look, I'm a Saturday morning kid myself, but it's so vague that it pops different ideas in people's minds. I would hate to use that nowadays, because somebody may be like, 'Oh, it's going to be super kiddie. And it's like, 'No, it's not right'. I didn't try to make it feel young for the sake of it."

Executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things: Tales From '85 fills us in on what the D&D-playing youngsters got up to in the winter after the Snow Ball. If you're a long-time fan of the flagship series, you'll remember that season 2 opened on Halloween and the summer-set season 3 took place around July 4th – so there's plenty of gaps to plug. It's heavy on the mystery and while there are plenty of "awesome monsters" across its 10 episodes, it skews a little lighter than its live-action counterpart.

For Robles, the tone of the show was inspired by illustrator Kyle Lambert's official Stranger Things posters. "I looked at those things like I looked at Drew Struzan's Back to the Future posters as a kid, and my imagination would just go wild. I thought to myself, 'If we can bring those posters to life with that kind of authenticity and those brush strokes and that artistic kind of approach, we'll have ourselves a pretty cool show."

He goes on to say that he grew up watching the likes of The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street with his dad – and that he wanted to create some of his own darkly fun moments in Tales.

"With all these movies, there's horror involved, but it's going to be okay. These kids are going to be okay. We're going to figure it out," Robles notes. "And that's all we wanted to do. I wanted to really capture that sense of real danger and make a show that wasn't Scooby Doo Light, but also not super heavy."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

Penélope Cruz says playing an aspiring detective in new monster movie The Bride helped her "express a lot of rage" – and that she was so desperate for the role, she called writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal from the sidelines of her son's football game.

"I remember when I read it, because then I had to go quickly with my son to a football training, and I called from the football training," Cruz recalls to GamesRadar+. "I will always remember it, because I said, 'You've written an incredible script, and I hope you know that.' I felt very grateful that she was offering me that character. I loved Myrna and it was a pleasure to play her."

Secretary Myrna, whose gift for sniffing out clues is a huge asset to her bumbling badge-wearing bestie Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard), doesn't actually show up until halfway through the movie – as the pair try to catch up with Frank (Christian Bale) and his lover (Jessie Buckley) after they're spotted assaulting two men outside a nightclub.

Their investigation sets them on a collision course with the outlandish outlaws, who've taken it upon themselves to do an unofficial tour of Ronnie Reed's films. Reed, the fictional actor, is played by director Maggie Gyllenhaal's brother Jake. If they hit up certain cinemas along the map, they'll find the dangerous darlings, reckons Myrna.

As she and Wiles get closer to Frank and "Penny", though, she learns how the latter came to be – and why she's on a crusade of justice-dispensing and truth-telling of her own.

"Through a character like that, you can release so many things, because it represents all the things that you have not been able to say as a woman," adds Cruz. "When I started working, I was very young, and I've seen a lot of situations that were – maybe not as extreme as the ones that the Bride or Myrna saw in the 30s – but… Still today, there are so many things that I can see in many professions, not only in ours.

"We still have so much to do to get to a place where even, like, the fact that it's a director that is a woman, and it's a very big budget, and it still makes the news. To get to a place where that is normalized. I felt I could say and express a lot of that kind of… almost, like, rage about all the things that we all have experienced and continue to experience."

The Bride! releases on March 6. While we wait, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.

Heat 2 is set to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale share the screen for the first time in their careers. Though they've come close to appearing in a couple of the same films before, the former Batman actor has revealed.

Bale recently confirmed his involvement in the follow-up to Fox 32 News while promoting his upcoming horror-romance The Bride. When GamesRadar+ asked him how excited he was to team up with the One Battle After Another star, he noted that the pair "did readings for stuff in the past", but it's just "never ended up" working out.

"So, yeah, that should be, should be something great," he continues.

Based on Michael Mann's 2022 novel of the same name, which acts as both a sequel and a prequel to his 1995 crime thriller, Heat 2 will presumably chart criminal Chris Shiherlis's (Val Kilmer's character in the original film) travels from LA to Southeast Asia, where he gets caught up with an international drug cartel. Other subplots in the book involve detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino's character) trying to track down a serial killer in 1988 Chicago – a case that almost brought him face-to-face with big-time bank robber Neil McCauley (Robert DeNiro's character) 7 years prior to the events of Heat.

As it stands, it's unclear who Bale (or DiCaprio) will be playing. Star Wars' Adam Driver, Elvis's Austin Butler, and Bradley Cooper have also been linked to the hotly anticipated flick. Filming is rumored to be kicking off in August.

Prior to that, Bale will be seen as Frankenstein's monster (AKA 'Frank') opposite Jessie Buckley's titular character in Maggie Gyllenhaal's punk-rock take on The Bride of Frankenstein. In the movie, Frank's obsessed with Ronnie Reed, a Fred Astaire-type played by Jake Gyllenhaal – and describes him as his only friend, which culminates in an awkward encounter in the film's final act.

Does Bale feel daunted at going toe-to-toe with Hollywood legend DiCaprio? "I always think it's better never to meet the people that you see on the screen, because, you know, they're human, right? They can't possibly live up to what you've imagined them to be," Bale smiles. "I'm very grateful when people talk to me, but I'm also chronically aware that I must be such a ridiculous disappointment.

"I never wanted to meet anybody. You know, even now, when I'm able to meet people, I go, 'No, no, it's what they do that I find engrossing. It's not them; I don't want to put that pressure on them. They're people who've lived lives... tough, complicated, etc. You know, that's none of my business. What my business is is what they choose to show the world through their art."

The Bride! releases on March 6, while Heat 2 is expected sometime in 2027. To keep track, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.

New horror-romance The Bride! breathes new life into Frankenstein's monster and his unwitting paramour as Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley's lead characters wreak havoc across a '30s Chicago.

While the latter really only had Elsa Lanchester's version from the 1935 classic to stand-up to (Jennifer Beals and Helena Bonham Carter's takes never really made much of an impact), Bale had the unenviable task of following up the likes of Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, and the now Oscar-nominated Jacob Elordi.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, the former Batman actor said it was "difficult" to pin down who his Creature was due to all those that came before. Ultimately, though, he "cherry-picked" his by highlighting what he wasn't too keen on from earlier iterations.

"Obviously Boris Karloff's monster is the iconic image but Mary Shelley set the tone with a very different description," Bale explains. "I decided it was going to be a real man – man, not monster. A man who had been treated abysmally; emotional, physical experimentation and abuse. Mary Shelley writes a book based on the science of Galvani coming in with the electric probes on the frogs, you know? And she gets some of it right but she gets a little bit wrong, right?

"Then Karloff and James Whale, they hear a bit more, and they go, 'Oh, he's apparently got a flat head.' That's wrong. It's just that his hairstyle at that time was a bit flat," he added. "But they do get it right that he had a scar across his forehead. He's eight-foot tall? Wrong! No, he was a man. No man is eight-foot tall, but when you're terrified, people seem bigger. So I sort of cherry-picked and found my way through to the real Frank."

Written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride! sees Buckley's Mary Shelley insist she has more story to tell following the success of her influential 1818 novel Frankenstein – despite her having died from a debilitating brain tumor over 80 years prior. With that, she catches us up to Frankenstein's monster, who now calls himself 'Frank', as he seeks out Annette Bening's "mad scientist" Dr. Euphronious and insists she create him a companion.

When a local escort with ties to a notorious mobster is murdered, the pair dig up the body and resurrect her, setting Frank on, as Bale puts it, the "crazy, exciting, destined-to-be-shortlived rollercoaster ride of her life". Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz round out the supporting cast.

It releases on March 6. In the meantime, check out our picks of the best horror movies or our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies still to come.

Send Help may be a gory horror-comedy that sees two city-types try to survive for weeks on a desert island – but outside of a few stormy nights, all its tension and thrills come from the characters' twisted relationship rather than the setting. It did prove quite a challenging location to shoot in behind the scenes, though...

"We had to be so 'safety first'," producer Zainab Azizi recalls to GamesRadar+. "We shot on a coconut farm, so we had to clear all the coconuts, because they're actually one of the leading causes of death in areas like that.

"It's a fun fact, but also just a very embarrassing way to go," she chuckles. "We had to build stairs down to the beach. We had to learn a lot about sound on set, clearing all the footsteps and the trash – that was actually really sad, all the trash that would wash up on shore – to create this idyllic, remote setting."

Starring Dylan O'Brien and Rachel McAdams, Send Help is essentially Cast Away meets Misery, as the former's evil executive Bradley Preston gets more than he bargained for when he and his meek employee, Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), crash land in the Gulf of Thailand. With Bradley having already passed Linda up for a big promotion, the pair's disdain for one another is evident. But things take a dark, zany turn when Linda starts exerting power over Bradley with her Survivor-learned wilderness skills and secrets from their pasts come to light. "We're not in the office anymore," she ominously says at one point. You can say that again...

"The writers really wanted us to focus on the characters, not just the situation. So it was more important for us that the island serve as a grounds of revelation," says director Sam Raimi. "They were forced to play parts in our world as the boss and the worker. The boss was horribly cruel. The worker worked hard at their job, and was trustworthy and loyal. But when the façade of that office goes away and they're placed on the island, you get to really see who they are. There's no longer this imaginary hierarchy holding them in some position of power and servitude.

"Now it's just about what determines their worth in this place. He's no good at anything, and she actually has a lot of knowledge," he continues. "We see this power dynamic change, and we watch her grow, but it wasn't all good. She didn't just grow into a better person. Sometimes things are revealed.

"The island is a place of revelation in all ways, so then you realize she had a terrible relationship with her husband and that she may be a murderess. [Bradley] actually had a reason, that didn't justify his behavior, but you begin to understand what made him into the terrible person he was. So I think the writers were more interested in using the island in that fashion, then as a place to show survival skills, even though we had fun with that too."

Send Help is out in US cinemas now, and will be released in the UK on February 5. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Dylan O'Brien plays the most horrible of horrible bosses in new horror-comedy Send Help – but he would've been a little softer around the edges if it was solely up to director Sam Raimi.

Fortunately for O'Brien (and we viewers, too), the Evil Dead helmer wasn't a workplace jerk. He took the actor's suggestion on board of making Bradley, the grinning, golf-obsessed guy Rachel McAdams's dowdy assistant has to answer to, even nastier. Though he admits it took him a while to be fully convinced...

"Dylan and I had disagreements about how dark his character could be in the office," Raimi tells GamesRadar+. "I would say to him, 'Dylan, remember, we're going to do this unusual thing where we're going to have the audience stop identifying with her, and I want them to identify with you at this point? We're gonna reveal things. We're going to have actions take place that will make that happen. But I'm afraid if you push it as hard as you are, we're going to have trouble getting back.'

"He said, 'But that's what makes it worth it.' And I said, 'Okay, let's try it. Let's try it as hard as you're talking about, and we'll see what happens.' And he was right. It was only worth it by going that far – to come back and be surprised that we're now almost rooting for Dylan's character," he continues. "So, yeah, it was a game of puppets and strings to play the audience a little bit. And [Dylan] wasn't afraid to go all the way to the edge. He was gung-ho, he loved this job."

Written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (Freddy vs Jason), Send Help sees O'Brien's Bradley take over his father's company, following the latter's sudden death. Great news for Bradley's lazy office bestie Donovan (Xavier Samuel), less so for McAdams' hard-grafter Linda, who was promised a big promotion by the recently deceased.

When Donovan gets given the gig, Linda kicks off, and Bradley has no choice but to bring her along for an upcoming business trip. But when the company plane crash lands in the Gulf of Thailand, the sparring pair find themselves on a remote island – and Bradley becomes dependent on Survivor-mad, slightly unhinged Linda.

"I love that. I love that. I don't know that we're ever heroes…" O'Brien laughs, when we commend the movie's ability to portray Bradley as both hero and villain. "But yeah, it was a fun game, and it was really freeing. I just don't think that, like, a flawed character necessarily equates to unlikability. I love watching flawed characters, so I guess I just don't understand that conversation, that sort of takes place behind the scenes. Sometimes people can be, like, a little scared of that. I don't know, I feel like all my favorite characters in my favorite movies are flawed."

Send Help is out in US cinemas now, and will be released in the UK on February 5. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

New horror movie Whistle may give the Final Destination franchise a run for its money when it comes to elaborate death scenes, but it's not all blood and guts. So much so in fact, director Corin Hardy describes the scary flick as The Ring meets The Breakfast Club, as it sneaks a genuinely heart-warming romance in amongst all the gooey, gory terror.

Written by Owen Egerton (Mercy Black), it follows Chrys (Marvel's Dafne Keen), as she moves in with her cousin following the death of her father. It doesn't take long for her to catch the attention of sweet student Ellie (Yellowjackets' Sophie Nélisse)... or to find a strange ancient object inside the locker she's been assigned: the locker of one of the school's best basketball players who recently perished in a gruesome "accident".

When one of their friends sounds the instrument in an attempt to summon some spirits, they unknowingly unleash a horrifying curse – and Chrys and Ellie have to work together to stop their fast-forwarded fates from hunting them down and snuffing them out.

"I've never known the chemistry that they had, or friendship on and off set," Hardy says of Keen and Nélisse in an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+. "When there was a very emotional scene, [those] guys would just be chatting and laughing and mucking around, and then I'd be like, 'Okay, children, get into action', and then [they'd] both just go straight into these really heartfelt, full performances. I didn't actually say 'children' ever," he laughs. "But you know!"

"We just we knew that we understood each other and had the exact same kind of humor," smiles Nélisse. "We both knew how to turn it on on 'action' but yeah, as soon as the scene cut, we'd be back to talking about our personal lives.'"

"I was just so relieved to see these two characters brought to life by Dafne and Sophie. Their characters are kind of yin and yang anyways," says Hardy. "But, I mean, Sophie kind of exuded such purity as Ellie. There was so much kindness in [her] eyes and it worked so perfectly against Dafne's, like, darkness. Then they managed to convey this gradual yin-yang change over the course of the movie where they sort of take on aspects of each other to be able to fight together as well."

Whistle releases in US theaters on February 6, before landing in cinemas across the pond on February 13. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Having made a name for himself helming The Hallow before being tasked with directing Warner Bros' big-budget The Conjuring spin-off The Nun, Corin Hardy says it was "exciting" returning to his original horror roots with new supernatural flick Whistle.

"It wasn't so much relief in that sense," the filmmaker tells GamesRadar+, when we ask whether it was refreshing to let loose creatively again, having previously worked on a franchise with an established tone and visual style. "I'm always up for original stories, and particularly ones with new mythologies like. There were three things that really stood out [with Whistle]. One was the mythology, which had a sort of a chill factor to it but also a deepness in terms of contemplating mortality and what your death would be.

"The other was this character-based love story that was emerging through the tragedy, and the other was the death sequences," Hardy added. "You know, what they would be… and how I'd get a chance to really create a variety of different deaths and in different ways that were all kind of tied into these individual characters."

Starring Yellowjackets' Sophie Nélisse and Deadpool and Wolverine's Dafne Keen, Whistle follows a group of high-school students who find themselves battling the Grim Reaper after one of them blows an Aztec death whistle. Turns out, the instrument doesn't "summon the dead", as their teacher Mr. Craven (Nick Frost), it summons "your" death... and it's bad news for anyone unlucky enough to hear its sound.

Unlike a lot of the scary movies released today, it's not a sequel or a remake, as writer Owen Egerton takes inspiration from his own short story of the same name. In it, Keen plays Chrys, the angsty new girl in town who's harboring a dark secret, while Nélisse plays Ellie, the sweet wannabe-doctor she strikes up a romance with. As their friends start being picked off one by one, the twosome must work together to try stop their fast-forwarded fates – presented as their gory, ghoulish doppelgangers – from catching up with them.

"It was fun," Nélisse says of the 8-week shoot. "Someone asked me earlier whether it was more fun to play the hero or the thing coming after the hero? Well, I technically got to play both!

"You root for these characters, so you want some of them to survive. But it is also fun to be bloodied up and covered in dirt and be wet and cold and on the freezing ground; having to contort my body," she continues. "I remember we put these contact lenses that made my eyes go white, but I couldn't see anything. So I was just, like, walking around on set having to be guided by everyone, because I was actually completely blind. Yeah, so I feel very lucky that I kind of got to play all these different spectrums of horror."

Whistle releases in US theaters on February 6, before landing in cinemas across the pond on February 13. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

I didn't realize at the time how blessed we were with the original Nintendo Switch launching with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Though it cross-launched on Nintendo Wii U, it still felt like the killer app that defined the console. I've been worried that Nintendo Switch 2, though a great bit of kit as we discuss in our Nintendo Switch 2 review, has been lacking in a game that would define its launch. But, no monkey business, Donkey Kong Bananza is thankfully that game.

It's great to finally have that defining game on Nintendo Switch 2 – Donkey Kong Bananza has stabilized me, having felt a bit wobbly in the first few weeks after the console's launch. While Mario Kart World was clearly the marketing-bullet-point system seller given the console bundle that came at launch, for me it struggled at the starting grid thanks to a focus on straightforward rallies compared to the series' long history of circuit play. Though Donkey Kong Bananza is just as experimental, it feels like a real evolution of Nintendo platformers in a way that also champions the power of the new hardware.

Ape escape

We still loved the launch racer in our Mario Kart World review, but no matter how you feel about it, there's one undeniable fact – Nintendo isn't known as a racing game developer, as good as it may be at party-style spin-offs. Even the best Mario Kart game would struggle to really define a system for me (except for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! of course).

No, as far as I'm concerned Nintendo games are all about the spirit of adventure – whether that's an epic quest like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, or a huge summer getaway like Super Mario Sunshine. Importantly, they're about setting out for adventure as you, the player, championing expressive play such as the unique traversal mechanics of Super Mario Odyssey or leaving you to chart your own course as you explore Zelda's dense maps.

Donkey Kong Bananza really carries that forward, combining just about everything Nintendo have learned across their first-party 3D adventures together to create something that feels really unique – a form of freedom that only Donkey Kong, in his little tie and not much else, can represent. On a quest to liberate (and consume) glittering bananas, his Jules Verne-esque journey to the center of the planet is one that puts the power of the king of swing into my own simian-like paws.

Each new 'layer' of the world is a sizable chunk of world to explore, though not too large as to get lost. With child Pauline in tow (she helps him to transform into more destructive forms), just about every interesting looking bit of the environment rewards DK with goodies, from bananas themselves to collectible fossils. Each can be traded in for the likes of skills or costumes, but really just smashing them into DK's suspiciously absent pockets or, indeed, his stomach (yes, that's how it's presented in the UI) is rewarding in and of itself.

It's a similar rhythm to Super Mario Odyssey, which itself re-tooled the series' traditional star collecting into smaller, bite size bits of discovery – except here, as Donkey Kong, banana collection is much more immediate. Where Mario might ground pound a suspect bit of the earth, DK can simply dig his mitts in and tear the world apart, the 1:1 destruction helping you find your own paths to discovery without feeling too arbitrary either. Rather than an absence of guided design, it's more like Donkey Kong Bananza allows me to doodle connections between them. It's like finding your way through a tricky maze drawn in pencil, but allowing you to use an eraser on the walls.

These dense environments aren't just littered with collectibles themselves, but 'temples' too, ruins that take more than a peel from the fruit of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. These more strictly designed challenges – ranging from 2D jumping challenges to finding hidden balloons – still allow for creative approaches using Donkey Kong's muscled mind, but are more specific puzzle boxes. Transforming into an Ostrich to leap across moving platforms isn't dissimilar to having Link construct some kind of puzzle-breaking tool out of sticks, but with the added bonuses of hearing DK's ape grunts while he does it.

Donkey Kong Bananza is all about the joy of tearing things apart and sometimes smashing things together, both literally in the game and in terms of genre – forcing Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild to slot together like mismatched puzzle pieces, and with DK having the strength to wedge them together.

It helps that the smashy action that means Donkey Kong can deform every landscape before him and the game will remember the destruction for as long as you want – it feels like the kind of ambitious terrain development previous consoles couldn't pull off. Heck, even Donkey Kong Bananza occasionally struggles as I pull up the map that reflects it all – but I wouldn't have it any other way. Going ape on Nintendo Switch 2 shouldn't be easy, after all, we're witnessing history in the making.

Want more to play? Check out our best Nintendo Switch 2 games ranking!

Donkey Kong Bananza feels like somewhat of a watershed moment for DK, as well as the series’ biggest celebration in… well, ever? There’s a bunch of callbacks to the original 1981 Donkey Kong game, with his new design and Pauline being a major player in the plot. But equally there’s a lot of love being shown to the first major turning point of DK’s career, with Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, and returning music stings like the DK Rap being pulled from the 1990s Rareware era.

But for a game that seems so much like a celebration of the series, there doesn't seem to be any returning villains. Rather than a familiar face returning, the Void Co. Kongs are the enemy this time around. Donkey Kong Country Returns’ Tiki Tak Tribe (the lame ones) are big enough that they appear in Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country area at Universal Studios. Meanwhile, Tropical Freeze’s Snowmads are pretty well liked, but neither made it past one game. However, Donkey Kong does have a nemesis: it just so happens to be one he hasn’t fought since 1999 (in a mainline game at least).

Long live the king

King K. Rool was the central antagonist of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy and the sole previous 3D game in the series, Donkey Kong 64 (not to mention the musical animated series; can’t forget that). But outside of minor spinoffs, he didn’t do a whole bunch after that. The king went on hiatus for a good ten years until Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought him back (with the sickest character trailer for that game, I might add) after being one of the most requested characters.

And sure, the Void Co. bosses look pretty cool. But none of them have the aura of the big dummy-thicc crocodile – after all, apes and crocodiles are natural enemies in the wild (probably). And after 10 years without a new Donkey Kong game, and the big boy's grand return with Smash Bros, seeing the series’ most iconic villain – barring Mario, obviously – revealed to be the big bad in Bananza would be the perfect cherry on top of what already is my most anticipated game of 2025.

If Nintendo is treating Bananza as a big new moment for the series after years of build-up (with the prominent Mario movie role and theme park expansion); and part of that moment is bridging the gap between Nintendo and Rare’s iterations of the character, then having a surprise third-act villain drop from DK’s greatest nemesis feels like the perfect move. In Mario Odyssey you had the Broodals be the hired goons Mario scrapped with throughout the game, with Bowser being the overall villain, so having that dynamic with Void Co. and the surprise addition of K. Rool could be the natural extension of that.

Void Co. pium

Obviously, this is just a wishlist item for me in relation to a game I’m going to love regardless. But since Donkey Kong Bananza was announced, the sleuths have been looking for any signs of K. Rool, and I’ll admit some evidence is compelling for sure. The most obvious of which being the Crockoids, which are big stone crocodile enemies, with their hard outer shell having boxing gloves, just like a certain DK64 boss fight. And then once you break those rocks open, there are very Kremling-looking skeletons inside. Plus, there are 2D sections ripped straight out of Donkey Kong Country.

Not to mention in the list of compatible Amiibo features the Smash Bros. K. Rool amiibo, which, granted, could be taken as a negative because surely Nintendo wouldn’t ruin the surprise this way, but it’s also an acknowledgement of the character.

But it’s not just me. Take one look at the Donkey Kong subreddit and it's filled with posts and theories about how King K. Rool could be in the game; with a fairly common theory being that that tiny marmoset Void Kong is actually somehow a massive chunky croc in disguise. This is such a big point of discussion that we’re getting joke theory posts and full-blown video essays. There’s another big theory about a suspicious boulder…

Ultimately, will it matter if King K. Rool comes back in the end? Probably not, the game looks absolutely phenomenal even without him. But at the same time, after seeing the massive reaction to his return in Super Smash Bros, it’d be a big shame to let the character stagnate. And even without a non-spinoff appearance in over 25 years, the Kremlings and their king are still synonymous with Donkey Kong in the post-Rare era in a way the other villainous groups never really reached – no one was asking for Lord Fredrik in Smash, after all.

If you need one last bit of convincing, it would give Nintendo an excuse to bring back the greatest sound effect in gaming history – and isn't that reason enough?

We've rounded up the best Switch 2 games to keep you busy until Donkey Kong Bananza arrives

As the minutes before the Nintendo Switch 2's full reveal counted down, to fill the silence before the oncoming storm a colleague turned to me: "what game would truly sell you on the new console?" I sat down, leant back in my large gaming chair, and I looked out of the window at the sunny streets. "A followup to Super Mario Odyssey," I replied cooly. With that, the monkey paw curled. It became a fist. And then DK himself walloped me. Because, reader, Donkey Kong Bananza is that Super Mario Odyssey 2.

After all, the king of swing and the mustachioed plumber share plenty of history. Arguably it's their first feud in the original Donkey Kong back in 1981 that made Nintendo the company it is today. It is perhaps only fitting that when Mario takes a break to cruise the highways of Mario Kart World, that DK, tie flapping in the wind, should launch into the spotlight, beating his chest. From the way Donkey Kong Bananza looks to be evolving the exploration-based platforming that Super Mario Odyssey managed to redefine, to the superstar simian's movement mechanics, the link between the two games feels almost as clear to me as the one between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Ape escape

Ever on the hunt for bananas, Donkey Kong comes upon a huge haul on Ingot Isle – shiny, "tasty" golden bananas that shimmer like diamonds, the source of a new resource called Banandium. Yet, before he can dig in, the villains at VoidCo simultaneously suck the loot into a strange storm-bringing orb while smushing the island deeper underground. Clinging his paws to the shiny bananas he so craves, DK is flung into the destruction.

Yet, as he uses his fists to go deeper to recover his banana motherlode, he uncovers new biomes beneath the rocks. Each area is a sandbox style level, throughout which loads of golden bananas are tucked away, rewarding player curiosity as you poke and prod – or rather, smash and pummel – at the wide, densely designed levels. If something causes you to scratch your gorilla-chin in curiosity, it's always well worth checking out.

It's obviously a similar set-up to Super Mario Odyssey. There, uncovering Power Moons, Mario pauses in the air as he holds them up with the on-screen text "You got a moon" alongside pithy text describing the moon's challenge such as "Flooding Pipeway Ceiling Secret". Here, Donkey Kong smashes each golden banana into bits, with the camera pausing on the destruction with the text "Oh, banana!" followed by a similar description, like "Through the Banana-Mining Belt" before he gobbles up that sweet, sweet, Banandium.

In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario uses Cappy to break apart the rules of the platforming stages laid out before him – empowering him to make mind-boggling leaps of faith, spinning and leaping off his hat to gain lots of air. Donkey Kong Bananza has a similar philosophy, but revels in a much more hands-on approach for DK. Yes, he can roll around in a ball, and climb up almost any surface he wants, but he can also pull out chunks of the level and use his fists to destroy and reshape the world around him. He can create tunnels, punch around obstacles, and even pull out chunks of stage to 'turf surf' on top of.

The destruction adds an almost The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom approach to puzzle solving. You might come across a concrete wall that DK can't smash with his fists, but a nearby bit of Boom Rock can explode it – revealing a Golden Banana. Yet at the same time, approach from another angle, and DK can circumvent the blockage entirely, using his paws to smash through to the prize. This ape thinks outside the box. I do worry about whether the possibility to smash through problems will diminish challenges that are set out, but Nintendo hasn't let me down so far with similar approaches in other games.

A detailed map is another way Bananza diverges from Odyssey, with it displaying any destructive alterations DK has made to the stage in real-time. It can also allow you to see points of interest where you've yet to quite literally leave your mark. The destruction creates more verticality to the stages by design too. DK can punch in any direction, always able to ascend or descend as long as he's not hitting upon bedrock or the mysterious, purple-glowing voided terrain. Even a leap from up high will end with DK leaving a crater behind him where he lands.

Golden bananas, then, might end up a bit more hidden than Odyssey's power moons, but a handy clap allows DK to highlight banana treats like a kind of snack sonar through walls. It also brings any loose Banandium – that stuff is everywhere – into his waiting mouth. Likewise, DK and new buddy Odd Rock (who is, how do I put this, a talking odd rock) can whistle to mark the way ahead – handy if you get lost in a cavern of your own creation. There's moments of loudness to pulling things apart punctuated by quieter melodies. It makes for a warm tone.

While chowing down on natural resources and accruing Golden Bananas is clearly the point of Donkey Kong Bananza, the exact relationship the items have on progress compared to Super Mario Odyssey has yet to be determined. Donkey Kong finds himself descending a layer at a time, progressing by finding and destroying the Void Stakes left by VoidCo in order to dive even deeper. In the first proper layer we've seen, the Lagoon Layer (with its dazzling blue sky actually, somehow, being the sea itself – the underground is odd but beautiful here), there's multiple Void Stakes you can smash up to progress. Which means, interestingly, alternative ways to go deeper to new levels. What that means in play remains to be seen, but it's a new approach we've seen from Nintendo in how levels are connected.

What is clear is how much Donkey Kong Bananza rewards clever use of its movement to reach oodles of secrets. From the golden bananas themselves to collectible fossils, and even challenge levels and friendly apes to uncover (yes, Cranky is back), there's loads packed into every dense level before you even get into tearing it apart with your bare (erm, monkey) hands. I've never been the biggest Donkey Kong guy, but as a lover of 3D platformers Donkey Kong Bananza is shaping up to be an adventure that doesn't just ape the joyous feeling of discovery I last felt with Super Mario Odyssey, but to genuinely evolve the concept. Oh, banana!

Yes, we've gone hands-on with the game already! Donkey Kong Bananza is the most fun I've had with Switch 2 yet thanks to its gleeful, chest-thumping destruction

Sony has claimed Microsoft's track record with Starfield is proof it shouldn't be trusted to keep Call of Duty multi-platform.

Microsoft has recently made sweeping commitments to put Call of Duty on more platforms should its acquisition of Activision Blizzard proceed - even signing a deal to put Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms for a decade. The company also said Call of Duty would be on the next PlayStation console, and even offered PlayStation a decade-long deal to keep the shooter series on its consoles (which Sony declined).

However, Sony is now looking to Microsoft's track record to discredit its new offers. In a recent statement to the UK government's Competition and Markets Authority agency, Sony pointed to Microsoft's past statement to the European Commission that it would "not have the incentive" to limit making Bethesda-made games available on multiple platforms.

Starfield is now obviously a console exclusive for the Xbox Series X/S, eliminating it from coming to PlayStation platforms. Sony believes Microsoft has reneged on this past statement to the European Commission by making Starfield a console exclusive for one platform, and therefore the company shouldn't be trusted to keep to its agreements regarding Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard franchises.

It's worth pointing out that Starfield was never explicitly declared a PlayStation game. There were several years in between Starfield's announcement and its grand gameplay reveal last year where news surrounding the game went quiet, and in that time Bethesda never confirmed which platforms the game would actually be coming to upon launch.

Sony believes the implication for a multi-platform PlayStation launch for Starfield was there, though, which is what their argument now hinges around. The UK's CMA hasn't given a final verdict on Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition yet, so it remains to be seen whether Sony's statement will have a material impact on the agency's final verdict.

Head over to our upcoming Xbox Series X games guide for a full look at all the confirmed games coming to Microsoft's console so far. 

The PS5 is going to be Big in 2023. You need only look at the line-up of upcoming PS5 games to confirm as much. But with so many video games announced, it can be difficult to ascertain what is likely to define the conversation around the system throughout the year. Which is why we wanted to focus on five PS5 exclusives that you need to have on your radar. Each of these are not only new games for 2023, but experiences which (for you console owners out there) are only available on PS5. From massive new titles from the PlayStation Studios group to visually striking indies that'll have you documenting the end of the world, there's something for everybody in our picks of the must-see PS5 exclusives of 2023. 

Forspoken

Developer: Luminous Productions
Release date: January 24, 2023

Forspoken has continued to impress with each new showing. Arriving on January 24 from developer Luminous Productions and publisher Square Enix, this upcoming action-RPG is a PS5 platform exclusive that pulls focus onto a beautiful open world and over 100 wieldable spells that are available to help you conquer it. With four different element types that you'll be able to invest in, it's the suite of magical abilities where Forspoken really sets itself apart – with spells used to navigate the sprawling fantasy space and to combat an array of dangerous creatures. While there are still questions surrounding the execution of Forspoken's story – which sees Frey Holland transported from New York City into the fantasy world of Athia; making this Square Enix's ode to the Wizard of Oz – we are eager to jump into this new adventure from the studio who brought Final Fantasy 15's road-tripping adventure to life.  

Season: A Letter to the Future

Developer: Scavengers Studio
Release date: January 31, 2023

One of the strengths of the PlayStation has always been the diversity of its library – just look at 2022 as a shining example, where games like God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West can share the stage with the likes of Stray and Rollerdrome. 2023 is taking a similar shape with Season: A Letter to the Future arriving as one of the most anticipated PS5 platform exclusives of the winter period. Season tasks you with documenting the end of the world; you'll travel by bicycle and foot to the corners of the world, capturing the sights and sounds of a visually striking space before a mysterious cataclysm wipes it all away. Between its visually striking landscapes, the fun systems in place for cataloging and collating the art, nature, and architecture around you, and its intriguing premise, Season has quickly emerged as one of the must play PS5 games of 2023. 

Horizon Call of the Mountain

Developer: Guerrilla Games, Firesprite
Release date: February 22, 2023

The countdown has started for PSVR 2, and PlayStation's new virtual reality headset remains something of an unknown quantity. There are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the PS5 peripheral, which is launching at an introductory price of $549.99 / £529.99 on February 22, but few could argue with the quality of the lineup of upcoming PSVR 2 games – headlined by Horizon Call of the Mountain. A collaboration between Guerrilla Games and Firesprite (which joined the PlayStation Studios family in 2021), Call of the Mountain looks every bit the PSVR 2 system seller. It's set to follow Ryas, a former Shadow Carja rebel, and will give us an all-new perspective on the world of Horizon. This adventure will play in first-person, where we'll tackle robotic creatures with a hunter bow in hand and work to carefully scale absolutely stunning landscapes. If anything is going to generate obscene levels of PSVR 2 FOMO, it's Horizon Call of the Mountain.  

Final Fantasy 16

Developer: Square Enix Creative Business Unit 3
Release date: June 22, 2023

We’re little over two years into the new console generation, and Square Enix is preparing to deliver an all-new installment to the beloved Final Fantasy franchise. Arriving June 22, Final Fantasy 16 is a PS5 console exclusive which will take us into the fantasy land of Valisthea – a world besieged by six warring factions, and powerful Eikons based on summons from the wider Final Fantasy series. While plenty of attention has been paid to the likes of Phoenix, Shiva, Titan, Garuda, Leviathan, Bahamut, Odin, and Ramuh (who look more visually striking than ever before), the vast majority of the adventure will focus on protagonist Clive Rosfield and his attempt to protect his family at a time of growing unrest. Final Fantasy 16 will feature a more fluid real-time action-combat system, as well as a rotating part of companions controlled by AI, through large-scale open areas. Expect Final Fantasy 16 to be one of the biggest RPGs of 2023 and a real showcase of what the PS5 is capable of. 

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Developer: Insomniac Games
Release date: Fall 2023

With no fewer than 15 development teams working under the PlayStation Studios banner, there's every chance that 2023 will be another incredible year for first-party PS5 games. But right now all eyes are on one of the most prolific studios in the group: Insomniac Games. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is set to release this fall as a PS5 exclusive; Peter Parker and Miles Morales are returning for another web-swinging adventure through New York City, with the dynamic duo teaming up to take on Venom (voiced by horror legend Tony Todd of Candyman fame). Little has been revealed about Marvel's Spider-Man 2 so far, but Insomniac says that it will "deliver a compelling human story, one full of heart and humor that dives deep into the people behind the mask." That's all well and good, but with the reveal trailer dropping strong hints at the introduction of Kraven the Hunter, we're keen to see whether Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is able to pull off an introduction of the Sinister Six – thankfully, we'll find out soon enough!

Big in 2023 is the GamesRadar+ guide to the most anticipated games of the year. Join us all throughout January as we explore the biggest upcoming video games of 2023, and the developers making them.

Nintendo has revealed some staggering Pokemon Scarlet and Violet sales figures, and it turns out the new installments had the biggest launch of any console exclusive game ever.

In a press release, Nintendo revealed that it sold an eye-watering 10 million copies of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet globally within three days of their launch, with four million of those units being sold in Japan. "This is the highest number ever for global and domestic sales in the first three days after the release of software for all Nintendo game consoles, including Nintendo Switch," reads a bit from the press release.

As impressive as that is, it doesn't even paint the full picture. As industry analyst @BenjiSales points out, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's launch broke a number of sales records. Not only is it the biggest Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, and Pokemon launch ever, it's also the highest sales for any console exclusive launch in history. "There has never been a game, ever, released for any platform as an exclusive that has sold more than this," said BenjiSales. "We are literally looking at the Biggest Exclusive Launch of all time. Insanity."

For some context, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, one of the best-selling Switch games to date, only sold 1.88 million copies over its first three days in Japan, while the more recent Splatoon 3 sold a whopping 3.45 million units in Japan during that same three-day launch window.

These historic sales fly in the face of growing criticism around the game's performance and visuals. GamesRadar's 3/5-star Pokemon Scarlet and Violet review notes these performance issues and says it's "the most interesting Pokemon game in a long time, for better and worse."

If you're one of the 10 million jumping into Paldea, here are the best Pokemon Scarlet and Violet starters to choose from.

This helpful roundup brings together all of the PS5 exclusives that have released so far, as well as all of the future PS5 exclusives confirmed to be on the way in one place.

2026 has been a busy year for PlayStation announcements and news, with the June 2026 PlayStation State of Play revealing more upcoming PS5 games in the pipeline - including a new PS5 exclusive God of War game starring Laufey. And with another look at the next big upcoming Marvel game featuring Wolverine, which is coming exclusively to the PS5 this September, there's plenty to keep track of.

Sony also announced that it will be ending physical disc production for new games in 2028, and with many future exclusives still yet to get release dates or launch windows, only time will tell if we'll see physical versions for some of them. In the meantime, you can find a full overview of all of the PS5 exclusives released so far in alphabetical order, as well as those confirmed to be on the way, with cross-gen releases for both PS4 and PS5 included further down.

Out now

Astro Bot

Our favorite little PlayStation robot returned with a fresh adventure simply called Astro Bot in 2024. It's a gorgeous action platformer set across over 50 planets, and it turns your DualSense into an in-game Dual Speeder to help him search for his lost pals. The adventure is packed with creative levels, inventive puzzles, Easter eggs, and memorable boss fights to boot. Coming out to a chorus of glowing praise, the return of the little bot is one unmissable PS5 exclusive - for more on why, be sure to check out our Astro Bot review.

Astro's Playroom

Astro's Playroom may seem like a mere tech demo to showcase PS5 features, from ray tracing to the adaptive triggers of the DualSense PS5 controller, but that assumption couldn't be farther from reality. This pocket-sized adventure (around 3 hours in length, with potentially more for the platinum) is an endearing tribute to the PlayStation franchise, featuring callbacks to previous consoles and games.

But it also manages to provide a platforming experience that is charming as it is polished, and the fact that it comes pre-loaded with the console means that you can, and should, start playing right away while you finish setting everything up. You can read our Astro's Playroom review for more details!

Code Violet

Code Violet kicked off 2026 in terms of PS5 exclusives. You play as Violet Sinclair, who must uncover the truth behind Aion Bioengineering Complex while also avoiding getting killed by a ton of dangerous creatures. It's a third-person action horror title that looks pretty out there with dinosaurs and dramatic moments populating its trailers.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Death Stranding 2 reunites us with Sam played by Norman Reedus as he sets out to save humanity from extinction. Set against the open-world backdrop of Australia this time around, the adventure explores human connection, brings back the unique social aspect of building and sharing with other players in a more approachable, combat-focused experience that looks and runs beautifully on the PS5 and PS5 Pro with very fast loading times. Check out our Death Stranding 2 review for more.

Demon's Souls

All stories start somewhere. FromSoftware's legacy began 11 years ago with Demon's Souls, one of the most intriguing and challenging titles of the PS3 era. Now, under Bluepoint's vision (the studio that brought back Shadow of the Colossus), the beginning of the 'soulsborne' genre gets the remake treatment on PS5. This is the same experience we remember, but it's almost indistinguishable over a decade later. With only a few touches here and there in terms of gameplay, Demon's Souls' biggest change comes from the way it looks and plays on this new console generation - it's a remarkable PS5 launch game that you shouldn't miss.

Destruction AllStars

Destruction AllStars introduces itself as a new IP of multiplayer competitive racing. Don't picture it as regular races, however - this is akin to the battle arenas of the Twisted Metal series or the collisions that you would see in a Burnout game, packed with a cast of 16 distinct characters. Perhaps its biggest twist comes when your car is destroyed: you will automatically enter a third-person view of your racer and move them around the map as if it were a different game. Its player base isn't as active as it was at launch, but if you can find a match in a timely matter, it can be a fun way to spend a couple of hours with your PS5.

Forspoken

Forspoken tells the tale of a young woman named Frey from New York City, who celebrates her 21st birthday by being transported to the world of Athia. A sentient cuff becomes your companion, a world of fantasy and mystery your playground, and magic your plaything. This game is at its best when you're exploring its world and pinging off magic spells, as the story and writing aren't always the strongest elements.

Ghost of Yotei

At long last, the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima is finally here, and has blown both critics and fans away. Much like its predecessor, Ghost of Yotei is a thrilling samurai action game that will take players on a sweeping journey, combining a razor-sharp combat experience with a sprawling narrative for the ultimate warrior fantasy. All packaged up in staggering graphical fidelity, Ghost of Yotei brings to life an open world begging to be explored. If you want to learn more about this 2025 addition, you can head on over to our Ghost of Yotei review.

God of War Sons of Sparta

God of War Sons of Sparta is a 2D action platformer from developer Mad Cat Studios and Santa Monica Studio. Released in 2026 exclusively for the PS5 on the same day as its surprise reveal during the PlayStation State of Play February 2026 showcase, Sons of Sparta follows a young Kratos who trains to be a Spartan warrior alongside his brother, Deimos. When a fellow cadet goes missing, though, the pair set out on a adventure to try and find him, and put their Spartan skills to use. You can learn more about this retro-style metroidvania-like experience in our God of War Sons of Sparta review.

Horizon Zero Dawn remastered

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered presents Aloy's first adventure in stunning high fidelity, with "over 10 hours of re-recorded conversation, mocap, and countless graphical improvements" to bring it in line with Horizon Forbidden West. Sure, it had to compete alongside Dragon Age: The Veilguard when it was released, but with its low price tag and fresh coat of paint, it's well worth the money.

Infinity Nikki

The 5th game in the Nikki Up2U franchise has been confirmed as a PS5 exclusive and launched on December 5, 2024. This open-world dress-up adventure game, where you must craft and find outfits with special powers, may not be everyone's cup of tea. But with over 20 million pre-registrations recorded, you can't deny it's popularity. In fact, from our short time playing the game, we absolutely loved it. The visuals are stunning and the world completely captivated us (not surprising given the fact that the game is headed by former Breath of the Wild dev Kentaro Tominaga).

Lost Soul Aside

Landing in August 2025, Lost Soul Aside brought its dangerous dimension exclusively to PS5. In the action-adventure, you take on the role of Kaser, who sets out to save his sister after her soul is taken by invading beings known as the Voidrax. With a giant sword in hand, Lost Soul Aside is like a blend of Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry, which we explore in more depth in our Lost Soul Aside review.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered

A beautifully remastered version of one of 2018's best superhero games, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered takes an already great game and makes it better. Thanks to 4K resolution, ray tracing support, and a buttery smooth 60 FPS (in performance mode), swinging around New York City as Spider-Man and beating up goons is more satisfying than ever. The framerate boost is especially appreciated during fast-paced, high-intensity scenes, which, let's face it, make up about 90% of the game. Even if you've played the original game on PS4 already, it's worth picking up on PS5 (it's free if you own the game on PS4) For more, check out our glowing Spider-Man Remastered review.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Announced during the September PlayStation showcase in 2021, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 saw the two Spider-Men - Peter Parker and Miles Morales - team up. The game was released in 2023 and is fantastic. In fact, we gave it five stars in our Spider-Man 2 review. The game is fun, the story is fast-paced, and all the wall-crawling and web-swinging mechanics are a dream. It's a must-play for sure.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is as triumphant a return as they come for the titular duo: a visual showcase for the PS5, a well-written story right up there with the best Pixar movies, and simply a blast of a platformer from front to back. If you want something to show off what your PS5 can do, you can't beat Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and it comes with the bonus of being an incredibly polished, well-made platformer/shooter, even without considering its technical accomplishments. Read our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart review for more insights.

Returnal

As stunningly beautiful as it is blisteringly challenging, Housemarque's 2021 roguelike Returnal will test your patience at the same time as it challenges your expectations about what's possible on PS5. It makes full use of Sony's hardware to deliver a visual spectacle, buttery smooth performance, and a new level of immersion thanks to its creative utilization of the DualSense's adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. If you want more details, read our Returnal review.

Saros

Saros is the latest game from Returnal studio, Housemarque. As an action game that's framed as the "ultimate evolution of Housemarque's gameplay-first experience", it officially released in April 2026 as a PS5 exclusive. In Saros, you take on the role Arjun Devraj (played by Rahul Kohli), who's what's known as a Soltari Enforcer. Sent to investigate a missing mining colony, you'll venture to the shape-shifting planet of Carcosa. As we highlight in our Saros review, it delivers fast-paced, reactive combat and an arresting story.

Silent Hill: The Short Message

Silent Hill: The Short Message is a free-to-play psychological horror game which landed exclusively on PS5 back in 2024. From Konami and developer HexaDrive, the short first-person experience follows a teenager called Anita as she explores a derelict apartment building. Drawing on themes such social media and bullying, it's a curious experiment in the Silent Hill series, which you can learn more about in our Silent Hill: The Short Message review.

Stellar Blade

Coming from Korean developer Shift Up, Stellar Blade allows you to "explore the mysteries of Earth's downfall." It's a third-person action game where you wield katanas as you flip about pulling off various acrobatics. As we mentioned in our Stellar Blade review, it's an impressive visual treat that may have some clunkiness, but it's still a decent action RPG and PS5 exclusive.

Sword of the Sea

Sword of the Sea is the new game from Giant Squid Studios, and you'll probably guess by the art style that it's from developers who brought us Journey, Abzu, and The Pathless. It's stunning to look at and sees you sand surfing on a quest to find a lost ocean. Ruins become your skateparks as you jump aboard your hoversword as Wraith, who's trying to restore life to this sand-covered world.

Towers of Aghasba

Stunning open-world Zelda-like adventure Towers of Aghasba entered Early Access in 2024. In this beautiful indie game, players take on the role of a junior architect in the displaced Shimu tribe, newly returned to their ancestral homeland some 50 years after the invasion that pushed them out. Turning an arid, broken landscape into a thriving community looks and sounds like a beautiful experience already, and we can't wait to see more of the Towers of Aghasba.

The Midnight Walk

The Midnight Walk from the ex-Lost in Random creators brings to life a stunningly creepy fantasy world by sculpting everything by hand in clay and then 3D scanning it all and making us of stop motion. It all comes together to turns its nightmarish setting into a veritable treasure trove of spooks, puzzles, and adventure galore. It only gets more intense if you happen to be a PSVR2 owner as well.

The Last of Us Part 1

Naughty Dog's masterpiece, originally released on the PS3, has now made its way to the PS5 in the form of The Last of Us Part 1. This remake has been rebuilt from the ground up for the PS5, with upgraded visuals, DualSense features, modernized gameplay and mechanics, and accessibility options. It's the same game but brought into the PS5 generation in so many ways. If you want to read more about this PS5 version, check out our The Last of Us Part 1 review.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

It might feel a smidgen too soon for a remaster of The Last of Us Part 2, which only debuted in 2020, but here we are. This PS5 exclusive version will include graphical enhancements, full DualSense integration and more, plus an all new gameplay mode that's a roguelike survival experience. It's a great version of the game. However, if you want to know more about the original, here is our The Last of Us 2 review.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

A PS5 exclusive collection of two excellent Uncharted games gets you Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Both titles originally released on PS4, but the PS5 edition comes with deliciously improved visuals and frame rates. They're the closing arcs of the Uncharted narrative so far, and are both excellent adventures that link in together seamlessly.

Upcoming PS5 exclusives

Marvel's Wolverine

Release date: September 15, 2026

Like Spider-Man 2, Marvel's Wolervine was revealed during that epic 2021 September PlayStation showcase. In development at Insomniac Games right now, a September release date was officially announced in 2026. It's set to explore an original story across various locations around the world, with action-packed set pieces in what promises to be a "much darker and more brutal" experience than Insomniac's previous adventures.

Phantom Blade 0

Release date: October 29, 2026

Phantom Blade 0 is essentially the spiritual rebirth of a game called Rainblood. It's not a game that many in the West will have that much familiarity with, but it definitely looks epic. It's calling itself 'kungfupunk', and you play as an elite assassin serving an organization simply known as The Order. You're technically dead, but The Order has found a cure that happens to last for just 66 days.

Until Dawn 2

Release date: TBC 2027

Developed by first-party PlayStation studio, Firesprite, Until Dawn 2 was announced during the June 2026 State of Play and is currently slated to arrive sometime in 2027. Rather than a direct follow-up, the second Until Dawn is set to be a standalone horror with a fresh cast. Following a group of ghost hunters on an island who ended up facing very real scares, your decisions will once again shape the direction of the story and seal the fate of the characters.

God of War Laufey

Release date: TBC

During the June 2026 PlayStation State of Play, Santa Monica Studio unveiled a new God of War adventure that will follow warrior Laufey (Faye), Kratos' wife and the mother of Atreus. Acting as a continuation of the God of War (2018), God of War Laufey takes place after Faye's funeral, where she awakens is said to find "the plans she put in place to protect Kratos and Atreus who are now at risk". Now, she must fight through the afterlife of the gods to protect them both.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Release date: TBC

Developer Naughty Dog is bringing us a brand new IP with the upcoming sci-fi game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. While we don't know much about this one, we do know that we'll be playing as the bounty hunter Jordan, who has to venture to a mysterious and dangerous planet called Sempiria. From the trailer that we've seen so far, the game looks fantastic. It's already one of our most anticipated PS5 exclusives in the pipeline right now.

Knights of the Old Republic Remake  

Release date: TBC

The Knights of the Old Republic Remake was first announced during a PlayStation showcase back in 2021 and was confirmed to be a PS5 launch exclusive. The remake is being helmed by Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games and is set to be a new version of the beloved RPG that was first released back in 2003 and was originally developed by BioWare. Honestly, it's one of the most exciting upcoming Star Wars games, but we don't have good news when it comes to its release date - it's been quite some time since we've had a big update on the game after a report from Bloomberg claimed the remake has been delayed indefinitely.

Fairgame$

Release date: TBC

Fairgames - or Fairgames$ as it's officially known - is the brand new project from equally brand new studio Haven, which is headed up by Jade Raymond. It's a PvP heist game where you're playing to rob the super-rich. You'll be trespassing across all sorts of locations, trying to hack vaults, steal secrets, and more.

PS4/PS5 exclusives

PS4 and PS5 cross-gen exclusives

There are some titles that are PS5 exclusives, but also happened to simultaneously debut on the PS4 too. We'll list those games below:

Goodbye Volcano High

Goodbye Volcano High is a narrative game from developer KO_OP that puts you in the role of Fang as they try to get through their final year in high school. We got another look at the game and its beautiful 2D animations during the February 2023 State of Play, before it arrived on PS5 back in August 2023. The trailer also gave us a glimpse of some of the interactions and minigames we get to encounter as we get to know the cast of characters.

Ultros

As you can probably tell by the screenshot, Ultros is a metroidvania that is somewhat psychedelic in nature, with color palettes and patterns pulled straight from the 70s. Turns out you've crashed your spaceship into a cosmic uterus that's holding a demonic being known as UItros. Suddenly you're trapped in an eternal loop of a black hole and must figure out how to break the cycle by exploring the Sacophagus and meeting its inhabitants.

Foamstars

Essentially Square Enix's take on Splatoon, Foamstars is a 4v4 shooter where you shoot foam instead of ink. It's bright, it's colorful, and pretty darn cute, but interestingly it's got some unique mechanics too. The foam itself can alter the terrain so you can build up your own battlements or just sud surf to get across the map.

God of War: Ragnarok

God of War: Ragnarok is that kind of sequel that any tidbit of news is poured over with fervor. Following on the narrative from the 2018 God of War reboot, we'll be back with Kratos and Atreus ahead of the world-shattering Ragnarok event, as they search for answers - and allies. Various Norse Gods and monsters will try to stand in their way as they travel the Nine Realms.

Horizon Forbidden West 

Aloy's second adventure arrived in March 2022, taking her to lands anew. As the title suggests, Horizon Forbidden West sees Aloy heading west into locales like Las Vegas and San Francisco in search of the source of a blight that's killing the Earth. What she finds are new tribes, fresh threats, but also friends old and new. It's a brilliant tale in one of the most impressive and full open worlds. The Burning Shores DLC only expanded it further, but it's worth noting the expansion is only available on PS5.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Sackboy: A Big Adventure launched as a launch title for PS5, but also dropped simultaneously on PS4. However, it's definitely best experienced on the newer console as the game really looks fantastic and utilizes the haptic feedback in the Dualsense to great effect.

It's Sackboy's first foray away from the LittleBigPlanet name too, so don't expect the creative elements of that original series here. This is a stunning story-driven title, with support for co-op too. It's inventive, playful, and utterly adorable, so well worth a play. If you want more details on this gem, you can read our Sackboy: A Big Adventure review.

Gran Turismo 7

PlayStation's premium racing sim is back with Gran Turismo 7. Although it's had a ropey launch with online and maintenance issues and discussions around updates, making the need for microtransactions slightly more prevalent, it's still a fantastic racer. It's a huge and utterly beautiful racing game that will no doubt earn it a position among the best PS5 games of all time eventually. But if you want to give this PS5 exclusive a chance, head to our Gran Turismo 7 review for more details.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Arriving as a PS5 launch title, and also launching on PS4, this smaller Spider-Man story follows the titular Miles Morales as a direct sequel to the last PS4 Spider-Man game. He's just got his powers, and he's figuring out how to be his own version of the friendly neighborhood superhero.

Peter Parker is his mentor, but he has his own powers - including electric venom blasts, camouflage, and other gadgets. It's set in the same world but with the focus being on Spanish Harlem, and Morales' immediate friends and family. As we point out in our Spider-Man: Miles Morales review, it might be a more compact story than the main Spider-Man entry, but this game is probably more impactful.

Director's Cuts

Some of the PS5 exclusives also include Director's Cut editions of PS4 games - essentially re-releases of the PS4 titles but with souped up graphics, and other additional features like DualSense haptics.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut

Not only did the Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut give us a brilliant graphical upgrade, but it also gave us the top-notch DLC - Iki Island - bundled in for good measure. This is a 4K 60fps experience on PS5, with support for 3D audio and DualSense haptic feedback too. It's the premium experience for Jin's story.

Death Stranding: Director's Cut

Death Stranding was the second Director's Cut to emerge and again brought this PS4 exclusive to PS5 with a new 4K 60fps sheen. It features additional story content, weapons and vehicles, a competitive ranking system, and more among the usual PS5 additions like DualSense haptics. Kojima calls it the "definitive" Death Stranding experience, and who are we to argue?

PS5 exclusives FAQS

Look back at more of PlayStation's highlights with our pick of the best PS4 games.

Activision Blizzard has revealed a bit more exclusive content for the PlayStation versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

As revealed in September, Call of Duty MW2 pre-orders on PS4 and PS5 will include the Oni Operator Pack, with the titular operator and an exclusive weapon blueprint for use in both Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone. (PlayStation players, of course, also got early access to the beta.) If you want that pack, your time to pre-order is quickly running out.

A recent update to the official Call of Duty website reveals that some small bonuses exclusive to PS4 and PS5 players will continue post-launch. Battle Pass Bundle purchasers will get 25 tier skips instead of the usual 20. You'll get monthly 24-hour double XP events, and a 25% weapon XP bonus when playing in a party, even cross-platform. PlayStation players also get two extra loadout slots, and PS Plus members will get combat packs with things like operator skins, weapon blueprints, or emblems every season.

If that all sounds familiar, it's because Vanguard featured roughly the same benefits on PlayStation. Notably, neither Vanguard nor Modern Warfare 2 includes a PlayStation-exclusive mode. Historically, game modes were a major component of past platform-exclusive Call of Duty content, and basically the whole reason anybody on Xbox or PC felt like they were missing out.

Any discussion of Call of Duty platform exclusivity right now is colored by the irony of Microsoft's impending buyout of publisher Activision Blizzard. Sony fears that Microsoft would make the series PlayStation-exclusive, though Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the company wants to "treat Call of Duty like Minecraft" and bring it to more platforms.

The Call of Duty MW2 multiplayer release time is approaching fast.

The Stadia-exclusive game Outcasters will not be heading to other platforms once the streaming service shuts down early next year. 

As revealed by the game's developer, Splash Damage, Outcasters will cease to exist when Google Stadia shuts down on January 18, 2023. This news comes from the official Outcasters Twitter account which published a statement that reads: "It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that we do not have plans to bring Outcasters to other platforms at this time."

The statement continues: "Outcasters was designed and built exclusively for Stadia, with many of its systems heavily reliant on the platform, significantly increasing the complexity of the work required." Splash Damage ends the statement by adding: "We still firmly believe that cloud gaming has a bright future in our industry, providing easier access to games than ever before, and we are encouraged to see that other platforms still champion this cause." 

The Outcasters developer isn't the only one struggling since the news of Stadia's shut down was shared two weeks ago now. Shortly after the news broke, one Red Dead Redemption 2 fan began begging Rockstar for a character transfer after sinking almost 6,000 hours into the game. Unfortunately for this player, it looks like they may lose all of the progress they've made once Google officially shuts down Stadia next year. 

This isn't the only person to take advantage of Stadia, we also recently reported on the Destiny 2 player who finally found a use for Google Stadia: running 11 accounts at once to help the community farm bosses. 

Are you now in the market for a new gaming platform? Take a look at our best PS5 games and best Xbox Series X games lists to figure out what you should move onto next. 

Marvel's Wolverine is a new third-person action adventure from developer Insomniac that will claw its way onto PS5 this September.

Thanks to the latest June 2026 PlayStation State of Play, which dropped as part of the Summer Game Fest Schedule for 2026, we got an extended look at gameplay for the upcoming Marvel game. Featuring some familiar faces in the likes of Jean Grey and Sabretooth, it was great to see the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive in action ahead of its release.

With the trailer also shedding some light on the story, which sees mutants who have been taken by a group known as the Reavers, Wolverine looks like his lending his claws to the mutant cause. To learn more about what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting upcoming PS5 games releasing in 2026, read on as we break down everything you need to know about Marvel's Wolverine.

Marvel's Wolverine release date confirmed

Marvel's Wolverine is set to release on September 15, 2026.

The PS5 game received initially received a 2026 release window at last year's PlayStation September State of Play, where Insomniac was on hand to deliver a first official look at the game in action.

Then the developer "cut to the chase" by dropping a tweet in February 2026 confirming we're set to see Logan land this September.

Marvel's Wolverine platforms

Marvel's Wolverine is a PS5 exclusive and will not be coming to PS4.

While Spider-Man: Miles Morales was a cross-gen game when it launched alongside the PS5, Insomniac soon followed it with Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart – a PS5 platform exclusive. Insomniac has fully turned its attention to the new generation console and is working to squeeze every ounce of power out of it that it can.

It also looks like the game won't be coming to PC in the future, unfortunately. According to a post shared by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier on BlueSky, PlayStation studio business CEO Hermen Hulst stated in a town hall meeting that the new strategy is that narrative single-player games will be firm PS5 exclusives going forward.

We'll keep you posted if any changes or surprise platforms are revealed. But, for now, you'll need a console to play this one.

Marvel's Wolverine gameplay trailer

Above is the latest trailer for Marvel's Wolverine, and it is glorious. The clip does focus on gameplay for the upcoming title first and foremost. If you want to see the game's overall mood, we recommend watching the reveal trailer below.

The Marvel's Wolverine reveal trailer is 53 seconds of pure joy. It opens up in the aftermath of a barroom brawl, the room littered with blood and bodies as our favorite adamantium-clawed Mutant enjoys a shot.

That bar, our friends over at Newsarama have surmised, is the Princess Bar – AKA Logan's home away from home on the island of Madripoor, which you may also have spotted in Episode 3 of Falcon and The Winter Soldier. A brawler pulls a knife, Logan pops his claws, and fades to black – let the wait for another look at the game in action begin!

Marvel's Wolverine setting and story

Marvel's Wolverine is being pitched as a global thriller. The presence of The Princess Bar in the original reveal trailer signaled that the nation of Madripoor would be a key location, which Insomniac has now confirmed. The studio also confirmed locations including "the frosted wilderness of Canada and the narrow city streets of Tokyo."

It's worth noting that this adventure is separate from the comic books and movies that Logan has starred in the past. Last year, Ryan Schneider, head of franchise strategy at Insomniac, explained that this was a "standalone game" he does drop this tease: "Being able to build a new, original universe with Spider-Man and now Wolverine is such an honor for so many of us at Insomniac Games."

In this take on the universe, most people don't know that mutants exist, and many who do persecute them. One mission we've seen has Wolverine on the hunt to save kidnapped mutants, including a young green child.

Marvel's Wolverine gameplay

Marvel's Wolverine a third-person action adventure game. Insomniac says it aims to "deliver the ultimate Wolverine fantasy built on Insomniac staples like fast, fluid, and ferocious combat; exhilarating, action-packed set pieces; robust accessibility features; and a gripping story that taps into the core tenets of one of the most compelling comic book characters of all-time."

The studio has also said that it is "breaking new ground" with its storytelling and gameplay for this PS5 exclusive. "Once the claws come out, Wolverine doesn’t hold back: as a living weapon forged against his will, he’ll use razor-sharp adamantium to dispatch enemies and untamed berserker rage to build momentum on the battlefield. He’ll leave an impression on his foes with fast, fluid, and rapid attacks and techniques that’ll dismember or break anyone who gets in his way. Wolverine might be distant, but he isn’t afraid to get up-close and personal when it counts."

Which is all to say that you should expect an exceptionally bloody, brutal experience from the Marvel's Wolverine gameplay experience. The first look at the game in action is exceptionally promising, with Insomniac combining all the flair of its Spider-Man titles with the brutality Logan is known for delivering.

The largest amount of unbroken gameplay we've seen so far has revolved around Wolverine fighting through an enemy base while on the hunt for kidnapped mutant children. Taking advantage of verticality, he's able to take down guards, and use his animal senses to glimpse patrolling foes' nervous systems from a distance. Stealth kills are still mega violent, and it's a kind of escalating stealth that can become action at a moments' notice. It's similar in some ways to stealth sections in Insomniac's Spider-Man games, but with Wolverine being much more capable and bloody when spotted.

In fact, following a brief cinematic, Wolverine is thrown into a full-on fight among trucks while he teams up with Jean Grey, where he fights enemies using the environment to his advantage, building up a sort of rage meter that he can unleash for violent strikes using L2 to unleash special abilities (similar to Spider-Man's gadgets). As the convoy escapes with the kidnapped mutants, Wolverine pursues on a motorcycle, which then transitions to him jumping from truck to truck as he fights enemies - not unlike some sequences in Uncharted. It's a familiar mix of gameplay styles, but with a Wolverine twist, and that's exactly what we want to see from the comic book hero.

Marvel's Wolverine cast

There's still a lot we need to learn about the Marvel's Wolverine cast, although Insomniac has confirmed that the actor taking on the role of Logan/Wolverine will be Liam McIntyre. McIntyre is an Australian actor, best known for playing the lead role on television series Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned, as well as Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard on The Flash.

Marvel's Wolverine leaks

Developer Insomniac Games was the victim of a significant data breach in 2023, after a hacking group demanded over two million USD to prevent the release of information online. The result was a massive Marvel's Wolverine leak, including the publishing of early development builds and early information about the game. The video game industry was quick to react, and rally in support of Insomniac, calling the breach "truly disgraceful and shameful."

Marvel's Wolverine development

Marvel's Wolverine is being developed by Insomniac Games, the studio behind two of the best PS5 games of the generation in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Marvel's Spider-Man 2. The studio has grown tremendously since it was acquired by Sony and integrated into the PlayStation Studios portfolio, giving it the resources to produce multiple ambitious games all at once.

Development will be led by creative director Brian Horton and game director Cameron Christian, who spearheaded the creative team for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Logan is in safe hands, is what we're saying, and we're confident that the team will deliver for one best X-Men members of all time.

Can I pre-order Marvel's Wolverine?

Yes! Following the June 2026 PlayStation State of Play showcase, Marvel's Wolverine pre-orders went live on PS5.

With a Standard Edition that you can pre-order digitally on the PlayStation store for $69.99 / £69.99, you can also get a physical edition at most retailers.

For those after extra goodies, you can also pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition for $79.99 / £79.99. This one will get you some exclusive suits and claws for Wolverine, along with some technique points used to upgrade abilities, and PlayStation avatars.

Insomniac is yet to confirm who we'll be fighting, but you have to believe it'll be a selection of the best Wolverine villains. Or check out our guide on how to watch all the X-Men movies in order if you fancy a mutant marathon.

This list brings together the best Xbox exclusives available across Xbox console generations.

Now before we continue it's worth noting that most to all Xbox exclusives are also on PC right now. However, below we've bought together the list of titles that aren't on any other family of consoles. But, this rule also means that this ranking does have a habit of changing since Microsoft has been making more and more of its releases multiplatform in the last few years, with the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, and Avowed and more landing on PS5. Still, there are still plenty to enjoy and during the Xbox Games Showcase June 2026 event, Gears of War E-Day was confirmed to be one of the big new games landing this year that will be an Xbox exclusive.

Another upcoming Xbox Series X exclusive is Clockwork Revolution. So despite a rocky road and more layoffs, there is still plenty of reason to look ahead (for now). But while we wait for new arrivals, read on to find all of the best Xbox exclusives currently available.

Best Xbox exclusives

15. Rhythm Doctor

Rhythm Doctor released back in 2025, and it is one of the most challenging and narratively well-thought-out rhythm games that you can play on Xbox. The game has you playing as an intern at a hospital, doing all your work remotely through a screen. That's fine, though, since you are working on a new treatment for patients that involves using a defibrillator in time with heartbeats, which you can control with a button.

Timing is key as you work to cure your patients, and trust me, it gets tricky fast as the game isn't afraid to throw loops, have you keep track of multiple patients simultaneously, and mess with the established flow that you may have gotten used to on a dime. The song changes all make sense story-wise, though, and honestly, it's a joy to play through such a well-thought-out and well-tied-together experience…even if it did make me feel tone-deaf at certain points.

14. 33 Immortals

33 Immortals is currently out on Xbox Series X in game preview, which is the name for Early Access on the console, but it's one Xbox console exclusive that's worth trying out if you're after a co-op experience. As an action-roguelike that's made for 33 players, you take on the role of a damned soul who's trying to rebel against God's final judgement.

With massive bosses to try and defeat as a mortal who's been deemed sinful, you'll be fighting for your very soul as you progress your skills and work together with a swath of other players to emerge victorious. With MMO-like raids to boot, it'll be interesting see how the game changes over time, but early signs are promising.

13. Forza Horizon 6

While Forza Horizon 6 will soon hit the road on PS5 just like its predecessor Forza Horizon 5 did, it's currently a timed Xbox console exclusive that you can get behind the wheel of. Set in Playground Games' take on Japan, it boasts the biggest map yet, and it's absolutely stuffed full of things to see and do.

Driving is an absolute joy, too, with impressively realized vehicles that you'll want to zip around. Playing as a tourist who gets stuck into the Forza Horizon festival as a amateur driver, the campaign shifts gears a little, and the creative community and social features standout. If you're keen to learn more, check out our Forza Horizon 6 review.

12. Quantum Break

It might've overextended a bit with its experimental TV tie-in elements, but Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break from Remedy Entertainment (makers of Max Payne and Alan Wake) has moments where its mix of third-person shooting and temporal powers really soars.

As Jack Joyce, you've stumbled into time-manipulating godhood just in time for a thrilling action yarn worthy of the big screen. It's worth playing Quantum Break just for those moments when you've trapped enemies in a prism-like stasis bubble, peppered them with soon-to-be-unfrozen bullets, then warp-dashed over to another baddie for a melee takedown, all in the span of a few seconds. Talk about badass. Check out our Quantum Break review for more details.

11. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

You can't really say you've owned an Xbox unless you've played at least one Halo game. It's the series that cemented the console's gaming credentials, and for that reason, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is pretty damn near essential.

The main draw here is the chance to play through four of the Xbox's most formative games in their best possible versions - the early games are remade with improved graphics, there are frame rate boosts, re-done hi-res cutscenes, and more. Everything's brought up to a modern standard, remastering and reinvigorating the classics. If, for some reason, you're still unsure about adding one of the best shooters to your library, read our Halo: Masterchief Collection review.

10. Grounded 2

While it's currently in its game preview Early Access period, Grounded 2 already offers up so much to do and discover in its open-world, which is much larger this time around. Not unlike Grounded, you once again take on the role of a kid who's been shrunk down. With different archetypes to choose from, each playable character has their own set of abilities as you try to navigate a park, which, thanks to your size, is an immense playground filled with hazards and curiosities.

With new creatures to face, including snails and butterflies, you'll once again find yourself going up against terrifying spiders and other insect foes as you explore. With improved combat, exploration has also gotten much more enjoyable thanks to the addition of the buggy mount, which you can ride around. For more on the Early Access experience that's now out in the wild, you can head on over to our Grounded 2 review.

9. Sunset Overdrive

You might know Insomniac as the studio that brought us Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PS5, but did you know it also made one of the wildest Xbox exclusives on this list? Sunset Overdrive is an open-world, Jet Set Radio-style metropolis bursting with color and a healthy dose of punk rock attitude, letting you pull off some spectacularly absurd feats of mass destruction.

Whether you're launching bowling bowls, fireworks, or explosive teddy bears while mowing down hordes of mutants, robots, and bizarre gang members, grinding along telephone poles with your physics-defying sneakers, Sunset Overdrive is such a blast that its attempts at edgy humor can be almost forgiven. If you want off-the-rails fun, this one's for you.

8. Forza Motorsport 7

Despite being sadly delisted from sales in 2021, Forza Motorsport 7 speaks to the first time Forza truly perfected its racing formula. Everything is as flawless as those 4K visuals with better AI, improved handling, more substantial collisions - everything you need to make the cars all feel superb.

It all combines to deliver an experience that's both realistic and fun, as long as you don't mind working for it, as some of the progression can be a little demanding as you try to collect cars and win events to get ever further. But, even though there's a hint of grind, this is still one of the best racing games not currently available (though definitely still playable if you own a copy yourself). Check out our five-star Forza Motorsport 7 review for more.

7. State of Decay 2

With State of Decay 3 coming soon, now's your chance to check out why State of Decay 2 cemented the series as one of the best Xbox exclusive franchises ever. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies run rampant, it's up to you and your fellow survivors to build a new life for yourselves.

With its nail-biting blend of survival crafting and third-person action, State of Decay 2 is one of the most thrilling homegrown Xbox games for anyone looking for a layered action-adventure with plenty of bite and huge replay potential. The Xbox version comes furnished with DLC and other key updates to elevate the experience, making Undead's finest one of the best zombie games to take advantage of right now. Check out our State of Decay 2 review to see why we love it.

6. Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite might have been years in the making, with some Craig-sized bumps along the way, but by the time it finally hit consoles, fans were rightly wowed by the game's focused and compelling multiplayer alongside the vast open-world that shakes up Halo's single-player story.

Not only does this feel like the most vital Halo since 2010's Halo Reach, but the addition of the grapple hook gives Chief a pleasing maneuverability that makes firefights even more satisfyingly chaotic. After several years in the wilderness, Master Chief is finally back in top form. Read our Halo Infinite review for more details.

5. Gears 5

Following straight on from the events of Gears of War 4, Gears 5 – as it is now simply called – focuses on the story of Kait Diaz. Struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, Kait is now focused on finding out more about her past after, in her mother's last moments, she's passed a necklace that bears the Locust Horde icon.

All the old favorites are back, too, of course, from Marcus Fenix to his son JD, and it's all in for a brilliant Gears experience. It's not just limited to single-player or brilliant co-op story moments, though, as there's an extensive multiplayer component to the game, too, ranging from PvP frays to a glorious horde mode that literally keeps on giving. For more information, you can read our Gears 5 review.

4. Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

Skyrim's jankier, equally beloved older brother Morrowind is holding down the fort as a classic Xbox exclusive that has never crossed the PlayStation pond.

Yes, it's dated. Yes, you'll probably be frustrated by that fact when you come face to face with its clunkier controls. But Morrowind's adventure through Tamriel still stands out as one of the most definitive RPG experiences of all time, and if you've already polished off Oblivion Remastered, you'll want to at least give it a go on Game Pass. It's rude not to. Check out our glowing The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind review for our thoughts on this old-school Bethesda offering back in 2006

3. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings

Releasing on the Xbox 360 as a console exclusive, The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings is still very much worth playing via backwards compatibility. Spinning an engrossing follow-up to Geralt's original PC adventure, you get caught up in the Assassination of King Foltest and is falsely accused. Before long, you find yourself in pursuit of the real Kingslayer and are drawn into conflicts between factions in the dark fantasy setting.

Eventually, you'll have to decide where your loyalties lie and what faction you'll align with. The many memorable questlines, both in and out of the main storyline, still makes this entry stand out, even if the combat is much improved in The Witcher 3.

2. Keeper

Keeper ended up being one of the most welcome surprises of 2025. From Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine, the atmospheric adventure - which is an Xbox console exclusive - sees you take on the role of a sentient lighthouse that's been forgotten over time. When the lighthouse awakens and arm and leg-like tendrils emerge from its walls, it begins a curious journey to the center of an island.

Accompanied by a seabird, the story of Keeper is told without the use of words, but it's no less poignant because of it. With almost no guidance directing you, it's up to you to explore and find your way through its imaginative setting, but it's a place you'll want to get swept up in. If you're looking for a unique Xbox exclusive, well, as our Keeper review details, this is your answer.

1. Fable 2 

When we talk about the best RPG games of all time, Fable 2 always comes up in conversation. Developed by Lionhead Studios, in Fable 2, you can be any type of hero you want to be... if you're prepared for the consequences.

Every action you take in this game matters, as a morality system follows your every move. So, as your character works to save the world from destruction, keep in mind all the witnesses! If you love role-playing and fantasy settings full of whimsy and humor, then this is the game for you. Check out our throwback Fable 2 review for more details on this classic.

Still rocking your last-gen console? Check out the best Xbox One games to play next.

The PS4 and PS5 versions of Hogwarts Legacy will have an additional quest and potion recipe exclusive to those platforms, WB Games has confirmed.

The exclusive content was first discovered on the PlayStation Network, which quietly listed an "exclusive quest" for all PlayStation versions of the game, including the standard edition. Folks naturally took notice of the addendum pretty quickly and took to Twitter to ask Hogwarts Legacy community manager Chandler Wood for clarification.

Wood confirmed: "PlayStation players get an exclusive quest, and PlayStation pre-orders get the Felix Felicis potion recipe." He also added that "well have more information on these soon."

Further details on the PlayStation-exclusive quest and potion recipe are being kept under wraps, but it's noteworthy that there's any platform-exclusive content at all. Despite the game being revealed during Sony's September 2020 PS5 showcase, the game was quickly confirmed for other platforms, including Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. WB Games nor Sony have formally announced any exclusivity deal until just now, in a tweet-reply from the game's community manager.

It's worth noting that the exclusive quest is a bonus for anyone who gets a copy of the game on PS4 or PS5 at any time, while the potion recipe is a pre-order reward for those who lock down their copy of the game ahead of launch. Wood confirmed that all Hogwarts Legacy PlayStation pre-orders, whether physical or digital, will come with the bonus potion recipe.

If you're keen on that potion recipe or just want to secure your copy early, here's how you can pre-order Hogwarts Legacy and take advantage of a $10 gift card.

PlayStation's Steam Curator page is hinting at more PS-exclusive games coming to PC.

As first spotted by VGC late last week, a PlayStation Curator page on Steam has now gone live, where Sony can highlight all their games under one page. The PlayStation Studios page lists 41 games and DLC components being available under the PlayStation umbrella on Steam, but only 24 pieces of content are visible through the curation page.

This could hint at more games and DLC for Sony-developed games coming to Steam in the future. Right now, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Helldivers, and Predator: Hunting Grounds are the only Sony-made games available on PC, and Days Gone is set to join that roster tomorrow on May 18.

The speculation that this means more PlayStation-made games are coming to PC and Steam is actually something that PlayStation leadership has previously outlined. PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said that the forthcoming launch of Days Gone on PC would be the first of a "whole slate" of new PlayStation games coming to PC, seemingly paving the way for other games to arrive on PC in the future.

This tracks with PlayStation's attitude to allowing previous console exclusives to launch elsewhere of late. Last month in April, MLB The Show 21, the latest launch in a franchise developed by Sony San Diego, was published on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S by Sony, making it the first Sony-developed game to arrive on a rival console platform.

With these recent comments from Ryan, and Sony's shifting attitude, it's a good time for players on other platforms looking to experience Sony-made games. Especially as the PS5 remains incredibly hard to find for customers around the world, Sony bringing their first-party games to other platforms is nothing but a benefit for everyone.

For a full list of all the first-party Sony games coming out over the coming few months, head over to our upcoming PS5 games guide for more.

Sony is reportedly pushing for major PS5 timed exclusivity deals on otherwise multi-platform games.

The news comes from former Game Informer editor Imran Khan, now a host and contributor at Kinda Funny, who discussed Sony's plans on a recent podcast. Khan and cohost Tim Gettys got on the topic after weighing the controversial PlayStation exclusivity for Spider-Man in Marvel's Avengers, with Khan suggesting that Sony has far bigger exclusivity deals waiting in the wings.

"There are things you will be shocked to find out that Sony is moneyhatting, that they are locking up for timed exclusivity," he says (around 22:20). "'Wow, that is a game that you're choosing?' Not because it's bad, but because it's huge. I'm interested to see where this conversation is going to be in a couple of months because there are games that are widely accepted as multi-platform that Sony is locking up for a little while, so I would not be shocked if they did something insane like that [timed exclusivity on Marvel's Avengers as a whole]." 

To be clear, Khan isn't insinuating that Marvel's Avengers itself will be a timed PlayStation exclusive; we already know that it isn't, it just won't have Spider-Man on other platforms. And while there's no evidence to support Khan's claim regarding timed exclusivity on other games – apart from both Sony and Xbox pushing for similar deals in the past – Khan's track record is more than consistent enough to make this particular rumor worth earmarking. 

Timed exclusives are to be expected of new console generations – and we've already seen some, with both Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop tied to PS5 for some time – but if Khan is right, PS5 may see especially huge or lengthy acquisitions in its first two years or so. Xbox may well respond in kind, of course, but we know too little to make any assumptions there. 

Here are all the upcoming PS5 games that we know of.

When EA announced last week that it was bringing a former Xbox-exclusive online shooter to PlayStation platforms, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare probably wasn't most people's first choice. But even though Titanfall is solidly bolted to Xbox One, Xbox 360 (and, um, PC), Respawn Entertainment has given enough knowing winks to broader horizons for the franchise in the future that it's getting kind of lewd.

While we quietly save space on our PS4 hard drives for the sequel to the Xbox One's biggest shooter, how many awesome exclusive experiences should we expect to actually be exclusive? What does that term actually mean anymore, and why does anybody bother? We've broken down why exclusives seem to stay that way so infrequently in 2014.

It means that game is only going to release on that platform. At least, that's what it's supposed to mean. But if you're the sort to pay attention to new releases, it may seem like every other game that was meant for one platform miraculously appears on the others within a year of its release. Pretty annoying for folks who specifically bought that console to play that game, right?

There's no perfect way to determine whether an exclusive will actually stay exclusive, but here are a few handy categories to keep in mind the next time you see a big shiny "Only For" logo.

Most developers want their games to be played by as many people as possible. That means putting it on as many devices as possible. Platform exclusives by their nature limit the game's exposure--even if you pledge fealty to the most popular system, you're still cutting off the sizable potential user base of all the other platforms.

It's somewhat accurate to say that compromise is made for money. Lucrative licensing arrangements aren't the kind of thing that are broken out on a quarterly financial report, so they don't often make the headlines, but I feel confident saying EA didn't lock Titanfall to Xbox because Peter Moore and Phil Spencer are still BFFs. It's not just about healthy bonuses, though; developing for more platforms means higher costs. Reduced development prices and a healthy, guaranteed payment from your console partner can make a new project look like a much better wager.

Well, not much more than everything else in business is about money. Shaking hands with a heavyweight console manufacturer means they're taking a vested interest in your game. It becomes a point of pride for the system, and it's marketed as such, with everything from a featured slot on the digital marketplace to special hardware bundles shipped to stores nationwide. That's a lot better than being another game on the shelf.

Relationships do influence the equation, whether or not Peter Moore and Phil Spencer still share a Netflix account. It's basic business sense: savvy folks are more likely to risk their time and money on people they know aren't going to screw them over. For example, even though Xbox 360 was much easier to develop for than PS3, Microsoft's still working to match Sony's momentum in recruiting indie developers for the new generation; Shahid Kamal Ahmad and Adam Boyes have been building indie PlayStation love for years.

Mario, Master Chief, and Nathan Drake are never* leaving their respective homes. The rights to their dangerous-but-never-permanently-fatal virtual lives are owned by their platform holders. If their mamas and papas leave, they still aren't going anywhere--though the business will have to find them a nanny, as was the case when Bungie bought itself back and left Halo to Microsoft's purpose-built 343 Industries.

*Ok, so I could have said the exact same thing about Sonic the Hedgehog fifteen years ago. There is a chance that these series will one day appear outside of their native systems, but not until some seriously dire stuff happens to the companies that own them--like going bankrupt and having all their stuff auctioned off or launching a Dreamcast.

If HAL Laboratory says it's making a game, you can trust that it's working with Nintendo. Nintendo doesn't own HAL outright, though, so the studio is what's called a second-party developer. Microsoft may get tired of being irrelevant in Japan and offer HAL a Fuji-dwarfing mountain of yen to replace Rare in making Kinect games or whatever, and HAL could very well accept--given the studio can get out of any non-compete clauses with Nintendo. Until then, the houses of Kirby and Mario remain best friends--almost as good as Peter Moore and Phil Spencer, who may still wear matching salt and pepper shaker costumes to Halloween parties.

Square's partnership with Sony for Final Fantasies VII-XII represents the other side of this category. The company released several games for other platforms in that roughly nine-year period, but (aside from a PC port here or there) the main Final Fantasy franchise stayed loyal to Sony--one of its largest shareholders at the time. Once Final Fantasy XIII came around, business conditions had evidently shifted enough for Square Enix to lose the platform monogamy and ship on Xbox 360.

These are the games that spawn a thousand forum posts about companies valuing cash over their devoted fanbases. Epic Games and Microsoft didn't have a particularly long history together before Gears of War--Epic was at that point largely a PC game maker, with a PS2 or Xbox game here or there. The two just happened to come up with a deal that worked well for Gears of War.

And it was just a deal--Microsoft didn't own all of the rights to Gears of War until it bought them from Epic in January. A similar deal likely kept Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas first and foremost on PlayStation 2 even as the franchise exploded in popularity--though they did arrive on Xbox eventually. Like Final Fantasy, conditions evidently changed once Xbox 360 came around, because GTA IV and V hit PS3 and 360 simultaneously; like Peter Moore and Phil Spencer may still hit the batting cages after ducking out of work early on Fridays.

Why buy the cow when the DLC is free, right? Ok, so that metaphor made a lot more sense in my head, but perhaps the most common (and most annoying) form of console exclusive these days is the limited bonus. If video games were sold in late-night infomercials, these would fall into the "But wait, there's more!" segment rather than the initial pitch.

Call of Duty fans who want to get first dibs on DLC map packs have to buy the games on Xbox, as they have for the last few entries. Watch Dogs players who want to play through "60 minutes" worth of extra missions have to buy it on PlayStation, as Ubisoft has done for several Assassin's Creed titles. This lets platform holders say their players are the only ones getting the complete experience and it lets the game benefit from being a feather in a console's cap, if not the jewel in its crown. It also makes half your players feel like second-class citizens, as CD Projekt Red has noted.

Platform exclusives have changed a lot in the last 20 years. As consoles become defined more by implementation than architecture, will exclusives become a thing of the past for all but the most established brands? Or do you think they'll become more essential than ever? Do Peter Moore and Phil Spencer still plan to buy a dilapidated tavern and refurnish it together? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

If you're looking to test out your new exclusive categorizing skills, be sure to check out our E3 2014 rumor round-up, or read our Top 7 amazing ideas hidden in mediocre games.

September 5, 2007

Remember when a platform exclusive game really was exclusive? When 'Only for N64' in the corner was a promise and the little Saturn 'S' with a thumbs-up meant you were likely in for something special? Well, those days are long gone.

From the 'GameCube-only' Resident Evil 4 to PS3's Virtua Fighter 5, the word 'exclusive' counts for less and less with each passing day. So here are six games that, despite supposed 'exclusive' status, we are positive will be making the jump to rival machines at some point soon. Print it out and tick them off if you like.

Let's start with the obvious one...

Above: Crysis on PC. Could consoles really be capable of these breathtaking graphical scenes?

Crysis
The official line at the time of writing is "EA and Crytek the award winning developers of Far Cry, announced that Crysis will be hitting the shelves on November 16th 2007 exclusively for the PC."

However, it's widely known that developer Crytek has been advertising job positions specifically with regard to porting something to PlayStation 3. Unless we're going to be treated to another version of Far Cry (which would surely feel like a snub to many gamers), this is a major clue. Sure it could just be to aid porting of the game's engine to other platforms... but surely the best game to show it off would then be the astonishing-looking Crysis itself.

There are also numerous hints and maybes from the developer. But perhaps the biggest clue here is that Crytek's massively advanced (at the time) PC version of Far Cry appeared on Xbox 360, Xbox and even ended up making an appearance on Wii. That's basically Gamecube technology - therefore nothing is impossible. Of course the Wii version sucked like a grandmother with a box full of eggs, but still - it exists.

BioShock
Naturally, everyone wants to play BioShock on their system - it's a great game. The official line is: BioShock is[available] exclusively on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games For Windows." But there's much evidence that says otherwise.

The biggest clue is that there are labelled configuration settings for PC, 360 and PS3 present in the PC demo of the game. Don't forget, however, that configuration files were found in a new PC graphics card labelled 'Gears of War'. And that ended up coming to PC. But it's relevance is strongly played down, with the game's lead designer Ken Levine saying: "I promise you, there is no secret plan about the PS3 that we're keeping from people. There's no PS3 development going on that we're hiding. There's lots of stuff that gets into game code, plans change over time and we got an exclusive deal with Microsoft ... that's not a Rosetta Stone discovery."

Nonetheless, considering BioShock's retail success, the fact that publisherTake Two could do with some more moneyand simply the way everyone is expecting a PS3 announcement every time they check a games website, it's highly likely the exclusivity won't last that long. It's even possible PS3 owners might get a different, enhanced PS3-exclusive version. Imagine that...

Above: BioShock is ace and we'd love to see a PS3 version of it. Indeed, we still expect one

Unreal Tournament 3
After being initially announced for PC and then also Xbox 360, the official line (at the moment at least) is now: "The highly anticipated and award-winning Unreal Tournament 3 will be exclusive to thePlayStation 3computer entertainment system and PC in 2007."

But the logical argument here is that an Xbox 360 version will follow at some point in 2008. Especially as the game is likely already up and running (finished?) on the machine, having been likely programmed for it while PS3 dev kits were still thin on the ground.

EndWar
The official line: "Designed from the ground up for consoles, it is a fusion of next-gen technology, superior design, and top-notch production values."

So no PC version, eh? Not likely. The game has been designed with consoles in mind, it's true. The use of a controller is apparently innovative for the RTS genre. We don't doubt it. But there are two reasons why a PC version of the Tom Clancy spin-off is highly likely.

Firstly, the game can be controlled entirely through voice command. It isn't the best way to play it, as the pad has been the focus throughout development. But when Ubisoft claims that the game's AI is good enough to direct everything by voice, we do wonder why that means PC gamers can't play. They do have headsets, you know.

Above: EndWar - if it can be controlled entirely by voice, why not release it on PC?

And secondly, PC gamers also have joypads. In fact, they even have a version of the Xbox 360 controller - and you can plug PS2 pads in with an adaptor. So long as the game is showing graphics on the screen and there's sound coming from the speakers, what's stopping PC gamers from enjoying the game in exactly the same way? If a keyboard and mouse is really out of the question for EndWar, why not just say so on the box or offer an optional combined DVD-ROM/controller bundle? If the game's good enough, it's certainly worth the risk.

Splinter Cell: Conviction
The official line is simply that the game couldn't be achieved on any other platform. If a game is developed from the ground up for one specific console, the result is likely to be higher quality, as it's suited to that machine's strengths.

Sure, that's very true. But the original Splinter Cell and its gorgeous lighting was supposedly something only the first Xbox could do. And look what happened to that. Even the technologically inferior PS2 did it convincingly. And it's not like the new game is based on motion sensitivity. Every feature Xbox 360 has could theoretically be accomplished on PS3.

The bottom line is that every previous Splinter Cell game has appeared at launch on Xbox and then been ported to similar hardware. Therefore, it would be unsurprising to see a PS3 version at some point in the future.

Above: Splinter Cell: Conviction sounds like being a great title. But not for PS3? Really?

Haze
The official line: "Play both sides of the same war and experience two unique game systems, exclusively for thePlayStation 3computer entertainment system this holiday season."

Again, the words 'this holiday season' hold a certain ambiguity. Does that mean it's PS3-exclusive for this Christmas and then could be released on other consoles? At the moment, the game is down for a PS3-only release, but a quick glance through old press releases clearly states the game has been in development for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Perhaps this is an example of the new breed of 'exclusive' game. One console manufacturer can pay for a limited exclusivity deal so that they get the game's initial sales all to itself. Then, when the exclusivity runs out, everyone else can pick up sales from the residual interest. We should point out that this is only conjecture regarding Haze (and ultimately all of these games), but considering a 360 version almost certainly already exists, as with the rest, we're convinced it's just a matter of time.