What to expect from PlayStation in 2026: New blockbusters, a GTA-shaped meteor, and one last shot at live service

What can we expect from the PS5 and Sony's publishing efforts in 2026? After a mostly unsurprising 2025 light on exclusives, the landscape is quickly changing to accommodate rising development costs and slow production cycles. Sony has slowly but steadily left behind the idea of keeping its biggest games trapped inside a console. With PC rising as a battlefield which shouldn't be ignored and third-party titles making up for internal pipeline struggles, the "console wars" have become a thing of the past.

The PS5's sixth year will be defined by the success (or failure) of all-new games from Housemarque and Insomniac, but Sony's strategy of nurturing and pushing third-party deals has paid off so far. Looking at the hottest upcoming PS5 games, it no doubt continues to be a pillar of the entertainment giant's larger plans, especially with all the uncertainty surrounding the PS6's arrival. It's been a sluggish generation, and with a few too many live-services bets failing to pay off, regrouping around what the company has always excelled at feels like the most sensible course of action. This will take a while, however, so it's all about riding out the storm now.

Spectacular continuity

Even though Marvel's Wolverine – set to take place inside the same universe as the Spider-Man games – is the PlayStation blockbuster on everyone's mind right now, I have high hopes for Saros' evolved take on the third-person action roguelite formula Returnal presented in 2021. PlayStation's studios might have more surprises ready to drop in 2026, but right now, all of the first-party weight is resting on Insomniac and Housemarque's shoulders.

Many eyes will be on Bungie's Marathon this March too. Following several live-service project cancellations – even at veteran studios like Naughty Dog and Bluepoint Games – and Concord's catastrophic failure in 2024, it could be considered the last bullet in Sony's live-service mag. If the makers of Destiny 2 (a game showing its own signs of fatigue) can't make people care about an extraction shooter in a post-Arc Raiders world, PlayStation should just put those resources into safer projects which target the brand's core audience.

As for whatever's coming next from Guerrilla Games (probably the long-rumored Horizon multiplayer game), it could no doubt be a surprise announcement targeting a not-so-distant release window. Horizon: Forbidden West was released in early 2022, which gives the studio plenty of time to have cooked its next game. Those hoping for substantial updates on Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet should not hold their breath for a launch before 2027 though, especially after recent reports which talk of (more) mandatory crunch at the studio.

Rallying old and new allies

Of course, nothing else will matter when GTA 6 finally arrives, at least for a while. It's not an exaggeration to say the entire games industry is looking (from a safe distance) at Rockstar Games' next behemoth, and with a November 19, 2026, launch currently locked, this next fall season – a typically busy period – could feel quite different. Regardless, Sony will no doubt see a boost in hardware sales due to this historical multiplatform launch, as gamers have traditionally associated Grand Theft Auto with PlayStation over Xbox.

Capcom will also continue to be one of PlayStation's most valuable partners, with big releases like Resident Evil Requiem, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Pragmata all looking stellar. Those will be spread across various platforms, but PlayStation is also benefitting big time from such heavy hitters. The same could be said about 007: First Light, as IO Interactive has bet on PS5 as the go-to platform for its new game's bigger marketing moves.

A fun twist which signals bigger changes for Xbox and PlayStation's complex relationship is the confirmation that Halo will be fully multiplatform moving forward, with Campaign Evolved bringing the original FPS classic to PlayStation for the first time ever. These are strange times, and we're now expecting more long-time Xbox & Windows exclusives to make the jump to PS5.

Last but not least (and putting aside all the other multiplatform releases), Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls could be one of PlayStation's surprise hits in 2026. While developed by the fighting game veterans at Arc System Works, Sony is handling the publishing, with PC also set to receive it day-one. It's been a while since the Marvel universe took on the fighting game scene, and looking at the reactions so far, there's notable hunger for it.

Beyond PS5 and into the future

While we wait for the first official news on Sony's next console (which won't arrive before late 2027 and could slip into 2028), the streaming-oriented PlayStation Portal continues to gain new functionalities and perform better than many of us predicted in the lead-up to its late 2023 launch. This could no doubt explain the recurring rumors about a new portable PlayStation being in the works as the handheld market grows.

Meanwhile, Sony continues to steadily advance into the PC space and to recognize the increasingly varied gaming habits of people these days. With an impressive 27" gaming monitor coming to the U.S. and Japan in 2026 and wireless speakers joining the enticing selection of peripherals, we now know this is how PlayStation's future is going to look like. Xbox had the right idea when it transported its ecosystem to PCs, and the out-of-control budgets are only making the idea of letting us enjoy most games on as many platforms as possible a necessity. Place your PS5-to-PC ports bets for this year now.

When it comes to PlayStation Productions' TV and movie efforts, things aren't looking as immediately busy as in previous years, but expect casting and production updates for Amazon Prime Video's live-action God of War show, HBO's The Last of Us Season 3, and maybe even the recently announced Horizon Zero Dawn and Helldivers big-screen adaptations.

It's an uncertain time for the PlayStation brand for sure, but nothing signals a shift away from what it's always excelled at. Most industry experts, games media folks, and faithful fanatics will tell you refocusing around big blockbusters and (hopefully) legacy properties from the pre-Uncharted days should be enough to nullify the damage done by Sony's unproductive live-service aspirations. Marathon isn't out yet, but moves already appear to be happening behind the scenes to go back to basics. As it stands, expect the biggest innovations to be the (so far) promising expansion on the PC and non-console hardware markets.

Wolverine's mature-rated violent bliss is the palette cleanser I need after years playing Spider-Man's wholesome action