The first of three Geoff Keighley-hosted events on the gaming calendar landed last week: Summer Games Fest 2026. Happening at the Dolby Theatre in L.A., with 3000+ butts in seats from gaming media, guests, and industry peeps alike, and hitting some record live views, SGF 2026 was a mighty one. There was likely something for everybody out there. Though it was not the only showcase we need to talk about. Yet with so much coming out, let’s not sit here twiddling our thumbs and waiting to fuck spiders.

SONY’S JUNE STATE OF PLAY

The unofficial – or official start of 2026’s monolithic Summer Games Fest, depending on how you view it – was Sony’s latest State Of Play. Kicking things off was a proper look at the upcoming PS5 exclusive, Wolverine, one that many of us here at Wall Of Sound have our eyes on. It looks super bloody (though not gory, which is odd) and is much more linear than Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, which may be a solid change of pace. Logan moves and reacts perfectly: animalistic, sniffing, sensing out enemies, and healing like he should. Though his suit also seems to regenerate, which looks bizarre, but that old Wolverine: Origins game also did that. Still, keen to see where they’ll go with this iteration, as Insomniac are likely building up whatever shared gaming Marvel universe they can. Also… Jean Grey!

Rayman Legends Retold got its official unveiling and is an interesting choice as the first modern remake for those iconic Rayman games. While still 2.5D, the new art-style looks extremely vivid and well-animated. There’s a lot hanging in the balance with this, and that upcoming Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag Resynced, for Ubisoft. However, one developer and publisher that is riding sky-high lately is Capcom. Next off the rank for them is Onimusha: Way Of The Sword, which unsheathes on September 25th. A short demo is out now, and after giving it two run throughs, I am so eager to see more of it. Yet there’s more Onimusha on the way! An emulated port of 2006’s Dawn Of Dreams is coming in August to the PlayStation Classics library, finally releasing from old console jail, and hopefully with some proper enhancements. We are now maybe one step closer to getting high-definition, in-game Jean Reno from 2004’s Onimusha 3: Demon Siege.

One genuine surprise to me and many others was the reveal of a new Stuntman game, Stuntman Hollywood, letting you drive popular cars from Fast & Furious, Nightrider, Back To The Future, and more. Wild considering how restrictive some of these studios can be with their IP. With the likes of Screamer, upcoming single-player racer Clutch, starring Little Simz (always liked her albums), as well as Star Wars Galactic Racer, which also showed up here, and now Stuntman Hollywood, the return of arcade racers is right fucking now. And I’m here for it! Elsewhere, Ace Combat 8: Wings Of Theve appeared, showing off the best cloud simulations in gaming. ILL is a gross-out FPS coming in 2027, and the more we see of it, the more it looks like an actual real game. There was also The Lost Wild, an atmospheric FPS survival-horror-game that’s basically legally distinct Jurassic Park. It’s piqued my interest hard, just a shame about Annapurna Interactive publishing it.

Tomb Raider: Legacy Of Atlantis showed up, sharing that it has been pushed back to early 2027, shitting on my 2026 games piece through not only this delay, but also the games Steam page revealing A.I.-assisted tools were used in early development. Boo-urns! If it turns out bad, that A.I. usage will be used as a cudgel against it. If it’s good, it’ll be seen as a near-miss mistake, like with Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 and Crimson Desert.

‍Silent Hill: Townfall is coming sooner rather than later, its foggy mood descending on September 24th. A first-person Silent Hill, once again not set in the small titular American town like last year’s fantastic f, but seems maybe too cut-and-paste from SH2? Time will tell! Also on the horror front was, surprisngly, Until Dawn 2. Coming in 2027 – though not created by Supermassive, which is a huge red-flag to me – it stars Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3, Resident Evil 3, Lies Of P) and surely can’t be as dreadful as the 2025 Until Dawn movie. Right?

While Naughty Dog’s next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet (ridiculous name), was absent, Team Blue went big on the way out with God Of War: Laufey. With no release date yet, Santa Monica Studios gave a huge look into their next game, with this new Norse GOW entry following Kratos’ deceased wife, Laufey, now in the afterlife of the gods. Played by Deborah Ann Woll, most known for her stellar role as Karen Page from the live-action Daredevil television series, this will hopefully blend more ancient mythology together than just the Norse pantheon, pushing the prior games’ lauded gameplay further. And all hail that cube!

Another behemoth showing from Sony, a Bloodborne remaster or remake, or even a 60fps PS5 patch, still looks to be nowhere in the cards. My copium intake continues.

THE 2026 SUMMER GAMES MAIN EVENT!

The Muppets-loving and always sharply dressed Keighley took to the SGF 2026 stage, along with England’s true Queen, Lucy James, co-hosting. Even some streaming VOD audio issues couldn’t ruin what was a universe-starting big-bang of a teasing reveal, Resident Evil: Veronica. The much rumoured, now finally revealed, reimagining of 2000’s Code: Veronica is coming in 2027. I have so many questions. What will Chris and Wesker be like in this new version? Is Steve in this, and if so, will we still play as him and will he still be insufferable? Will this new take be as difficult as the original? Other than addressing the fact that Capcom knew full well what they were doing with that one-off boulder comment in the trailer, there’s nothing else to say except for: welcome back, Claire Redfield. We’ve all missed you dearly.

As for the rest, RGG’s Stranger Than Heaven is set to be the first major title of 2027, revealing Snoop Dogg will feature in the already massive cast, including the likeness of not only rapper Tupac Shakur (“somehow, Tupac returned”) but also late legendary Japanese actor Buna Sugawara, with permission from their estates. Like any good horror movie monster, we’re only getting brief glimpses of the long-awaited Alien Isolation 2. I say take all the time you need, Creative Assembly, just do it right. In 2023, the fantastic Armored Core VI proved that Mech games are still cool as fuck. Now Bandai Namco, who published ACVI and FromSoftware’s other games, are throwing a new hat into the Mech ring with Gundam Rogue Orbit, coming next year. As someone who watched a shit load of Gundam Wing and Seed as a wee-lad, I’m approaching this with skittish hopefulness.

‍Gen ATLAS, from the creator of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian (two out of three isn’t bad) looks out-there in the best possible way. I look forward to its release sometime within the next ten years. And StudioMDHR from Canada have not one, but two new Cuphead games coming down the pipe: Mighty Cuphead Adventure, an 8-bit action retro game, and a fully hand-animated sequel. I used to pray for moments like this.

A new Saw game is on the horizon, titled Saw Genesis, a 3v1 title aping the current trend of horror-movie licensed multiplayer games. Though this is set long before the time of Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw, and I have to wonder whether Lionsgate are doing things backwards: do a game first, then do a movie tie-in.

Similarly, that upcoming Halloween game that’s out on September 8th, which revealed Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnas was cast in it back in March, saw a new single-player preview of The Boogeyman’s violent journey back to Haddonfield.

There was The Blood of Dawnwalker, an ambitious 14th-century vampire action-RPG that Wall Of Sound’s Tyler Lubke is extremely keen on. For me, it looks all over the place, so it will be interesting to see if they can sink their teeth into the right veins. Also on the topic of blood was Blood Message, set in 9th-century China during the final years of the Tang Dynasty. A narrative-heavy action title that looks highly scripted, let’s keep tabs on this one. Swords Of Legends, a new Chinese developed fantasy action game, looks… fine. We’ll see how that pans out, but respect to the creators for showing straight-up gameplay from one of the bosses.

I also can’t talk about bloody action games without mentioning Shift Up’s next Stellar Blade entry, Blood Rain. Calling your new character Evie when your last protagonist was called Eve is certainly a choice, and if you told me the trailer was made with A.I., I’d believe you. Though the music sounds awesome and trading Eve’s blade for Evie’s powered-up melee fighting could be dope. Of course, the body suit leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination, as it wouldn’t be Stellar Blade without some over-sexualization. Hopefully, gen-A.I. wasn’t used and Blood Rain’s writing and characters show improvement, as they were the weakest links across the board in the 2024 original.

As part of the franchise’s 35th anniversary, SEGA showed off Sonic Racing’s upcoming IP crossovers, from Avatar: The Last Airbender to Godzilla and even Neon Genesis Evangelion. Get in the racing cart, Shinji. Less corporate was the reveal of a new Wolf Among Us game from Telltale. A genuinely shocking announcement, this second installment was also paired with the news that a remastered collection of the first game is also on the way.

Don’t go yet, this train hasn’t stopped: A Monster Hunter Wilds DLC expansion, Ascendance, arrives next year. Capcom is truly unstoppable. There was also Attack On Titan 3, Palworld hitting 1.0. this July (Nintendo’s lawyers are in shambles), and Guild Wars 3 is happening, the MMO planning to land on both PS5 and PC whenever it releases. Other notable games were 1666 Amsterdam, whose prologue is free on Steam and Epic Store now, a new Hot Wheels racer, and a gaming adaption of TMNT: The Last Ronin is coming from Platinum Games, best known for Bayonetta, Nier: Automata, and last year’s solid Ninja Gaiden 4. I should really get around to reading that! As for 007 First Light, which I recently reviewed, a new story mission centered around Lenny Kravitz’s Bawma, is coming later this year. Keen to see more of that game’s best character.

Obviously, you can’t win ’em all. Aion looks like gacha gooner-slop with character designs made for people who think generative art is the future. Hard pass. Likewise, Wuthering Waves has a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners collaboration and I can’t imagine anything else I care less about. That Gothic Remake is now out, which is great news for old heads, as the original was a truly historic RPG release. The prologue is available for free, and I tried it but only lasted ten minutes; the game’s performance stuttering like crazy in the opening area, eventually encountering a glitch when talking to an NPC had all dialogue options vanish and I couldn’t leave the conversation. Straight to uninstall! The Crossfire series also continues, now starring Claudia Doumit (The Boys, Call Of Duty), and looking like an IDF Simulator but with zombies.

The Among Us animated series and Lords Of The Fallen 2 were also received with nothing but the heaviest of sighs from me. However, what is a BIG yes from yours truly was Mortal Shell 2.

‍Mortal Shell 2’s open beta is out now on PC, and both Tyler and I are giddy about it. I have sunk eight or so hours into it over this weekend and it’s very promising so far. Mortal Shell 2 is a genuinely massive visual and gameplay upgrade from the first, and while there are some rough edges present, the developers should have enough time to iron some of that out before its eventual 2026 release.

Closing things out was another mammoth mic-drop: Final Fantasy VII: Revelation. The third and final episode in this decade-long Final Fantasy VII remake project will release on ALL platforms next year. Excellent news! We see Cid and Vincent in the party, finally visiting Wutai, seeing the Weapons and Meteor in their monstrous glory, as well as the motherfucking Highwind, flying around the world and letting you parachute down anywhere on the map. Insanity. Personally, it’s impossible for me to have an unbiased take, as the original PS1 game altered my life in many ways. The final battle is coming and I’m just not sure if my heart will be able to take it.

That wasn’t all for SGF 2026! Day of the Devs followed, with many new indies on the way. New Blood Interactive showed off Tenebris Somnia, a survival-horror mixing retro pixel-art with live-action cut-scenes. Two extremely relevant games we’re highlighted, the A.I. moral dilemma of Prove You’re Human and the eco-activism of ITHACA. Then there was the equally heart-breaking and heartfelt BUB, with voice work from that one drug addict character in the 2025 movie Weapons, and the incredibly inventive Screenbound, plus many more.

Christ, I need to go lie down.

THE BIG XBOX SHOWCASE

There was so much riding on this newest Xbox showcase for Microsoft.

Through their own business decisions and PR messaging, there’s been dwindling hardware sales year-on-year, and any remaining brand recognition has been diluted. They had to go big or go home and course correct ASAP. A recent Xbox user survey showed the number one thing the green X’s base wants is, obviously, new good games, but also exclusive good games. However, if the green clan goes under, or falters in any meaningful way moving forward, the ramifications will be felt around the industry. And it will not be the CEOs and higher ups who suffer, but the artists, designers, programmers, play-testers and writers who’ll get laid off, players then bearing the brunt of that in higher pricing of games, subscriptions and features.

With all of that in mind, I think a positive shift was achieved in this showcase, kicking off with Gears Of War E-Day. This hits PC and Xbox this October 6th, a console exclusive as per Xbox’s new executive Vice President and chief executive officer, Asha Sharma. Pun intended but E-Day looks fucking unreal! After the Xbox showcase, The Coalition did a lengthy deep-dive into their newest game; showing off gameplay additions like jumping and sliding, how they built this world, how detailed and destructible everything is, as well as what tone they’re aiming for with this prequel story starring Bravo Squad, featuring returning brothers-in-arms Marcus and Dom. (Their original voice actors are back, too!) Again, I really cannot overstate how much is riding on E-Day. No pressure, Xbox.

We then got proper gameplay showcase of Metro 2039, currently targeting a February 2027 release, and it looks A-Mazing. This colder, fatalist approach to a post-nuclear apocalypse world versus the goofier interpretation seen in Fallout is welcomed. Typically, Metro games haven’t had the same level of Euro-jank as its sister Stalker series, and I’m confident that track-record will remain for 2039. Do not make me eat my words, 4A. One game I didn’t expect to see, let alone find out is coming so soon, was Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. The latest rat saga entry burrows up from below on August 28th. Incredible series, if you know, you know. In a similar sense, there’s a new Hellblade, this time just called Senua. The audio-visual quality looks and sounds second to none, and while it seems more of the same gameplay and tone-wise, this will be day one for me. I’ve been following this tormented lass’s journey for a decade now; I need to see how it ends.

State Of Decay 3 got a look-in. Not for me but am happy for those who celebrate. There’s a Minecraft multi-player game out later this year, Dungeons II. Great news for content creators whose entire audience is impressionable children. And what’s this, a brand-new Spyro game? My childhood lives on! But it looks like a flying-only Spyro game, like Star Fox? Uh, not quite then.

Over on the Bethesda front, DOOM: The Dark Ages is getting a DLC expansion, titled Revelations. Someone gave the Slayer a giant spear, Hell help the demons now. Let’s hope that the music is a step up from the main game, as Mick Gordon’s absence was very noticeable Will it be as brutally challenging as Eternal’s Ancient Gods expansions? Find out July 7th. As for any news at all on Fallout 5, The Elder Scrolls VI, or even that hotly leaked Fallout 3 Remaster? Nope! I assume a Bethesda-only direct showcase will be the way they go with those big-hitters.

A beautiful Studio Ghibli inspired indie, Vivarium, arrives in 2027 and it looks wonderful. Oh, and we’re getting a new Crazy Taxi! A straight to-the-point trailer was revealed for this new entry, entitled World Tour, suitably set to The Offspring’s “All I Want.” Once again taking a big crap on my 2026 most anticipated releases list, Fable is now coming February 2027. Chicken chasing, a darker tone, Haley Atwell as the villain (Mission Impossible, Agent Peggy Carter), demon doors, and JACK OF FUCKING BLADES. Man… I wish this was still releasing in 2026 and not in 2027 as to avoid the splash damage of GTA VI’s inevitable record-breaking November release.

As fans expected, Persona 6 got a short announcement trailer. I’m more of a Metaphor ReFantazio dude when it comes to Atlus’ games, but P6 will be obviously massive. People sometimes forget how beloved that series is. A curious-looking, magician-themed FPS action game called Magicians: The Devil’s Deal, was revealed for all platforms barring Switch 2, and I’m always happy to hear more of Ben Starr’s dulcet voice. Valor Mortis arrives Sep 24th this year. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, and featuring actor Vincent Cassel (Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen, Trance, Brotherhood of the Wolf,) as the French historical figure, this is an FPS action Souls-like. I played the public play test last year, and it was janky but showed promise. There’s a new demo out now and I’ll likely be playing it as you’re reading this.

The legally distinct, British-themed Bioshock Infinite-inspired Clockwork Revolution has ditched its “coming in due time” tagline, confirming a 2027 release window as an Xbox console exclusive. Seeing more of these characters and world was intriguing, but I’m left wondering how much freedom will be left to the player for these gameplay and narrative choices. Fingers crossed this one’s gears are all ticking fine, as the time-shifting premise looks extremely fun. Unsurprisingly, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 looks to be more U.S. military propaganda. This time set in South Korea, dealing with an invading DPRK that threatens global peace, all the while an actual world-destabilizing war of aggression has been wrought upon Iran courtesy of America and Israel. The Hague isn’t enough for these demons, I swear.

Okay, I’ve put it off for too long now.

Let’s talk about the main Xbox flagship itself: Halo.

A remake of the 2001 classic shooter, now called Campaign Evolved, releases on July 28th with a five-day early access period if you pre-order it. Three new missions set one year before the events of the first game, local split-screen co-op on consoles, new cut-scenes, Sargeant Johnson is back, new and old voice actors, Brutes now featuring as enemies like they do in later games, Mjolnir Armours, being able to sprint – there’s an insane amount going on here. Honestly, I’m so invested in this yet also so worried, as that first Halo means so much to me. You’ll hear more from WoS about this Halo remake very soon.

CLOSING TIME

Last but not least, there was the PC Gaming Show, presented by the good folks over at PC Gamer. It kicked off with a new management-sim Star Trek game, a 90s card-game computer-sim called Hack 95, and a Company Of Heroes 20th anniversary edition remaster. Not bad. And a new Serious Sam? Okay! But it’s a co-op rogue lite? Oh, never mind then. We got even more Control Resonant, after it also showed up in Sony’s State Of Play, but I averted my eyes and closed my ears, so I can go in as fresh as possible come September 24th. (Jesus, September is going to destroy my downtime and my wallet.)

As for a lightning round of what else was revealed, the creepiness and violence of Virtue And A Sledgehammer is up my alley. Cassette Beasts 2002 is on its way, the first one being an excellent Pokémon clone. I have no idea what the hell Signet City is, but the short trailer’s greyscale aesthetic and haunting music grabbed me so hard it left bruises. The legends at Nightdive Studios are (finally) doing a remaster of the original Thief, with Garrett’s voice actor returning, and the sequel to the Max Payne-inspired El Paso, Elsewhere got its world premiere. There was also more from Daniel Stubbington’s sci-fi FPS, VOID/BREAKER, with its fourth major update going live. On FPS’s, we also had Wardogs, a 100-player online PC shooter. I love when the devs for these kinds of games can’t help but say the same buzzwords over and over; hardcore, grounded, made for FPS lovers, and so on. Still, the more that goes against shallow Battle Royale modes and lame extraction shooters, the better.

The Returnal (and Saros) influenced Armatus is indeed coming later this year. Carcass Clad is a 2-3 player tank game from the creators of Mouthwashing, so you just know that it will be beyond fucked up. A new CRPG game set in the Vampire The Masquerade’s World Of Darkness, Eternal Whispers, is also happening, and I’m shocked that hasn’t been a thing until now. And we got another new peek into Exodus, a science-fiction RPG action game that is lifting heavily from Bioware’s Star Wars games and Mass Effect series. The third-person action stylings of Beast Of Reincarnation looks cooler the more Game Freak show of it, highlighting how they probably could have done this ages ago, but Nintendo kept them trapped in the Pokémon mines. Speaking of Japan’s big dogs, Nintendo may very well have a new Direct landing this week on Tuesday, June 9th. Keep your eyes open for that if it does actually happen.

Let’s also not forget the indies out there, as a new Steam Next Fest is coming next week. In fact, Valve’s storefront will guide you through plenty of new titles as part of their Summer Showcase Of Summer Showcases – how handy, and what a cheeky title. Obviously, I didn’t cover everything revealed over the last week, so if you want more games to drown yourself in, check out all of these showcase’s streams in-full.

Phew, did you get all of that? Now, we look forward to Gamescom 2026 in Cologne, Germany this August…