The 10 Most Anticipated Indie Games Of 2026

With the beginning of a brand new yr comes a complete crop of latest video games to stay up for. We’ve already coated a few of the greatest video games launching in 2026, and now we’re focusing in on the indie video games that can outline the primary a part of the yr. While there’s loads of room for surprises in indie video games, with releases typically following not lengthy after they’re even introduced, these are the largest video games we will already anticipate to launch a while this yr.

From anticipated sequels to promising debuts, listed here are essentially the most anticipated indie video games we’re anticipating in 2026.

Pathologic 3

Each of the Pathologic video games is about in a city ravaged by plague, with the participant analyzing sufferers and combating to maintain anybody they’ll alive. In Pathologic 3, you begin from a shedding place, taking part in as a health care provider who didn’t comprise the sickness and is being blamed for all the implications. From there, you may journey backwards and forwards in time, reliving earlier days and rewriting the outcomes of occasions till you discover a option to repair your errors. Based on a demo and the earlier video games, Pathologic 3 is shaping as much as be a troublesome, surreal, totally distinctive immersive sim with shocking depth — and since all three video games retell the identical story from completely different views, you can begin with the newest entry simply fantastic.

Release date: January 9

Perfect Tides: Station to Station

2022’s nice point-and-click journey Perfect Tides follows Mara, a young person within the yr 2000 dwelling on an idyllic island however longing to get away. A author who spends most of her time on the web, Mara is an empathetically drawn character coping with essentially the most tumultuous a part of her life. In its sequel, Station to Station, Mara is an 18-year-old school pupil within the metropolis, balancing courses, friendships, and her goals for the longer term. The unique Perfect Tides options a few of the finest writing you’ll discover in a point-and-click recreation, and Station to Station’s demo means that the sequel can be simply pretty much as good.

Release date: January 22

Cairn

Originally slated for launch in 2025, mountain-climbing sim Cairn is now one of many first massive indies of this yr. It follows a climber on a quest to summit the inhospitable Mount Kami, a feat that nobody has ever achieved earlier than. Its climbing gameplay is intricate, letting you management every limb individually and exactly with a singular management scheme. And as you make your means up on the mountain’s face, you’ll additionally have to camp, the place you’ll meet different climbers and handle your gear to be sure you’re ready for the following leg of your ascent.

Release date: January 29

Don’t Stop, Girlypop!

Every second of Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is overwhelming, in the absolute best means. An ultra-fast first-person shooter bedazzled in Y2K aesthetics, Don’t Stop, Girlypop! has a few of the most frantic motion skills I’ve ever seen in a shooter, and the quicker you progress, the extra injury your weapons do. It’s unabashedly for the 2000s girlies, draped in pink neon and sparkles with flip telephones and Tamagotchis as essential elements of the expertise.

Release date: January 29

Demon Tides

The sequel to 2021’s Demon Turf, Demon Tides is a 3D platformer with extremely easy motion that’s only a pleasure to play. It’s full of distinctive skills that may be mixed to allow you to jet throughout its open environments in numerous alternative ways, with slick controls that make each motion really feel excellent. Its demo is pure enjoyable, and if Demon Tides scratches your platforming itch, it’s also possible to stay up for Bubsy 4D, coming later from the identical developer.

Release date: February 19

Slay the Spire 2

After it launched in 2019, Slay the Spire turned one of the vital influential indie video games ever, inspiring numerous roguelikes to return. That’s a tricky act to observe, however Slay the Spire 2 already appears like an fascinating evolution for the collection. Its core card-based gameplay stays the identical, however the sequel provides new characters alongside returning favourite, in addition to new playing cards and secrets and techniques to find. Whatever form it takes in the long run, the sequel to Slay the Spire is undoubtedly one of the vital anticipated indie video games of the last decade.

Release date: March 2026

Abyss X Zero

In Abyss X Zero, the developer of Unsighted strikes from 2D to 3D for one of many best-looking Metroidvanias of the yr. Set in a sprawling world overrun by hostile robots, Abyss X Zero options large boss battles, snappy fight, and platforming with some spectacular motion skills. Its two heroes play in a different way so as to add much more selection to the sport, and even simply in trailers, its low-poly 3D artwork and rock soundtrack are extremely spectacular.

Release date: TBA

Mina the Hollower

Delayed from its October 2025 launch, Mina the Hollower is now slated to launch this yr from the developer of the traditional Shovel Knight. Taking cues from The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls, Mina the Hollower nonetheless feels completely distinctive, starring a heroic mouse with a singular moveset that lets her tunnel underground simply as simply as she leaps from platform to platform. A bunch of various weapons and upgrades vastly change how the sport feels, and primarily based on a demo launched final yr, it might simply be one of the vital thrilling indie RPGs of 2026 when it’s lastly launched.

Release date: TBA

Virtue and a Sledgehammer

Many Nights A Whisper made a splash in 2025, as the newest collaboration between builders Selkie Harbour and Deconstructeam. Now, the 2 are pairing up once more for a particularly surprising followup. While we don’t know a lot about it to date, Virtue and a Sledgehammer follows a characters returning to their hometown to actually do battle with their painful reminiscences, by smashing each the city and the robots which have invaded it with a large sledgehammer. Its putting visible design and totally distinctive idea already make this a recreation you must completely have your eye on, and its builders’ earlier work makes it much more promising.

Release date: TBA

Witchbrook

Witchbrook has been one of the vital anticipated indie video games for just a few years operating, and 2026 is the yr it’s lastly slated for launch. Following a younger witch shifting to the metropolitan Mossport, it’s equal elements Stardew Valley and Kiki’s Delivery Service with plenty of distinctive attraction by itself. Witchbrook options a few of the most attractive, detailed pixel artwork we’ve ever seen, and its multiplayer mode for as much as 4 gamers ought to assist it stand out amongst a sea of different nice life sims.

Release date: TBA