After last year produced not only GOTY contenders, but Game of the Decade contenders, 2024 has a lot to live up to. While some major studios and publishers (From Software, Bethesda, Insomniac) are sitting the year out after releasing major video games last year, 2024 still has plenty of exciting releases to look forward to. Let’s dive in!

Games With Specific Release Dates

These video games have confirmed release dates for 2024. Will they actually release this year or get delayed until next year (looking at you, Skull and Bones)? We’ll have to wait and see.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

The Prince of Persia series makes its long-awaited return with The Lost Crown. Instead of playing as the titular prince, you are tasked with rescuing the prince as the immortal Sargon using his time-based powers. What’s most notable about The Lost Crown is that it’s not a 3D action game but instead a 2.5D metroidvania, bringing the series in a new direction. The Lost Crown looks to be a fun game in its own right, and will surely keep fans of the series busy until The Sands of Time remake comes out… if it ever does.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Release Date: January 18

The Last of Us Part II Remastered

Just like in 2023, Naughty Dog once again starts the year by revisiting its The Last of Us series. Even though it was a technical marvel and still one of the best-looking games out there, Part II is receiving a remastered edition for the PlayStation 5. Notably it’ll include a survival roguelike mode that’ll allow you to play as characters other than Abby or Ellie as you attempt to survive its randomized encounters. The full game will retail for $49.99 while owners of the PS4 version can upgrade for $10.00.

Platform: PlayStation 5

Release Date: January 19

Palworld

[Update 1/10/24: Palworld put my trepidation to rest yesterday with a new trailer announcing a January 19 early access release date. In addition to PC, it’ll launch on Xbox consoles and be available on Xbox Game Pass. While not currently available at early access launch, Pocketpair pledges PvP, crossplay between Xbox and Steam, save transfers between single player and multiplayer servers, Steam Workshop support, and more Pals, of course, at a later date. They also stated they don’t have plans for a PS5 version at the moment, but “will consider it during development!” The original Palworld blurb follows:]

Palworld is the game I just won’t quit. While it may end up missing its January 2024 window, it should launch in Early Access some time this year (right?!). Developer Pockatpair describes Palworld as an “open-world survival monster-collection game,” and all you need is one look at the trailer to see how it deftly mixes third-person shooting with adorable Pokémon-like creatures.

Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: January 19

Tekken 8

After other fighting game stalwarts Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter released new entries in 2023, you knew it was only a matter of time before Tekken followed suit. The eight main entry in the long-running franchise takes place six months after Tekken 7 and features the final battle between father and son Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama. It’ll include a new gameplay system called Heat that alters damage and move sets, a 32-character roster, and redesigned characters created in the Unreal 5 engine.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: January 26

Persona 3 Reload

Persona 3 Reload is a faithful remake of Persona 3, the fan-favorite entry from 2006. It began development in 2019 before being officially announced last year, much to fans’ delight. You’ll play as a transfer student investigating the hidden Dark Hour in between getting to know your classmates and exploring Port Island. Persona 3 Reload remakes only the original game and won’t include elements from Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable, notably omitting a female protagonist, leaving some fans worried about the remake.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Release Date: February 2

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

The third year’s the charm, right? After it was originally supposed to come out in 2022 before several delays, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set to launch in just a few weeks. The plot sounds fun, giving players an evil, mind-controlled Justice League to mow down, but the gameplay looks to leave something desired. Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark all look to play similarly, and I’m not sure an always online, live service, battle pass laden looter shooter is what fans want out of a comic book game.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: February 2

Helldivers II

Speaking of co-op shooters, Helldivers II brings chaotic and fun-as-hell gameplay to PS5 and PC next month. Revealed just last year, it’ll be a sequel to 2015’s slept on top-down shooter Helldivers and mixes things up by going third-person. Helldivers II puts an emphasis on playing together, as friendly fire is always on, co-op reloading is a cool feature, and its disgusting bug-like alien enemies will need coordination and cooperation to be taken down.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC

Release Date: February 8

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

After Harmony: The Fall of Reverie and Jusant last year, developer Don’t Nod looks to continue the streak it’s on with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. You’ll play as a pair of ghosts hunters — one of whom, Antea, becomes a ghost in the game’s opening hours, launching the pair on their journey across North America as they search for a way to reverse Antea’s ghostly condition. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden will play as an action-RPG, though it’ll maintain Don’t Nod’s focus on making morally ambiguous choices, influencing the direction of the story and its characters.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: February 13

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

The end of the Switch’s life cycle is quickly becoming the “remake era” as Mario vs. Donkey is the first remake for the Switch in 2024. It’ll retain the 2D puzzle platforming gameplay of the original Game Boy Advance release while getting a graphical overhaul for the Switch. Most notably will be the addition of co-op multiplayer so you and a friend can rescue the stolen Mini-Marios together.

Platform: Switch

Release Date: February 16

Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones received its sixth delay two days after I wrote about it last year, so hopefully its inclusion on this year’s list won’t prelude a seventh delay. If it does indeed release next month, it’ll end an 11-year development of a game that originally began as an expansion of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and now exists as one of the more fascinating game development stories. Skull and Bones will take players to the Indian Ocean where they will sail as pirates, customizing their own ships and waging thrilling naval warfare against others.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: February 16

Nightingale

Made in part by former Bioware devs, Nightingale is a survival crafting game launching into early access next month. It looks to blend gaslamp fantasy and multiversal sci-fi as you’ll be hopping through portals to journey between realms and face all sorts of mysterious, grotesque, and dangerous creatures. Using Realm Cards, you’ll have some control to influence the design, environment, and amount of enemies of different realms before bounding for your next destination. Nightingale can be played solo or cooperatively with friends.

Platform: PC

Release Date: February 16

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

The Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy continues with Rebirth, exclusively for the PlayStation5. It’s set immediately after the ending of Remake and will continue Cloud, Barret, and Tifa’s adventures and conflict with Sephiroth. It’ll build upon the real time combat from Remake while also approving on the first remake’s graphics and visual effects. Much of the talk and anticipation around Rebirth centers on a potential plot twist, and fans will have to wait with bated breath to see just how much Rebirth differs from the original FFVII story.

Platform: PlayStation 5

Release Date: February 29

Alone in the Dark

A remake of the 1992 survival horror game, Alone in the Dark follows a private investigator, Edward Carnby, and a young woman, Emily Hartwood, investigating the disappearance of Hartwood’s uncle at Decerto Manor. Like with so many other recent horror games, Alone in the Dark features an all-start cast as David Harbour and Jodie Comer play the lead roles.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: March 20

Dragon’s Dogma II

After last year’s Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield, RPG fans continue to get spoiled with Dragon’s Dogma 2. The game will be all about choice and immersion, as you’ll get to create a customer character, pick their vocation, and tackle situations with unique approaches. The “Pawns” are one of Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s big selling points; customized companions “so unique you will feel as if accompanied by other players while on your own adventure.”

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: March 22

Princess Peach: Showtime!

After her scene-stealing turn in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Princess Peach stars in her own game on the Switch — almost 19 years since the last time she was the main protagonist! Showtime! takes place at the Sparkle Theater and tasks Peach with saving a play from Grape and the Sour Bunch. She’ll transform into Swordfighter Peach, Detective Peach, Patissier Peach, and more, all with unique gameplay elements, depending on the obstacle.

Platform: Switch

Release Date March 22

Rise of the Ronin

After becoming a preeminent soulslike developer with Nioh, Nioh 2, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Team Ninja brings their talents to the final years of the Edo Period in Rise of the Ronin. Your ronin will have more than just a sword at their disposal as you can use firearms in combat and explore Japan via horseback, grappling hook, and glider. You’ll fight your way through the Boshin War, a chaotic and revolutionary time as Japan entered the modern world.

Platform: PlayStation 5

Release Date March 22

Europa

Any time a headline comps a game to Studio Ghibli, I’m clicking. Europa blends the aesthetic of your favorite anime studio with the gameplay of the latest The Legend of Zelda entries. It’s main focus is on peaceful exploration as you traverse Jupiter’s terraformed moon. Europa will come to Steam first before launching on consoles at a later date (hopefully this year!).

Platform: PC

Release Date: April 16

Destiny 2: The Final Shape

Destiny 2: The Final Shape will conclude the first saga of the the looter shooter, which first released back in 2017. It’ll add new story content and a world to explore. I’m not a Destiny player myself, but I do find the future of the game — and its developer, Bungie — fascinating. Revenue from Destiny 2 is tanking, leading Bungie to lay off about 100 employees last year and delay their next game. If Destiny 2: The Final Shape continues the game’s underperformance, there’s a chance Bungie loses its independence to Sony, meaning the creators of one of Microsoft’s flagship franchises could end up being fully controlled by its rival.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Release Date: June 4

Black Myth: Wukong

It finally has a release date! One of the most anticipated soulslikes since “soulslikes” became a thing is hitting consoles and PC on August 20, 2024. First unveiled in 2020, Black Myth: Wukong is based on the classic novel Journey to the West and finds players controlling the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. Each trailer and gameplay demo for Black Myth: Wukong has upped the ante, with the latest showcasing the game’s giant monsters, some of which Sun Wukong is taking for a joy ride.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date: August 20

Games with 2024 Release Windows

These video games have release windows set for sometime in 2024, some more broadly than others.

Hyper Light Breaker

Developer Heart Machine continues to expand the shared world of their games with Hyper Light Breaker, a 3D open world adventure. You can explore its unique worlds, with a mix of handcrafted elements and procedural generation, solo or with friends via co-op. Originally supposed to be available last year, Breaker‘s early access was pushed back to early 2024.

Platform: PC

Release Window: Early 2024

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD

Don’t think the other half of the Mario Bros is getting left out of the nostalgia party! Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, also known as Luigi’s Mansion 2, is getting remastered for the Switch this summer. It’ll be mostly the same game as the original 3DS release but with a visual face lift. You’ll suck up hostile spooky ghosts across the Evershade Valley with your trusty PolterGust 5000 and, with up to three allies, tackle challenges in the ScareScraper.

Platform: Switch

Release Window: Summer 2024

Flintlock: Siege of Dawn

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn developer A44 Games isn’t backing down from any pressure, but rather putting some on itself, by describing Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn as a mix of Elden Ring and God of War. Yep, I led with this comparison last year when I blurbed about Flintlock and I’m doing it again! I mean, mashing up the strongest elements of two of 2022’s greatest hits — the combat and difficulty of the former and the cinematic storytelling of the latter? Sounds like the perfect game in my book. In the flintlock fantasy world that Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn inhabits, you’ll murder undead gods to put a stop to their army of the dead. Oh, hell yeah.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: Summer 2024

Hades II

The sequel to one of this generation’s most-lauded games is almost here! In a way. Just like with the first game, Hades II will launch first into early access before (presumably) releasing on other platforms a couple years down the line. And just like the first game, it’ll be beautiful, kinetic fun. Playing as Zagreus’s sister Melinoë, you’ll battle against Chronos, the Titan of Time. It’ll feature some old friends from the first game and introduce all new companions, such as the goddess Hecate, who aids Melinoë on her dungeon-crawling, roguelite journey.

Platform: PC

Release Window: Q2 2024

Avowed

Obsidian crafts another original fantasy IP in Avowed, which could be Microsoft’s biggest Xbox Series X/S exclusive of the year (and perhaps the console generation?). It’ll exist in the same world as Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity series and will be a first-person, open-world RPG. Originally made to be Obsidian’s take on Skyrim, Avowed evolved into something that retains the core of Obsidian games: a heavy focus on story and character. “[W]e want to tell more confined stories that the player can experience with their companions, and then move from part of the world to part of the world,” Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart said. “And, like I said, in the end, that’s us.”

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: 2024

Little Nightmares III

Little Nightmares III brings a whole lot of new to the franchise with its third entry. A new developer, Supermassive Games (of Until Dawn and The Quarry fame). Two new playable protagonists, Low and Alone, each with unique gameplay elements. And, most notably of all, new co-op gameplay — you’ll be able to play Little Nightmares III with an AI companion or a friend.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Release Window: 2024

Neva

After releasing one of the greatest indie games out there in Gris, Nomada studio is back with Neva. Not a ton is known about Neva outside what its initial reveal trailer shows us, but we do know it’ll be visually breathtaking, musically stunning, tear-jerking, and as “goregeous as it is ambitious.” It also looks to feature some combat, adding to the perfect platforming that made Gris so much fun to play.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Release Window: 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

2024 is shaping up to another excellent year to be a Mario fan. After 2023 saw the launches of the Super Mario RPG remake and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, this year a remake of the 2004 Game Cube RPG Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will release. It’ll retain the original’s charming-as-all-hell art stye but update the graphics for the Switch, making those paper and cardboard cut outs look even better.

Platform: Switch

Release Window: 2024

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Seven years after its predecessor released and five years after its reveal, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II finally lands this year. Set in Viking Iceland, Senua must survive a journey across the brutal land and overcome the darkness and torment around and within her. As developer Ninja Theory was acquired by Microsoft in 2018, the second Hellblade will be an Xbox and PC exclusive.

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: 2024

Star Wars Outlaws

Just as iconic as the Jedi and Sith to the Star Wars galaxy are the scoundrels — bounty hunters, smugglers, and every bastard in between. Star Wars Outlaws, the first Star Wars game not published by EA since Disney bought the franchise, comes to us via Ubisoft’s studio Massive Entertainment, developers of the Tom Clancy’s The Division games and last month’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. You’ll play as scoundrel Kay Vess as she attempts one of the biggest heists the Outer Rim has ever seen. Outlaws will feature and open world, space flight, and a variable approach to combat.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: 2024

The “Who TF Knows When” Games

Our last category features some roll over from last year and a couple new entries. These video games are a toss up to lease this calendar year, and I wonder if a couple will ever actually see the light of day.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

The eighth console generation was great for Dragon Ball fans, with XenoVerse 2, FighterZ, and Kakarot all receiving post-launch support for years. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero looks to continue this excellent run of Dragon Ball games when it launches on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S sometime soon (I hope!). It was only recently formally announced, and because of that we don’t know much about it. We do know it’ll feature Dragon Ball Super characters and high-flying 3D action as it continues the Budokai Tenkaichi series.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: TBA

Hollow Knight: Silk Song

Five years after it was announced, fans are still waiting on the arrival of Hollow Knight: Silksong. Like with so many other much-hyped games, the only time we seem to hear about Hollow Knight: Silksong is when it gets delayed, most recent of which was a May 2023 announcement that it missed its internal goal of a “first half of 2023” launch. The most recent positive update came June 202 when Silksong was announced to release on Xbox Game Pass at launch. When that launch eventually does come around, Silksong will feature Hollow Knight boss Hornet as the player character in an expansive metroidvania world.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Release Window: It has to come out eventually, right?

Little Devil Inside

Oh, just ignore me in the corner as I snort some hopium. I don’t think Little Devil Inside will see the light of day in 2024 — or maybe ever, at this point — but I can hold out hope that we’ll receive something, anything, to update us on its development status. Originally announced via a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 (with a Wii U stretch goal — hilarious), Little Devil Inside caught the attention of many during Sony’s PlayStation 5 reveal event in June 2020 with its wonderful art direction and witty charm and once again put itself on the map at Sony’s State of Play event in 2021. Since then… crickets.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Release Window: NEVER (cries)

Sand Land

Akira Toriyama’s Sand Land is in the midst of a resurgence over 20 years since the 14-chapter-long manga released. A CGI anime film released in Japan last summer, a continuation of the film in anime form is set to drop on Disney+ this year, and a Sand Land video game is in development, though I think it’s likely we see the game in 2025 or later rather than this year. When it does launch, Sand Land will be an open world adventure game where you play as Beelzebub, a Fiend Prince, and his variety of vehicles, like motor bikes and battle tanks.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Release Window: TBA

Pragmata

The team behind Pragmata at least knows how to announce a delay with creativity. Last summer’s trailer announcing an indefinite postponement — making me think even 2024 is an unlikely launch window for Pragmata — also gave us our first (but brief) look at its gameplay. We’ll seemingly be controlling a spaceman toting around a young girl while fighting robots. The girl, Diana seems to have some sort of magical or technological powers, and their relationship may make Pragmata the next entry in a long line of “dad games.”

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Window: 2025, honestly.

The Wolf Among Us 2

Fans haven’t received much of an update on The Wolf Among Us 2 since the last time I wrote about the game, outside of a delay announcement due to an engine switch. We did receive news about its developer — however, it wasn’t much in the way of good news. Like so many in the gaming industry, Telltale laid off a good chunk of its staff last year, with one affected developer saying Telltale “laid most of us off.” The Wolf Among Us 2 remains in development, but who knows for how long.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Release Window: Your guess is as good as mine.