The hottest shooters we will play in 2026.

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What is considered a shooter when almost all games today combine shooting elements with some role-playing elements, open worlds and alien structures? The definition of the shooter genre has blurred a bit and what was once a standard shooter is now a boomer shooter. Even so, we still have enough copies of upcoming shooters, even if we don’t count the new Metro and BioShock that we know are coming… probably not this year, but slowly. We have enough candidates to once again separate single-player from multiplayer in shooters. Only this time we don’t divide the shooting by perspective.

Although this year’s list of upcoming single-player shooters looks almost like a carbon copy of last year’s, we hope this is just the beginning. We could get a new Far Cry or Division this year, and maybe a *third*. Who knows! However, for now, the following titles have been confirmed in our repertoire.

saros

Returnal was a great ballet among alien missiles, and Saros should bring new interesting things to the formula of roguelike shooting. A challenging game awaits us again, but the main character Arjun Devraj also has some defensive options, such as using a shield that absorbs the energy of enemy fire and returns it to the opponents. As it stands now, Saros is PlayStation’s main hope for single-player games in the first half of 2026.

Gears of War: E-Day

Marcus Phoenix’s return might be delayed, but we’ve been waiting for him for a very long time. We already wrote a year ago that we are in the middle of the longest break in the history of the Gears series. We got a remaster of the first game, but we’ve heard and seen that story before. We need something new, even if it’s a prequel about Marcus and Dom’s first encounter with the unknown Locust threat. However, as it started with the Xbox, we will still be happy if Microsoft does not cancel the development of this game.

Kingmakers

We were hoping for this in 2025, so instead of early access we got two unfulfilled release dates. I guess in 2026 the wait will come to an end. Kingmakers sends us 500 years into the past, with automatic rifles, tanks and other modern weapons. The knights have no idea what hit them when we order an airstrike on them. In the game, we will have to change history in order to save the future, and in addition to shooting, there will also be strategic organization of massive battles. It sounds crazy, and it looks just as crazy.

Mouse P.I. For Hire

We’re not going to lie, shooters are a violent video game genre. But you know what – cartoons are violent too. So it’s no surprise that a cartoon-like shooter is a totally natural thing. It’s called Mouse: PI for Hire and it will put us in the role of detective John Mouston who cleans up a corrupt city from animal gangsters. There will be shootings and scuffles here, but we are still playing the role of investigators, so we will use the camera to record various evidence and clues that lead us through the story. In short, Mouse looks like one of the most visually impressive games out there, even a year after its last delay.

Mudang: Two Hearts

Behind the unusual name Mudang is a South Korean blend of third-person shooter and stealth. It’s technically action-adventure, but there’s no doubt that we’ll be dealing with supernatural adversaries here with firearms, along with loads of fired ammunition. At the same time, Mudang looks above average, and at times even resembles Splinter Cell a bit. Of course, in those moments that involve sneaking and climbing pipes, and definitely not in the moments of shooting zombified soldiers.

High on Life 2

The first High of Life was a pleasant surprise with its humorous approach and imaginative weapons. We don’t expect the other to invent hot water, but just more of everything. In addition to shooting, we also prepare for skating, and the nice thing is that within the game we will also have six emulated games from the past. The only thing that needs to be noted is that Justin Roiland, one of the main creators of the original game, is not in charge of this sequel.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando

Toxic Commando will be a first-person shooter that can be played alone or in a team of up to four players. It’s essentially a spiritual successor to the World War Z games, given that this is being made by Saber Interactive and uses the same Swarm Engine to render the swarms of zombies on screen. The playable characters will be trained mercenaries, each with their own character traits and different fighting styles. Vehicles will be an important part of this game, and driving on muddy terrains will be simulated. We didn’t find this to be an instant hit when we tested it last year, but you’ll never hear us protesting the darkening of the zombie hordes, no matter how it turns out.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun II

We mentioned boomer shooter in the introduction, and the saying goes that every mention calls up one such game. And really – for 2026, we have a sequel to the excellent Boltgun in the schedule. There is no excessive invention here either – new levels, new weapons and a new character (protagonist) in the main role. The retro flair is still there, so Boltgun II looks like a good time not only for Warhammer fans, but also for all nostalgics who miss shooters from the early 90s.

Spine

We’re still waiting for a game that would properly convey the fight choreography from the John Wick movies. And maybe her name is Spine: This is Gun Fu. It is a futuristic game that combines shooting with close combat. The protagonist is the agile graffiti artist Redline, who, with the help of an AI spine, leads the battle against the Tensor corporation. As Redline and its AI backbone get to know each other better, the player in the gameplay gets sharper reflexes and the opportunity to perform more impressive combo moves, whose animations are the main asset of this game.

Killer Bean

Another game that we feel has been announced for years. Because it really is. In Killer Bean, you are a coffee bean, that is. agent who discovers that his parent organization is corrupt, whereupon the other agents turn against him and want to turn him into ground coffee. You counter this by shooting opponents in slow motion and across an open world. The game is designed as a roguelike type of shooter where the missions are procedurally generated so each run will have different tasks in different locations. While you’re waiting for this to come out, it’s recommended that you brew yourself a double or extended coffee.

Halo: Campaign Evolved

When you have no new ideas – recycle the old ones? Fans of the Halo series are divided over the fact that we’re getting another remake of the first Halo game, this time without multiplayer. On the one hand, there is less chance of something going wrong than with creating a completely new game. But on the other hand, the PlayStation audience may get the most pleasure out of this, for whom this will be their first encounter with the Halo series.

Industry 2?

If we’re not lucky enough to play the unannounced Half-Life 3 this year, maybe we’ll at least get a game that has a Half-Life vibe to it? We are not sure that Industria 2 will be ready for 2026 as there is still no confirmation about it. However, we have already played the demo, which raises the chances that we could see this narrative shooter this year.

Judas?

We weren’t sure of this even in 2025, and we’re not sure now either. The narrative Legos in the new game from the creators of BioShock have been coming together for some time. Is 2026 the year we step aboard the spaceship Mayflower, where three factions fight for the privilege of shaping the future of humanity? It’s hard to say, but the game already had a playable segment (for gaming media) and has been in development for a whole decade… I guess Ken Levine won’t betray us like Judas, because we can’t wait to play this visually unique title with philosophical depths in the story.