The Best Video Games of 2026 — Top Picks for Every Platform and Every Type of Gamer

2026 has been an extraordinary year for video games — a strong Nintendo Switch 2 launch library, continued excellence from PlayStation's first-party studios, a resurgent Xbox with genuinely compelling exclusives, and a PC gaming scene transformed by AI upscaling that makes mid-range hardware punch well above its class. Whether you play on console or PC, solo or with friends, there's more worth playing right now than any reasonable person has time for. Here are the standouts.

THE BEST GAMES OF 2026 BY PLATFORM

On PlayStation 5, the year's defining experience has been a massive open-world RPG that demonstrates what the hardware is genuinely capable of — extraordinary visual fidelity, a vast reactive world, and narrative depth that rewards 60+ hours of investment. Nintendo Switch 2 has delivered its first major 3D Mario experience, which lives up to every expectation the franchise has built over 40 years, alongside a new Zelda entry that expands the formula established by Breath of the Wild in directions that feel genuinely fresh.

PC gaming in 2026 continues to benefit from AI-powered upscaling making the performance-per-dollar equation more compelling than it's been in years. The PC exclusive scene includes several standout strategy titles, an exceptional space exploration game with genuinely novel mechanics, and a wave of high-quality indie releases that punch far above their production budgets. Whatever platform you play on, 2026 is a year where the hardest problem isn't finding good games — it's choosing which ones to prioritise.