A year is a long time – we have twelve whole months ahead of us, and most of them will likely be filled with brand-new game releases; some we already know about, while others are still the subject of rampant speculation. Today, we’re taking a look at indie games that are confirmed to be coming out in 2026 – titles that, barring any unexpected delays, we’ll be able to get our hands on and play later this year.
The Dark Rites of Arkham
A new pixel art adventure game from Postmodern Adventures, the indie studio behind Nightmare Frames and An English Haunting, this time set in a world inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. While I’ve yet to finish An English Haunting myself (I did enjoy what I’ve played of its demo, though), Nightmare Frames was a thoroughly delightful experience, so needless to say, I can’t wait to see how this developer will tackle Lovecraft’s haunting universe.
SKINWALKER: First Blood
An action platformer where you play as a desperate father who merges with a monster and becomes a deadly shapeshifter in the hopes of finding a cure for his terminally ill daughter. While the storyline itself sounds like it’s going to try and tug on the ol’ heartstrings, I’m mostly just looking forward to playing a game where I can be the monster for a change.
Replaced
A visually striking 2.5D platformer that piqued my curiosity with its unique premise: in alternate 1980s America, you play as an AI trapped within a human body as you attempt to uncover the secrets behind your birth, as well as the company that created you.
Mariachi Legends
A gorgeous pixel art metroidvania set in Mexico – the protagonist is a detective who strikes a deal with Death, and gains the ability to transform into “La Sombra” in order to fight back against the forces of evil.
ONTOS
ONTOS is an upcoming sci-fi horror game from Frictional Games, the creators of the Amnesia series and SOMA – need I say more? As a huge fan of both, and in spite of my disappointment with the semi-recent Amnesia: The Bunker, I’m still very much excited to find out what Frictional will cook up for us this time.
Neverway
A life sim RPG crossed with cosmic horror, Neverway follows the life of Fiona, a young woman who quits her dead-end job, moves to a farm and… becomes the herald of a dead god. Alrighty then. Also worthy of note is that the game features lovely pixel graphics by Pedro Medeiros, the artist of Celeste, as well as music by composer Richard Vreeland, aka Disasterpiece.
Kotama and Academy Citadel
I’m a bit of a sucker for metroidvanias and cute anime girls, so… yeah. Do forgive me. I’m only human. That said, Kotama and Academy Citadel does look like a genuinely well put together title with plenty to do and enjoy, so it’s not exclusively the anime girls that lured me in. Although that certainly helped.
Liminal Point
When I first discovered Liminal Point, my initial reaction was something along the lines of “Resident Evil, but isometric? Nice, gimme.” Well, you could easily replace Resident Evil with Silent Hill or Tormented Souls in that sentence, but still. You get my point. Inspirations aside, it’s a project that will hopefully give me and my fellow survival horror fans their much-needed fix of nightmarish tension, tight resource management and mind-bending puzzles. Fingers crossed.
Silver Pines
Another survival horror game, but this one’s kind of a metroidvania, too – what’s more, its dark and creepy “small town America” setting is giving me very obvious Alan Wake and Twin Peaks vibes, which is most certainly plus.
Glaciered
Just when I thought I was done with soulslikes, along comes Glaciered, putting an interesting new spin on the genre – by setting it underwater. That’s right: you control a majestic underwater creature called a Tuai, fight various aquatic beasts from smaller fish to bigger sharks, and learn how to harness your powers to survive in the deep.
Lost Hellden
A JRPG that seems to evoke the spirit of the classic PlayStation 2 era, Lost Hellden whisks you away to a world where each person is bound to one of the seven deadly sins – and they must live their lives constantly resisting it. Things, however, get a little tricky when twins are born: you control Cyphel, the twin born without sin, trying to track down his brother Leht, who was bound to all seven. Ouch. The game also features illustrations by Takeshi Oga (Gravity Rush), and music composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto of Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics and Valkyria Chronicles fame.
