Probably the most ambitious title of 2026 is Crimson Desert, an open-world, single-player fantasy game from the team behind the MMORPG Black Desert. If it can stick the landing, expect to see Crimson Desert get a lot of early GOTY buzz.

On the 24th, Tides of Tomorrow hits PS5, Xbox Series and PC, which is set in a vibrant post-apocalyptic ocean world that’s riddled with microplastics, and where the choices made by other players in their game will affect how the narrative in yours unfolds.

French game developer Ubisoft looked to turn its fortunes around this year, although it started 2025 with a second delay to the latest entry in its flagship Assassin's Creed series, Shadows.

So with that said, here are some of the games Polygon's writers and editors played the most this year. — Julia Lee

Fallout is one of Amazon Prime's most-watched titles to date, drawing over 100 million viewers since its April 2024 premiere. Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins lead the cast of the action-comedy, which tracks a motley crew of survivors in a dangerous, post-apocalyptic wasteland centuries after a nuclear holocaust.

This year delivered a full-on ninja and samurai takeover, with a wave of new releases offering more katana-heavy action than ever before.

Everyone knows they should play Clair Obscur and Silksong, but even some of 2025's worst-rated games on Open-Critic have their charm and positives.

CU Boulder scientists find that playing video games comes with small but significant cognitive benefits Ever since video games began to gain widespread popularity, some have questioned how playing them consistently affects people, especially mentally.

Video games are increasingly popular among young Americans, with a majority of children wanting video game-related gifts. Experts recommend parents familiarize themselves with ESRB ratings to ensure age-appropriate content and utilize parental controls on ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Mike Stubbs covers esports, competitive games and the creator economy. The 1990s revolutionized gaming. As the decade that saw the transition to 3-D polygon-graphics, ‘90s video games ...