Marathon

Whatever happens, Marathon will go down as one of the year’s biggest shooters. Either, it’ll fail catastrophically, or attract and retain a sizeable playerbase – the latter once seeming unlikely, given its controversial development and underwhelming alpha reception.

Bungie has been scurrying away since alleged plagiarism tanked the game’s reputation mid-2025, implementing changes from drastically improving gamefeel, like faster TTK, to darkening its sci-fi industrial aesthetic, reflecting the 90s original. Will it work? Fact is, for every ARC Raiders, you’ve got a Concord; with online shooters, no-one knows which way the wind will blow. Still, Marathon’s post-alpha overhauls might yet secure it a long future.

Halo: Campaign Evolved

You can’t overstate the original Halo’s impact. Revolutionising first person shooters, Halo: Combat Evolved brought refined gunplay, intelligent enemies, and vehicles better suited for mulching alien grunts than traversal. Now, Master Chief’s iconic space opera is returning, faithfully rebuilt and expanded with all-new weapons, modernised gameplay, two-player split-screen, four-player online co-op, prequel missions, and more.

However, Halo Studios – formally 343 Industries – still has a tall order. Halo: Campaign Evolved’s reception was mixed on reveal, with accusations of reused Halo Infinite assets suggesting, if true, that the remake isn’t as authentic as it ought to be. Yet, crossing the frontline to PlayStation territory for the first time, Halo’s remake isn’t just a ploy to entice new players nor level the shortcomings of 2011’s remaster, but to cement the future of one of gaming’s most important franchises.

Better Than Dead

Games viewed through bodycam perspectives feel like they’re having a moment. Their realistic, shaky visuals, so often the lens for brutal, close-quarters shooting, court controversy for being a little too close to the bone. Better Than Dead looks poised to continue bodycam’s notoriety, but its slightly blocky, de-saturated art, deliberately unnatural hand gestures, and gravity-defying floating shrapnel counteract the rawness of its peers like Unrecord or Bodycam. It’s a smaller-scale title, coming only to PC via Steam, but the responsive shooting and action movie-inspired Hong Kong setting suggest a game which could land a sizeable audience.

Resident Evil Requiem

When you think of first person shooters, household survival horror series Resident Evil likely won’t spring to mind. Yet, Resident Evil Requiem ships with an optional first-person view. And, with tons of shooting at the hands of Leon in his action-orientated sections, we felt it worthy of inclusion in this rundown. If you need convincing, Requiem entry has handguns, including the sawtooth-edged revolver ‘Requiem’ that has featured prominently in the game’s marketing a sub-machine gun, shotgun, and a rifle. So, in other words, enough firepower to blast through Leon’s segments like an FPS horror.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando

Saddle up, there’s a new bunch of misfits primed to take on a zombie horde. Yes, on paper you’ve already seen John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, but this upcoming four-player shooter from Saber Interactive does have a few aces up its sleeve. It’ll be deploying the studio’s Swarm Engine, which was used to great effect in Saber’s other efforts World War Z and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Also in the developer’s oeuvre is vehicular puzzler MudRunner, so you can expect countless moments where your squad must winch vehicles through sludge. Famed director John Carpenter lends his creative input and contributes to the score too, giving a distinct aesthetic to what is shaping up to be a mechanically rich shooter.

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam

If you can’t keep up with CoD, Hell Let Loose is the industrial war machine in which to spray your bullets. It’s quietly built up a reputation as a hardcore, yet ultimately accessible shooter. And, despite a shift from tactical realism following a developer change, publisher Team17 has greenlit another entry, taking the running and gunning out of World War II and onto a new stage: Vietnam. The explosive fury of Hell Let Loose’s origins is re-established, with Vietnam a sweltering, six-map battle ground for 50v50 matchups. Multiple bands comprise each side, from infantry and recon to mortar squads and helicopter units, meaning this is a multi-faceted, tactically varied conflict that’ll suck away your hours once it all clicks.

DEFECT

Finally, Rainbow Six and Bladerunner combine; DEFECT is a SWAT-sim nestled deep in a dark, cyberpunk world overrun with AI. I mean, of course it’s overrun with AI, but set dressing aside DEFECT packs plenty of variety into its dystopian gameplay. There are smuggling runs, assassination targets, and fugitive hunts which you can take on solo or in PvP and PvE co-op. Multiple warring factions imbue the familiar neon rainfall with chaos; this city’s unravelling in anarchy, and you’ll wield an arsenal of high-tech weaponry and gadgets to clean its streets.

NO LAW

Like DEFECT, NO LAW is an FPS gripped by dystopian nightmares. And, also like DEFECT, this one doesn’t have a confirmed release date. That said, conceptually at least, NO LAW’s development looks to be chugging along nicely. Here, you’re a disheveled veteran who’s a magnet for trouble in a metropolis. Locations are always characterful in cyberpunk fiction, and NO LAW’s Port Desire looks a genuine rival for Cyberpunk 2077’s prodigious Night City. So, prepare to leave your morals behind, NO LAW’s branching story, colourful characters, and blazing guns mean it’s primed to find a huge audience.

Road to Vostok 

This hardcore shooter is set in an apocalyptic border territory between Finland and Russia, and it’s here, against dense pine forests and crystalline lakes, that you’ll shoot, loot, and prepare for an expedition into Vostok proper – a permadeath zone where survival hangs by a thread. Road to Vostok might borrow Escape From Tarkov’s structure and hostility, but the sole developer behind it is promising a deeply immersive experience away from the shooting. Dynamic weather, day and night cycles, and distinct seasons bring life to the in-game economy and AI factions. It’s a huge undertaking for one person, so let’s hope Road to Vostok launches to PC without a hitch on April 7th.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire

Combining the black and white charm of 1930s rubber-hose animation with the confrontational action of modern-day first person shooting, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire brings something new to the table. This jazz-fueled adventure might be too niche for some, but one thing’s for sure: the hand-drawn animation is undeniably compelling. If the gunplay, noir-esque narrative, and corrupted assailants provide a more serious backbone away from the cartoonish aesthetic then MOUSE: P.I. For Hire might land an unexpected hit for first-time studio Fumi Games. Launching March 19th, this one’s going to be playable on PS5 and Switch 2 alongside PC, too.

ExeKiller

It’s nearly five years since Paradark Studios revealed ExeKiller, but in January this year we got our best look yet at the action-adventure-slash-FPS via an official gameplay overview. We already knew the game plants the gunslinging old West into a scorched desert dystopia, but now, aside from piercing revolver battles, ExeKiller confirms survival mechanics, inventory management, device hacking, and cybernetic implant exploration. It’s a heady mix, made all-the-more complex by Paradark’s pledge for non-linear mission structure. What’s certain is ExeKiller presents one of the most unique offerings on this rundown of new FPS games.

ILL

Team Clout’s ILL pushes realism to stomach-churning extremes. Aided by visceral dismemberment, abhorrent monster design, and claustrophobic interiors, this upcoming horror shooter is not for the faint of heart. What’s most striking, however, is the game’s physics engine, with bulbous, blood-drenched creatures moving with uncanny likeness. Together with suitably squelchy sound design, ILL might just break new ground for reactive body horror in games.

Rogue Point

From the creators of Half-Life remake Black Mesa, Rogue Point is a four-player co-op shooter which indie studio Crowbar Collective say brings classic shooter feel with a modern identity. From footage shared, its colourful chaos certainly looks impactful, albeit laced with schlocky humour. This is more of a sugar rush, one-more-run type deal; entertaining, explosive, and not to be taken too seriously. It’s just here to have fun with your mates. Also, by the time this feature is published, Rogue Point will be out soon – it’s coming to early access via Steam on February 12th.

Witchfire

This dark fantasy RPG FPS blends extraction shooting with a roguelike structure, and it’s been in early access since September 2023. Now, its 1.0 release is on the horizon, launching in full mid-2026. If you’ve played Bulletstorm – arguably one of the most underrated FPS games ever – Witchfire is from the same creative minds, so you can expect tons of imaginative ways to slay your opponents. Numerous playable archetypes, a diverse set of biomes, and an array of enemies have given Witchfire a dedicated following already. Fully realised lore and a complete story are all that’s missing, but they’ll be coming when 1.0 drops.

Valor Mortis

Like Resident Evil Requiem, Valor Mortis arguably isn’t an FPS game. Coming from Ghostrunner devs One More Level, it’s billed as a first-person action soulslike – an intriguing, underexplored undertaking if ever we saw one. Set during an alt-history Napoleonic war, where the stench of death fizzes over sodden battlegrounds, you awaken with supernatural powers and a hunger to cleanse the mire of horrifying monsters. A saber is your primary tool, but you keep a pistol in your back pocket, blasting specifically at the weak points of larger enemies. So, yes, not an FPS in the strictest sense, but there’s shooting so it’s in.

Bonus: Next Call of Duty

Probably boring and more of the same. Oh well.

Forza Horizon 6

Forza Horizon 6 looks set to continue Playground Games’ mastery of open-world racing, building on one of the most consistently polished franchises in the genre. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Japan, Forza Horizon 6 takes players across an even more dynamic map, deeper seasonal systems, and expanded social features – and of course, plenty of race events. With stunning visuals and an ever-growing roster of cars, Forza Horizon 6 feels like a dream of motorheads come true.