Grand Theft Auto 6

Rockstar’s upcoming return to Vice City is easily the biggest open-world release on the horizon, and the perfect candidate to start off the list. Grand Theft Auto 6 promises a living, breathing world packed with dynamic NPC routines, reactive law enforcement, and an unprecedented level of environmental detail. The dual protagonists inspired by the adventures of Bonnie and Clyde look to be a promising storyline filled with several emotional moments. Of course, missions, side activities, and emergent mayhem are also important pillars of the experience – so we are definitely looking forward to this one.

The core game design decision behind this is the fact that players’ characters in Outward 2 will be regular humans, rather than being important parts of some major prophecies about the fate of the world. “That was the big change in our approach,” said Boucher-Vidal. “We made all of our design decisions to be in alignment with this vision. You are just a regular person, and you just want to think like a human would, but in a fantasy world.”

“It’s when you’re aloof, when you’re just like ‘pfft, that’s not so dangerous, I’ve done it before,’ and that’s when life just claps back at you, right? In real life, it’s like that. It should be like that in the design as well.”

Things start out with the in-depth character creation offered in Outward 2, which is a major step up from 2019’s Outward. Boucher-Vidal acknowledged the fact that the first game in the series had “very ugly protagonists,” and that it didn’t offer many options aside from a handful of faces and haircuts. Outward 2, on the other hand, will offer players more options, including things like character backgrounds and traits.

When starting out, players will also have the choice of three different starting locations, each of which will have its own unique quest that sets up the motivation to go on an adventure. One city, for example, frames the player’s decision to set off on an adventure as being the result of desperation from being homeless, while another city will have players having just bought a house, and getting embroiled in strange situations from that. The third city will have the player looking to improve their lot in life after having spent time sweating away in mines.

Tying further into the sense of immersion Nine Dots Studio wants to provide for players, Outward 2 will have a complete year-long calendar system that will also serve as the foundation for a dynamic weather system. Much like in the real world, the seasons in Outward 2 will change depending on the month. Seasons will also affect the world around players rather than simply being visual effects.

Improvements made the combat include allowing players to equip more varying kinds of equipment, including the option to dual wield just about any weapons or shields they might find.

Outward 2 is coming to PC in Summer 2026. The studio has also confirmed that there will be playtests, which can be registered for through Steam.

As a follow-up to the 2019 open-world RPG, Outward 2 continues the tradition of immersive fantasy with extensive consequences for nearly every action. You’re once again starting as an unremarkable individual, but there are three scenarios and 11 backgrounds to influence the beginning. Aurai offers four core regions with unique biomes and a seasonal cycle that spans the entire year.

While it’s a struggle at first (and honestly, every step along the way), you can seek out trainers to improve your skills and leverage the Exercise system to improve passives. Weapons have separate movesets, and combat feels more fluid. You can even bring along a pack mule for extra carrying space.

For those interested in going hands-on ahead of time, Nine Dots Studios will host a playtest. Dates have yet to be revealed, but you can pre-register on Steam.

ONCE HUMAN

Due out sometime later this year, fans of the survival genre have had their eyes on Once Human for a while. Its post-apocalyptic setting is looking promising, especially with the variety of truly horrific monstrosities that players will be contending with, while everything that we’ve seen of its customization and progression mechanics, base building, and survival systems (which include a Sanity system) has looked quite enticing as well.

THE FIRST DESCENDANT

Nexon’s third-person shooter The First Descendant has been on quite a few radars for a couple of years now. Part-Warframe, part-Destiny, the looter shooter is promising fast combat, bombastic boss fights, and a variety of different weapons and playable characters, with the latter all coming with their own unique play styles. After a couple of beta tests over the last year, The First Descendant is due out this Summer.

WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2

Space Marine 2 is looking like an enticing game even if you intend to play through it solo, but true to its Gears of War-inspired lineage, co-op is going to be a huge part of the experience. The entire campaign can be played by three players together, and that’s quite an exciting prospect, especially given the bombastic, high-octane, gory action that the game is looking like it’s going to deliver.

PANICORE

A co-op survival horror game? Sign us the hell up. Panicor will see a group of five players – playing as daredevil explorers – finding themselves trapped in abandoned, urban buildings, and with a terrifying monster chasing you every stop of the way, your goal is to hide, outwit your nightmarish foe, and find a way out. Not only will players have to work together to solve elaborate puzzles and effectively explore their environments, they’ll also be constantly contending with a pursuer enemy that can literally hear every single step you take.

DESTINY 2: THE FINAL SHAPE

Destiny 2 has had as many ups as it has had downs, but where its upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, most of what Bungie has shown off so far gives us reason to be optimistic (not that there haven’t been controversial reveals- but then again, with Destiny, there are always going to be controversial reveals). On top of its new story content, the expansion is promising a new enemy race, another new subclass, new Light-based supers, significant changes to the Power level system, the return of exotic items, and much more. It’s looking increasingly likely that The Final Shape will be Destiny 2’s last major expansion (especially with recent reports claiming that Destiny 3 is in the works), so here’s hoping the long-running looter shooter signs off on a high note.

JOHN CARPENTER’S TOXIC COMMANDO

Space Marine 2 isn’t the only gleefully gory co-op game Saber Interactive is working on. John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is due out sometime this year, and it’s looking like an absolute riot so far. With the promise of over-the-top gore and humour, thrilling co-op action against massive hordes of undead enemies, and more, this first-person shooter has certainly ensured that many are going to be keeping their eye on it.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3

Even though Little Nightmares games have always made companion characters a core part of the experience, co-op has never been a part of the equation. That’s changed with the upcoming Little Nightmares 3, and we’re more than a little excited about that. The series’ brand of gameplay is one that would lend itself remarkably well to co-op gameplay, especially given the intense horror set-pieces that Little Nightmares games love so dearly. The fact that co-op in Little Nightmares 3 is going to be online only is disappointing, but hopefully Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco will add a couch co-op option down the line.

OUTWARD 2

Nine Dots’ 2019 action RPG Outward may not have set the world on fire, but its sequel is making some interesting promises. In addition to bringing back the first game’s gruelingly unforgiving approach to difficulty, Outward 2 is also set to boast much higher production values, according to its developer, which should hopefully make its world a much more engaging one. Though the action RPG can certainly be played solo, co-op – whether local or online, splitscreen or otherwise – is exactly the sort of thing that can make its massively challenging obstacles that much more interesting.

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

Given how good the Ori games were, it’s no surprise that Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked has as many eyes on it as it does, and thus far, it’s looking like the action RPG is set to be another impressive notch on the developer’s belt. Though its recent early access release wasn’t without its issues, the core gameplay experience is undoubtedly a strong one. So far, the game is only playable solo, but its first major update will be adding four-player co-op, which we’re looking forward to keenly.

MECHWARRIOR 5: CLANS

With its promise of a story-driven experience, MechWarrior 5: Clans has got plenty of fans’ attention who may have been let down by some of the series’ more recent outings, but based on what we know of the game so far, it’s looking like its inclusion of five-player co-op may be just as big of a selling point. There’s plenty of enjoyment to get out of MechWarrior’s brand of action regardless, but the addition of four players stomping about in mechs by your side is likely to make things a little bit more interesting.

MONSTER HUNTER WILDS

Obviously, we need to have the next Monster Hunter game on a list about the most promising upcoming co-op games. There’s nothing quite like setting out on hunts with a squad of friends and taking on the series’ staggering variety of incredibly designed monsters in combat. Even if Monster Hunter Wilds was just a straightforward iteration of that formula, there’d be every reason to look forward to it, but with Capcom promising some significant evolutions for the series’ tried-and-tested formula, our excitement is sky-high.

TEMTEM SWARM

After attempting to emulate Pokemon with Temtem, Crema is now looking to take a page out of Vampire Survivors’ book with the upcoming spinoff Temtem Swarm. Built around three-player co-op, Temtem Swarm will see players engaging in frenetic top-down action and playing as cute little Temtem gunning down hordes of their own kind. It’s certainly a bizarre premise, and the game’s announcement has been met with a fair bit of backlash by the Temtem community, but we’re certainly keeping our eyes on this one.

TERMINATOR: SURVIVORS

A Terminator survival game set after Judgment Day is an elevator pitch that’s bound to grab your attention. Terminator: Survivors will see players exploring an open world setting, scavenging resources to bring back to an ever-expanding base. The hook, of course, that you’ll have to do all of this with the terrifying threat of Skynet and its machines constantly looming over you. Due out this October and playable both solo and co-op, Terminator: Survivors is definitely one we can’t wait to get our hands on.

BORDERLANDS 4

We know next to nothing about Borderlands 4 so far. Hell, it hasn’t even been officially unveiled yet. But 2K and Gearbox Entertainment have confirmed that the co-op looter shooter is in development, which, given the series’ pedigree, is enough to turn more than a few heads. How Borderlands 4 will evolve and build on the series’ formula remains to be seen, but this is a franchise that has been remarkably consistent over the years, so it’s definitely got our attention.

CONTRABAND

Avalanche Studios has built its fair share of compelling open world experiences in the past, so it’s no surprise that Contraband – a co-op open world game being made exclusively for Xbox Series X/S and PC with the full backing of Microsoft – has piqued so many people’s curiosity. Other than a logo reveal disguised as an announcement trailer, we’ve seen nothing of the game so far, but the prospect of a heist-based co-op open world sandbox is an exciting one, so hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of Contraband in the not-too-distant future.

Among the features of Outward 2, alongside a general improvement to visuals when compared to the original Outward, will be more content than before, including new non-combat encounters, impactful day/night cycles and weather conditions, and even more active NPCs.

The game will also have improved character creation tools, as well as a complete overhaul to progression that brings with it a new exercise tree and gives players tasks to help unlock new improvements and abilities. The combat system is also set to be improved, with more responsive attacks, as well as the addition of dual wielding.

Outward 2 doesn’t yet have a release date, but the game does have a Steam page, which reveals that it will support single-player, as well as online and split-screen co-op.