January 2026 opens the year with a range of new game releases across PC, console, and virtual reality platforms. Players can expect a mix of returning franchises, story-focused experiences, and experimental projects that give an early sense of what the year has in store.
January 6
StarRupture
Platforms: PC
StarRupture launches into early access at the start of the month. The game is a survival-focused experience centered on extraterrestrial base building. Players establish outposts on hostile alien worlds, managing resources, power systems, and defensive structures while responding to environmental threats. The game emphasizes long-term progression through automation and cooperative play, positioning itself as a sandbox designed to evolve through player feedback during its early access period.
January 9
Pathologic 3
Platforms: PC
Pathologic 3 continues the series’ reputation for unsettling storytelling and psychological tension. Set in a plague-stricken town, the game challenges players to balance survival, moral decision-making, and narrative consequences. Resource scarcity and time pressure remain central mechanics, reinforcing the series’ focus on discomfort and ambiguity rather than traditional power progression.
January 12
Big Hops
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5
Big Hops arrives as a smaller-scale release built around movement-based platforming and puzzle-solving. Players control a frog navigating colorful environments that require precise timing and creative traversal. The game emphasizes momentum and physics-driven movement, providing a lighter contrast to the darker titles released earlier in the month.
January 12
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check
Platforms: PC
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check places players in a procedural survival scenario focused on containment and inspection. Gameplay revolves around decision-making under pressure, as players assess threats, manage limited resources, and determine who or what is allowed to pass through controlled zones. The title leans into tension through repetition and unpredictability rather than direct combat.
January 15
Craftlings
Platforms: PC
Craftlings blends resource management with cooperative mechanics, tasking players with guiding small characters through hazardous environments. The game emphasizes planning and coordination, with indirect control systems that reward efficient workflows. Its design draws inspiration from classic management games while adapting them to modern systems.
January 19
GHOST CAM
Platforms: PC VR, Meta Quest
GHOST CAM brings a found footage horror experience to VR players mid-month. The game uses a handheld camera perspective, encouraging exploration of dark environments where atmosphere and sound design drive tension. Rather than relying on combat, the experience focuses on observation and environmental storytelling to unsettle players.
January 20
Mio: Memories in Orbit
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Mio: Memories in Orbit is a side-scrolling adventure set aboard a massive derelict spaceship. Players control a small robotic protagonist navigating decayed interiors while restoring lost systems. The game blends fluid traversal with environmental puzzles, unfolding its story through exploration rather than dialogue-heavy exposition.
January 22
Arknights: Endfield
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, Android
Arknights: Endfield expands the Arknights universe into a fully three-dimensional action RPG. Players take on the role of the Endministrator, overseeing both combat operations and industrial infrastructure. Gameplay combines real-time squad-based combat with base-building systems that emphasize logistics, production, and long-term planning.
January 22
Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC
Woolhaven is a major expansion for Cult of the Lamb, introducing a new region, additional characters, and expanded progression systems. The content builds on the original game’s blend of roguelike combat and cult management, providing fresh challenges for returning players.
January 29
Code Vein II
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PC
Code Vein II closes out January with a sequel to the anime-inspired action RPG. The game continues its post-apocalyptic setting, expanding character customization, narrative scope, and combat systems. Emphasis remains on player builds and cooperative play, with refined mechanics designed for current-generation hardware.
Thank you all for all you do!