The Biggest Console Games Coming to Switch 2 and PS5 Later in 2026

Well, what a strange and rather brilliant year it's turning out to be for console owners. With the Switch 2 now firmly bedded in and the PS5 well into its mature stride, the second half of 2026 has quietly become one of the most loaded release windows I can remember covering. There's a genuine mix here: fresh first-party ideas, faithful remakes of much-loved classics, and a few big-swing new IPs that could go either way.

My job with this round-up is a simple one but an important one — to separate what's actually confirmed from what's floating around as a leak or a bit of wishful thinking. There's a lot of noise online at the moment, and it's easy to read a Reddit thread and come away convinced something's nailed on when it's really just someone's hopeful guess. So I'll be clear throughout about what we know for certain, what's reportedly happening, and what remains firmly in rumour territory.

Grab a cuppa. This is a big one.

Concept visualisation for illustration — based on rumoured specs, not a confirmed design.

The Confirmed Headliners at a Glance

Before we dig into the detail, here's a quick snapshot of the releases I'd consider the genuine tentpoles for the back half of 2026. These are the titles shoppers keep asking me about, and the ones I'd have circled on a calendar if I still used a paper calendar.

Splatoon Raiders — Nintendo's Big Switch 2 Swing

Let's start with the one I'm personally most excited about, because it's a proper departure for the series. Splatoon Raiders is confirmed as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, with a release date of 23 July 2026 — so a fortnight away as I write this.

What makes this so interesting is that it's not the multiplayer arena shooter you might expect from the branding. Nintendo has confirmed Raiders is a single-player, story-focused spinoff, described officially as a mix between a roguelite and a looter-shooter. That's a fascinating genre cocktail for a series that's built its reputation on frantic four-versus-four ink battles.

The setup: you play as a mechanic — not an Inkling soldier — stranded on the remote Spirhalite Islands. You're accompanied by the Deep Cut trio (fans of Splatoon 3 will know them well), and together you're hunting for valuables whilst fending off hostile Salmonids. It's a scavenging-and-survival premise that leans much more into exploration and progression loops than pure competitive play.

In my experience, when Nintendo experiments with a beloved franchise like this, it tends to land in one of two camps — a bold new classic, or a curious side-story fans quietly forget. I honestly can't call which way Raiders will go until it's in my hands, but the co-op hook alone makes it one of the most talked-about Switch 2 releases of the summer.

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced — Already Out and Making Waves

This one crossed the finish line just yesterday. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced launched on 9 July 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. For many players — myself absolutely included — the 2013 original, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, remains the high-water mark for the whole series, so a remake was always going to attract enormous scrutiny.

Ubisoft has confirmed this is a ground-up remake rather than a light remaster — it's built on the latest version of the Anvil engine, the same technology powering the studio's most recent entries. That's a meaningful distinction: we're talking rebuilt assets, reworked lighting and modern rendering, not just a resolution bump on the old game.

The 65 GB install size is worth flagging for anyone with a stuffed PS5 SSD — it's not enormous by 2026 standards, but it's not trivial either, so you may need a tidy-up before installing. If you're the sort who juggles a handful of live-service titles alongside single-player games, budget the space in advance.

Marvel's Wolverine — Insomniac's PS5 Heavyweight

If there's one PS5 exclusive carrying the weight of expectation this year, it's Marvel's Wolverine. Insomniac Games earned an enormous amount of goodwill with their Spider-Man titles, and the prospect of them turning that same craft toward a grittier, clawed anti-hero has had people salivating for what feels like an age.

I want to be careful here, because Wolverine attracts a huge amount of speculation and I'd rather under-promise than pass off rumour as fact. What I can say confidently is that it's positioned as one of the major PS5 releases of the wider 2026 window. Beyond that, a lot of the specifics circulating online — precise mechanics, story beats, supporting characters — should be treated as unconfirmed chatter until Sony and Insomniac say otherwise.

Given Insomniac's track record on the PS5 hardware — buttery traversal, strong performance modes, genuinely impressive fast-travel loading — the baseline expectation for polish is high. That's a double-edged sword: it means the studio has earned trust, but also that anything short of excellent will feel like a letdown. No pressure, eh?

Onimusha: Way of the Sword — Capcom Revives a Classic

Here's a name that'll bring a nostalgic smile to anyone who owned a PlayStation 2. Onimusha: Way of the Sword marks Capcom's return to a series that's been dormant for a very long time, and it's confirmed as a major multiplatform release in this window.

For the uninitiated, Onimusha was Capcom's samurai-flavoured cousin to Resident Evil back in the early 2000s — atmospheric, combat-heavy demon-slaying with a strong sense of place. In an era where From Software's success has made hardcore action a mainstream pursuit, the timing for a revival feels rather clever on Capcom's part.

Capcom has form for reviving old properties with real care — the modern Resident Evil remakes are a masterclass in it — so I'm cautiously optimistic that Way of the Sword will be treated with the same respect. As always, though, I'd hold judgement until we see extended gameplay rather than trailer-cut highlight reels.

Control Resonant and The Blood of the Dawnwalker

Rounding out the confirmed multiplatform heavy-hitters are two rather different beasts, both of which I think deserve a spot on your radar.

Control Resonant

Remedy's original Control was one of the most distinctive games of its generation — a brutalist, reality-bending trip through the Federal Bureau of Control that oozed style. Control Resonant continues that world, and given Remedy's recent form (their interconnected universe of titles has been building steadily), expectations are understandably high among the studio's devoted following.

Remedy games tend to be atmosphere-first affairs — heavy on mood, mystery and audio-visual craft. If Resonant carries that torch, it'll be one of the more artistically ambitious releases of the year, even if it's unlikely to trouble the sales charts the way a Wolverine might.

The Blood of the Dawnwalker

The Blood of the Dawnwalker is the wildcard of the bunch — a new IP with plenty of intrigue around it. It's confirmed for this release window across platforms, and the vampiric, dark-fantasy framing suggested by the name has generated a fair bit of buzz. I'd class much of the detail beyond that as speculative for now, so I'll resist repeating the more elaborate theories doing the rounds.

How the Big Two Stack Up Right Now

A quick word on the hardware, since it shapes what you'll actually get to play. The Switch 2 and PS5 are aimed at rather different audiences, and the release slate reflects that. Here's how I'd summarise the picture for shoppers deciding where their gaming budget should go this autumn.

The honest takeaway? If your household leans toward local co-op and Nintendo's particular brand of colourful invention, the Switch 2 has the more distinctive offering this summer thanks to Raiders. If you're after big-budget cinematic single-player experiences and the widest third-party support, the PS5 remains the more comprehensive library — and it's the only place several of these titles appear at their technical best.

Sorting the Confirmed from the Rumoured

This is the bit I care about most, because it's where a lot of coverage gets sloppy. Let me lay out plainly where each of these sits on the certainty scale, so you can shop with clear eyes.

The pattern here is that the existence and platforms of these games are well-established, but the granular detail — exactly what's changed in a remake, precise mechanics in a new IP, feature lists for Wolverine — is where rumour takes over. Whenever you see a confident claim about one of those specifics, ask yourself: has the publisher actually said this, or is it someone's interpretation?

Which One Is Right for You?

With a slate this varied, the sensible question isn't "which is best" but "which is best for you". Here's how I'd steer different types of players.

Buying Tips Before You Commit

A few bits of hard-won advice for anyone planning purchases across this busy window. None of it's revolutionary, but it's the sort of thing I wish more people bore in mind before pre-ordering everything in sight.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Verdict — A Genuinely Loaded Second Half

I'll be updating my impressions as each of these lands, and Black Flag Resynced is already fair game now that it's out. For everything else, the sensible move is patience — the confirmed slate alone is more than enough to keep most of us busy well into the new year.