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In This Edition,
The biggest games of 2026 (not GTA)
Zelda old vs new
Call of Duty fights back
Sony’s big Wolverine bet
Plus, Blood of the Dawnwalker, Star Wars, Gears and more
We have a bit of a fun one for you this week. That’s right, no lay-off chat, nothing on the death of discs, or the rising price of consoles. Today, we are all about video games.
And the question we’re asking… what is the biggest video game still to come this year?
We know GTA 6 will be No.1, and we know sports games like EA Sports FC, Madden and NBA will be competing for the top places. But what of the rest?
Because we’re The Game Business, we naturally turned to data for the answer.
Analytics company LevelUp gave us statistics on the best-performing trailers this year, the games generating the most video views, and the titles that the press are writing about the most. Meanwhile, our friends at IGN gave us the games their audience has wish listed the most, while those clever folks at GameDiscover supplied us with its Steam Wishlist chart.
As you can see, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake has been a standout performer. The game received a short teaser trailer in June and it shot to the top of the trailer charts, even beating out the likes of Marvel’s Wolverine and Call of Duty. It’s also comfortably generated more press coverage than any other game. It’s also No.3 in the IGN’s most wanted list, and No.3 in terms of overall video views (despite the lack of details about the title).
Zelda is a game that has a large, die-hard audience, which lends itself well to this data set. But could it really be one of the biggest games of the year?
In 2017, Nintendo released Breath of the Wild, a sandbox-style open world Zelda that became a huge hit. It’s sold close to 35 million copies, and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, has exceeded 22 million. Both are by far the most successful Zelda games ever made.
Before Breath of the Wild, Zelda games were a little more linear and prescribed. They are popular, but on a different scale. The best-selling Zelda game of this type was the 2006 Wii and GameCube game Twilight Princess, which sold just short of nine million copies. The original Ocarina of Time was just below eight million. Outside of those, ‘old-style’ Zelda games typically sold between four and six million copies.
Nintendo has released some of these older-style Zelda titles since Breath of the Wild. In 2019, there was a remake of the Game Boy game Link’s Awakening, in 2021 there was a HD remaster of Skyward Sword, and in 2024 it released Echoes of Wisdom, a new 2D Zelda. All three games sold in that four to six million sales bracket.
Nevertheless, none of them are a remake of the ‘greatest game of all time’. Our thinking at The Game Business is it could be one of the best-selling ‘old-style’ Zelda game, but it won’t come close to the performance of the newer games.
But, as of right now, we know so little about it.
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One of the games that has a lot of pressure on its shoulders is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Its YouTube and video stats are positive (Call of Duty doesn’t get too much press coverage these days), but the series is at a low point, so there’s a lot riding on this year’s game.
Call of Duty had this strategy of releasing a big game and quickly following it up with a sequel. We had Modern Warfare 2 in 2022, followed by Modern Warfare 3 in 2023. Then Black Ops 6 in 2024, followed by Black Ops 7 in 2025. Those ‘quick sequels’ all performed poorly by Call of Duty standards.
In particular, 2025’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was a disaster. Its launch sales in Europe were 50% lower than its predecessor. In the US, Call of Duty is typically the best-selling game every year, but in 2025 it was No.5. According to Ampere, Call of Duty’s active players are down nearly 40% in June 2026 vs June 2025.
If the patten holds, this year’s Modern Warfare 4 should be a stronger game, and the early buzz is positive. But not only does it need to turn around a tough situation, it needs to do it in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto 6. Call of Duty does arrive a month before, and I do expect it do have a much stronger launch than Black Ops 7. But can it sustain good numbers once Rockstar’s epic has launched? That’s a tough challenge for Activision.
Over on the IGN chart, Mavel’s Wolverine leads the way. It’s the big PS5 exclusive from Insomniac, which is also responsible for the mega-selling Spider-Man games. But this is not Spider-Man. It’s more liner and ultra-violent, and so it’s hard to predict exactly how well this will do. Wolverine is a big IP, Insomniac is one of Sony’s most consistent developers (this is its fourth PS5 release), and other violent first-party Sony games, such of God of War and The Last of Us, are very major sellers. Therefore, we should anticipate this being a sizeable hit for Sony.
The Steam chart is an eclectic one, with all sorts of unique games, including a game where you’re a DIY handyman trying to make a quick profit. Some of these games are due soon, hence why they’ve charted so highly.
Wuxia game Phantom Blade Zero continues to generate a lot of buzz, and could well be the next Chinese game to break big in the West. But also of note is The Blood of The Dawnwalker. The RPG is by former The Witcher devs, and it has also done well in terms of video views and press coverage. It also has very little competition, particularly following the delay to Fable. Whether it can generate the sort-of success of other European RPGs like The Witcher or Baldur’s Gate will depend on if it’s an 8/10 or a 9/10 game. Either way, it should do well.
Capcom’s return to Onimusha after 20 years is also trending well. It was never the biggest series for the Japanese publisher, but Capcom is on a hot streak right now, and the buzz around it is strong. As is excitement for Beast of Reincarnation, the new IP from Pokémon developers Game Freak, which lands next week.
Elsewhere, Star Wars Galactic Racer is doing very well in terms of press and media attention, while the other Star Wars game, Zero Company, isn’t generating quite so much excitement (although does make the Steam charts).
Gears of War: E-Day also hovers around most charts, although its popularity is skewed towards the US market. The decision not to put it on PS5 may impact the title’s performance in Europe.
One of the big question marks for me is around Control: Resonant. The action game has generated lots of press coverage, and it’s done well in terms of Steam Wishlists. However, it launches at a very competitive time. Can Remedy finally end the curse of releasing excellent games that struggle due to a congested release window? Let’s hope so.
You can check out our full conversation on the big games still to come in 2026 in today’s The Game Business Show, where I am joined by former GamesIndustry.biz editor James Batchelor.
Meanwhile…
Krafton saw record second-quarter growth. Revenue shot up 94.9% to $889.1 million, while operating profit also rose 67% $283.1 million. The Korean games giant had a strong quarter due to the launch of Subnautica 2 and the expansion of the PUBG IP.
Double Fine Productions has reduced its workforce by 23 people (which is 25% of the team), following its divorce from Xbox.
Capcom’s Q1 profit and revenue jumped on the back of strong sales for Resident Evil: Requiem and Pragmata. Income rose 69.2% to $177.5 million, while profit hit $250.1 million, which is up 67%. Resident Evil Requiem has now reached eight million sales, while new IP Pragmata is on 2.5 million.
Wizards of the Coast boss John Hight will step down from September 1. The former Blizzard exec oversaw Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and upcoming video games Exodus and Warlock. However, Wizards owner Hasbro recorded a $56 million impairment charge last week due to its video games investments, with ‘several’ games cancelled.
Atari has signed a deal with Universal Pictures to develop ten of its IP into games. Those titles are Asteroids, Adventure, Berzerk, Breakout, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong, and Yars’ Revenge.
PlayStation has announced God of War Laufey, is coming February 16. Other big February games include the Fable reboot, which is due February 23, and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis on February 12.
Ubisoft’s Q1 net bookings reaching €255.8 million for its financial year. This was ‘slightly above guidance’, despite being down 9.2% year-on-year. The decline was due to the comparison with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which launched in March last year. The firm is bullish about the performance of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, which has now sold 3.5 million copies.
The EU Commission has approved the $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts by a consortium of investors, led by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
Human: Fall Flat has now sold 60 million units worldwide. The title from No Brakes Games and Curve released ten years ago.
Xbox is making classic games available on PC and via Game Pass. The first four titles are Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Fusion Frenzy, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Conker: Live and Reloaded (which is the remake of the greatest game ever made)
That’s it from us today, and what’s more, we will be taking a short break next week as we recharge ahead of Gamescom, Tokyo Game Show and some of the biggest interviews we’ve ever done. Have a great week!
