As we look to the most anticipated games of 2022, we’re reminded of the many delays that defined 2021 (a solid, albeit not stellar, year for the industry). Most of the titles mentioned in the list below were originally supposed to launch last year, but the COVID pandemic heavily contributed to a wave of delays.
Of course, that doesn’t mean delays are going away now that countries are lifting most of the restrictions. The increasing production values (and costs) of triple-A games often demand these postponements; just a couple of days ago, for instance, we learned that Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a game that would have been included in this most anticipated games list, won’t be available until 2023.
Overall, it looks like 2022 could potentially surpass 2021, even though it’ll be hard to compete with banner years like 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, or 2017. Still, there’s always room for surprises.
Check out Wccftech’s Most Anticipated of 2022 genre lists: Fighting, Platformer, Shooter, Action, Horror, Adventure, Indie, RPGs, Strategy/Simulation, Sports/Racing, Multiplayer
Elden Ring (February 25th)
FromSoftware’s new IP is massively anticipated, to say the least. The Japanese company has garnered a massive following thanks to Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, spawning an entire action RPG subgenre, the so-called Soulslike.
There are many reasons fans are excited about Elden Ring. Its lore was written by none other than A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin; it’s the first open world-like game made by FromSoftware, featuring horseback riding and even mounted combat; it was designed to be more accessible and less frustrating, albeit not less difficult, than previous games made by the studio.
The wait is almost over. Are you prepared to die?
God of War Ragnarök
With 2018’s game, Sony Santa Monica pulled off the incredible feat of soft-rebooting an already hugely successful franchise, God of War, and somehow making it even more of a landmark game.
The title was hugely successful when it launched on PlayStation 4 (and now on PC, too), both critically and commercially. It is rightfully regarded as one of the best games ever made in its genre; it’s no wonder that the sequel already won the most anticipated games award last year.
God of War Ragnarok will see a grown-up Atreus dealing with the revelation of his true identity, while he and Kratos journey through all of the Nine Realms pursuing Norse god Týr on the backdrop of the prophesied end of days – the Ragnarök. We don’t have a release date yet, but we do know we can’t wait to play this once it lands on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Starfield (November 11th)
Bethesda Game Studios’ first game released under Microsoft will also be the company’s first new IP in over twenty-five years and their first foray into the sci-fi genre. These facts alone already set up a huge amount of anticipation, but the studio also has to restore the reputation loss suffered from Fallout 76. Undaunted by the prospect, Bethesda Game Studios has symbolically set the launch date to coincide with the eleventh anniversary of its most successful game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
We don’t know a whole lot about Starfield’s features, though the brief in-game teaser powered by the brand new Creation Engine 2 (the biggest overhaul ever made to Bethesda’s engine, according to Todd Howard) certainly excited fans. Players will take the role of a customizable captain member of the Constellation society of explorers. Keeping with the core tenant of previous Bethesda Game Studios games, then, Starfield will be all about exploring the so-called Settled Systems space area while navigating the fragile balance of the many human factions featured in the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a fantastic game, ushering the revered Nintendo IP into the open world genre with global acclaim. Despite also being available on the Nintendo Wii U, Breath of the Wild launched alongside the Nintendo Switch and hugely contributed to the console’s early success.
Nintendo is clearly eager to repeat that kind of achievement, though we don’t really know any further specifics other than its planned 2022 launch. That’s more than enough to get fans (us included) hyped, anyway.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl (December 8th)
GSC Game World’s STALKER was never a big commercial hit, but its stunning setting and incredibly deep open world systems proved to be very influential in the following years. We’ve since had all sorts of STALKER-inspired games, but none managed to scratch that itch fans were hoping for.
At long last, the Ukrainian studio is working on a sequel for PC and Xbox Series S|X, powered by the very latest technology (it could be one of the first games using Epic’s Unreal Engine 5, even after the recent delay to the very end of 2022).
What we’ve seen in the trailer looks incredible, but GSC Game World is promising a lot of substance, too. Among other things, STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl reportedly features a huge number of endings, over 100 hours’ worth of gameplay, and significant survival elements.
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