2024 looks fairly similar to last year for shooter games fans in that there are very few big names on the list. We still don’t know exactly what id Software and The Coalition are doing, while DICE’s next Battlefield isn’t launching any time soon. There will be a new Call of Duty game, of course, but it’s hard to get too excited about it after Modern Warfare III.
Previously in Wccftech’s most anticipated games of 2024: Action, RPG, Horror, Fighting, Adventure, Platform, Indie, Expansion/DLC, Sports/Racing
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl (September 5 – PC, Xbox Series S|X)
It’s not the first or even the second time STALKER 2 made it on the shooter games list. The sequel to the cult classic open world first-person shooter game originally targeted a 2021 release window. The developers then shared an actual release date of April 28th, 2022, which was delayed again to December 8th, 2022. That happened in January 2022, roughly a month and a half before Russia invaded Ukraine. Such an unfortunate event inevitably disrupted the final development of STALKER 2, forcing GSC Game World to temporarily halt working on the game. The development resumed in late May after the team had mostly relocated to the safety of Prague, but some of the members had decided to go fight for their country instead, slowing down the pace.
Eventually, GSC Game World brought a playable build of STALKER 2 at Gamescom 2023, allowing not only media but the public as well to check out the game. The reception was a bit mixed: the sequel felt like STALKER but had quite a few technical issues. This feedback led to two more delays, first to Q1 2024 and then, earlier this week, to the new launch date of September 5. On this occasion, the team said it had to resolve the technical imperfections to deliver the quality all fans expected. Hopefully, this is the last time we’ll have to put this on the most anticipated shooter games list.
Gray Zone Warfare (2024 – PC)
It is telling that one of the most interesting shooter games coming in 2024 comes from a former mobile game developer rather than a household name. Czech studio MADFINGER Games made its fortune on games like Shadowgun and Dead Trigger before ditching mobile game development to create an Unreal Engine 5 powered FPS for PC. That game is Gray Zone Warfare, an immersive open world tactical FPS with a big focus on realism. For example, there are no traditional hit points; every injury can impact your soldier’s performance and will have to be identified and treated correctly to be solved.
While Gray Zone Warfare does not have a narrative focus, MADFINGER is still promising over 150 quests with branching decisions. The game is set in a fictional Southeast Asian country inspired by Laos. Players will be able to traverse a big island (estimated to be around 42 square kilometers in size) with explorable landing zones and helicopters. The world itself will be persistent, and the Steam page features the MMO, Online PvP, and Online Co-Op tags. There’s no launch date yet.
Pioner (2024 – PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X)
There’s another STALKER-like game on this list. The influences of Pioner are pretty clear: it’s a first-person shooter set in an alternate Soviet Union where a technological catastrophe has led to anomalies transforming the fauna and flora. The big difference compared to STALKER (or Metro) is that Pioner is an MMO game where players can band together to survive, create clans, fight for control of certain areas of the map in PvP, and participate in PvE instanced dungeons/raids or world boss fights in the open world.
There is also a whole narrative with over fifty handcrafted quests that, according to developer GFA Games, will include ‘moral dilemmas’ and proper choices. You can find out even more about Pioner in our previous interviews with GFA.
Outpost: Infinity Siege (March 26 – PC)
The game by Team Ranger stands out far apart from the other shooter games on the list. Outpost: Infinity Siege is described as a unique blend of first-person shooters with tower defense and base-building genres. Players will be tasked with commanding their own mobile outpost and venturing into the Signet surveillance off-limit area, where they’ll face countless hazards. Co-operative play is supported in the Harvest Days mode as well as in the Endless mode.
The release date was just announced with a gorgeous new trailer.
Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 (September 9 – PC, PS5, XSS|X)
Space Marine 2 is the only other game on this list besides STALKER 2 based on an established franchise and has been on the same list in prior years. It’s also the only third-person shooter. Announced at TGA 2021, Space Marine 2 was supposed to launch in Winter 2023 before getting delayed to September 9.
It was developed by Saber Interactive with the same Swarm Engine seen in their World War Z game. The sequel continues the story of the previous game by Relic, featuring Titus as the protagonist. This time, he’s been demoted from Captain to Lieutenant, but he also became a Primaris Space Marine. With his squadmates Gadriel and Chairon, he’s being charged with the defense of the Imperial worlds of Avarax and Kadaku from a Tyranid invasion.
Honorable Mentions
There’s a few more shooter games possibly coming this year that you should keep track of.
