It's ok; there are still some good-looking games coming out in 2022
It seems like 2022 isn't going to be a complete wash.
I think it's safe to say that 2022 has been a pretty erratic year for PC gaming. The year started with solid releases such as Elden Ring and Tunic being early contenders for game of the year. From then on, our prediction of this year being a monster year for PC gaming was looking good, especially after a sparse 2021. Strong emphasis on the word was.
What followed the next few months were announcements of blockbuster delays of some of the most anticipated games of 2022 getting punted into 2023. You could hear the collective heartbreak of the internet whenever a developer took to their blog or Twitter account to give us the news.
The most significant delay was Starfield, Bethesda's epic open-world sci-fi RPG, which was slated for a holiday release and pushed back into next year. Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl got delayed twice from April into next year. Homeworld 3, Kerbal Space Program 2, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are just a tiny sampling of the dozen or so big PC games that hit with post-2022 delays.
Delays are nothing new in this industry. But you can imagine, with the big AAA taking this year off, it's easy to feel like there's nothing to look forward to in 2022. Thankfully, after a weekend of looking at hundreds of 100s of game trailers from Summer Game Fest, Xbox Bethesda Showcase, and even our PC Gaming Show, I was relieved that there are still some pretty good games heading our way in the coming weeks and months. Yeah, I get it. It's no Starfield, but maybe some of these games should hold you over until then.
Big games still coming in 2022
New PC games that are still coming out this year
There are still a lot of major games coming this year that have already committed to release dates. Yes, even some of these could yet slip into next year, but the ones arriving by September seem like very safe bets.
Ever since its reveal we're all wanted to play cat exploration game Stray. Don't let curiosity kill you before July, because it's arriving super soon.
The Saints Row reboot is coming this summer too, right at the end of August. Don't worry, we have it on good authority that it's still extremely silly.
After a lot of talk, Blizzard is bringing Overwatch 2 PvP into early access in October. The PvE portion is still pending, but everyone waiting to start going 5v5 has something to look forward to this year.
- June 16 — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
- June 17 — A Plague Tale: Requiem
- July 19 — Stray
- July 19 — Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels
- August 12 — Spiderman Remastered
- August 16 — Gloomwood
- August 23 — Saints Row
- September 1 — The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
- September 2 — The Last of Us Part I
- September 13 — Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- September 22 — Serial Cleaners
- October 4 — Overwatch 2
- October 7 — Midnight Suns
- October 11 — Forspoken
- October 21 — Persona 5 Royal
- October 25 — Gotham Knights
- October 28 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- December 2 — The Callisto Protocol
Indie games still coming 2022
There are a lot more lovely indie games planning 2022 launches without release dates announced, but there are a few that are coming soon or that we're just feeling pretty confident will stick the landing this year.
Don't let the first half of that trailer fool you, Cult of the Lamb is definitely an action RGP of the post-Binding of Isaac variety. Its recent short demo was pretty great, too with come cute cult member customization and upgrading your home base.
Surprise reveal Rollerdrome from the OlliOlli developers is an unexpectedly rad-looking skate shooter. Combat on rollerskates? Why the hell not?
Witch shop sim Potionomics has been brewing for years and finally committed to an autumn 2022 timeframe.
- June 16 — Neon White
- July 26 — Immortality
- July 28 — Bear and Breakfast
- August 11— Cult of the Lamb
- August 16 — Rollerdrome
- Fall 2022 — Potionomics
- 2022 — I Am Future
- 2022 — Roots of Pacha
- 2022 — Sunday Gold
Holiday 2022 launches
Late 2022 releases we're praying don't get pushed into next year
Like last year, we're definitely not done seeing games get delayed out of this year's holiday season.
Retro-future action RPG Atomic Heart has finally given itself a "Q4 2022" release window. It's popped up and gone silent so many times since 2018 that we're really hoping it finally arrive this winter.
The newly-announced medieval mystery game Pentiment looks like another neat experiment for Obsidian Entertainment. Will it truly launch this year after just turning up during the summer showcases? We sure hope so.
We need to know what the deal is with Sonic Frontiers. Staff writer Morgan Park got to go fast in June and said that it's "as bad as it looks" but that he still wants more. Sonic fans need a win. We hope they get to play it this year.
- Highwater
- Sonic Frontiers
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Season
- Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered
- Hitman 3 Freelancer mode
- Somerville
- Atomic Heart
- Scorn
- Pentiment
- Slime Rancher 2
- High on Life