Games Inbox: Will 2026 be a good year for video games?

The Monday letters page wonders what’s in store for Xbox in 2026, as one reader agrees that Tomb Raider needs to go back to basics.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]

PLEASE NOTE: We are currently preparing articles to run over the Christmas and New Year break, so if you’ve been thinking of writing a Reader’s Feature now would be the perfect time to send it in. It can be on any subject you want, as long as it’s a minimum of 500 words long.

Promising previews
I thought that was a pretty good The Game Awards on Friday. I didn’t stay up for it but despite all the leaks I thought it was pretty interesting and there were still a fair few surprises. Some of the games were a way off but I was glad to see quite a few were relatively soon.

That makes me think next year might be a bit of a special one for games. This year was as well but really only for indie games. I think most big name games were a bit of disappointment and overall there wasn’t really that many of them – this Christmas is as quiet as I can remember it in recent years.

Just for me personally, the games I’m interested in next year include Resident Evil Requiem, 007 First Light, Pragmata, Saros, GTA 6, High On Life 2, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Marvel’s Wolverine, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Tomb Raider: Legacy Of Atlantis. I won’t get them all, obviously, but they’re all of interest to me.

That doesn’t include any indie games, so if you add that on top we really could be looking at an all-timer. Of course, 2025 looked a lot better this time last year and then we had an underwhelming Switch 2 launch and a GTA 6 delay. So, I guess the trick is not to take anything for granted.
Futterman

Highest bidder
I would overall say that was one of the more watchable The Game Awards, with lots of actually interesting games and at least some surprises. I was very excited by the Star Wars games and Tomb Raider and I don’t understand why one of those didn’t end out the show as the mic drop at the end, because it seemed like the whole thing was going well and then it just went out with a whimper with Highguard.

Or maybe it’s just because that’s not my sort of game, but I was encouraged by how many interesting looking single-player games there were and how much attention Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was getting. If that means lots of more similar games in the future, that aren’t super expensive and don’t take forever to make, then I’ll be very happy and actually optimistic about gaming in the future.
Tacle

GC: Everyone pays for their trailer slots at The Game Awards. Presumably Highguard paid more than anyone else.

Reject the reboot
I agree with the Reader’s Feature that Tomb Raider needs to skew to the older games not the newer ones. They’re not bad games and yet there’s not really anything I would keep from the reboot trilogy in a new set of games. Everything that was good about them had nothing to do with Tomb Raider and could’ve been in any competent third person action game.

This new game needs to focus on proper puzzles and platforming, that take real skill, and on making Lara Croft someone you like. A decent story that you can remember for more than two seconds after it happens would be nice too, but I’m not going to go crazy with my demands. Not now I know dinosaurs are in it.
Iceman

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The year ahead
So, I see we’re back to Microsoft making homework style excuses again, this time about why they weren’t at The Game Awards. Sure, they do always have a showcase early in the new year, but they also used The Game Awards to announce the Xbox Series X. Or maybe that’s why they didn’t want to do it again, considering how that went!

Someone said about how all their games this year have been a flop and it’s hard to disagree, even though we don’t get sales figures. I do think they could do better next year though. They’ve got Forza Horizon 6, which is a guaranteed hit now that the series is on PlayStation 5, and you’ve got Fable, which surely has to be out soon.

If it’s not I’d question whether it’s ever even going to come out. If Microsoft is in a money saving phase right now then spending another year on the game, plus all the money needed for marketing, it may genuinely be cheaper to just can it and cut their losses. I don’t think it’s likely but in a way it might be useful, if it puts publishers off relying on such massive, expensive, and unmanageable games.
Xane

18-rated action
I’m guessing Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t talked about because it was a flop! It’s PlatinumGames at their violent best though and almost as good as Metal Gear Rising.

I’m never been a fan of these types of games because I can’t be bothered to learn combos, but it has a few basic moves that keep me going and I just check the tutorials every so often to get a few extra moves.

It’s so violent and the kills are super satisfying. It’s a real gem.
Simon

Nintendo after dark
Completely agree with the criticism of Metroid Prime 4 over the weekend, particular the Reader’s Feature blaming the characterisation of Samus Aran – or rather the complete lack of it.

I put this down to Nintendo being too cowardly to try and make her a proper character, so it can hide behind letting the player make up their own idea of what they think she’s like. If they were to do it properly they’d have to deal with her having a difficult childhood and having communication problems (to put it mildly!) as an adult.

But, as was said, Nintendo never deals with that sort of thing. Nobody in Nintendo games has real-world problems and I think they’re not comfortable with addressing that sort of thing. They’re probably right too, it’s not what their family friendly audience want to hear. But then again, Metroid is not the kind of game the whole family is going to be interested in.

Either they need to invent some kind of Nintendo adult label, which they’ll never do, or at make Samus Aran a simplistic stereotype like Myles and his crew of losers.

Some generic quips and basic dialogue, along the lines of any other ordinary action hero, would still have been a lot better than a grown woman standing around ignoring people as they talk to her, and them treating that as if it’s normal.

Or, and this seems the most obvious thing, just put her in a setting that doesn’t have any other people around, like most of the Metroid games. Metroid Prime 4 creates so many problems for itself that didn’t need to happen that I couldn’t even enjoy it for the graphics and exploration.
Wotan

Christmas gift
Hope all Game Central readers, Underboxers, and GameCentral staff have a good Christmas and get the game or games they would like. On Epic Games Store on PC currently, until Thursday 18th January, you can get Hogwarts Legacy free!

Thank you to everyone who helped me in choosing the right PC parts for my new PC this year. I am currently 70% through Bioshock 1 Remastered on my new PC.
Andrew J.

A new hope
Very excited to hear about Star Wars: The Fate Of The Old Republic. A complete surprise and for once everything about it sounded perfect: single-player, the original director, and Andor references!

Having all new characters seems a bit of a negative at first but I think it’s easy for fans to forget how long it’s been since the originals, which without the remake are not something younger games are likely to enjoy.

So I think a new crew, and probably connections to things like Andor and the High Republic, which didn’t exist when the original games were made, would be great. I’m sure they’ll throw some cameos in anyway though, especially someone like HK-47, who doesn’t need much of an excuse to still be around.

Combine that with the new racing gaming and I’m suddenly feeling very optimistic about Star Wars games, after feeling that probably companies were pulling back from it after Star Wars Outlaws. It’s a real shame about that game, because I did feel it was pretty good, but I do hope we get something else set in the seedier side of the universe and hopefully Battlefront 3.

I’m not sure if EA are really on board though, as I don’t think they’re the publisher on either of these new games? Which is understandable as both are being made by people that used to work at developers they own!
Tim Rogers

GC: They didn’t say who the publisher was, other than Lucasfilm Games. But up till now they’ve not handled anything directly.

Inbox also-rans
This is the second year in a row we’ve had bad loser at The Game Awards. Last time it was Black Myth: Wukong and this time it was Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. I don’t get it though, how could you not think it was going to be Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, whether you like it or not.
Sophus

That new Street Fighter movie looks freaky. I’m not sure going for ‘so bad it’s good’ from the off is really a good idea. The costumes are funny but it’s going to have to have a really good script to not be a total embarrassment. Especially as they can’t rely on the amazing Raul Julia.
Benson

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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