2026 Upcoming Games & Events: Dates, Showcases & Releases
- The biggest release left in 2026 is Grand Theft Auto VI on 19 November (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S; the PC version comes in 2027). The biggest showcases still ahead are gamescom (26–30 Aug), Tokyo Game Show (17–21 Sep) and The Game Awards (10 Dec).
- As of 16 July 2026 the confirmed release run includes Splatoon Raiders (23 Jul), Halo: Campaign Evolved (28 Jul), Marvel’s Wolverine (15 Sep), Gears of War: E-Day (6 Oct) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (23 Oct).
- Some things are expected but not yet dated: the next Nintendo Direct and PlayStation State of Play are announced only days ahead, so we mark them TBA rather than guess — and a ‘second Xbox Developer Direct’ is still only a rumour.
- We only list dates confirmed by the event/publisher or two independent sources; everything unannounced is labelled TBA. This is a living calendar — we update it as dates land and events pass.
Quick answer: the biggest game still coming in 2026 is Grand Theft Auto VI on 19 November (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S). The biggest live shows left are gamescom (26–30 August), Tokyo Game Show (17–21 September) and The Game Awards (10 December). Right now, the very next releases are Splatoon Raiders (23 July) and Halo: Campaign Evolved (28 July). Below is the full calendar for the rest of the year — with every date checked against a live source, and everything unannounced marked TBA instead of guessed.
How to read this page: dates tagged [Confirmed] come from the event or publisher (or two independent sources). [Window] means only a year/quarter is known. [TBA] means it’s expected but not yet dated. [Rumoured] means treat it as a leak, not a plan. Last checked: 16 July 2026.
Gaming events, showcases & expos (rest of 2026)
The live-show calendar from now through December. gamescom and Tokyo Game Show are where most of the autumn reveals happen; The Game Awards closes the year with both awards and a wall of new-game trailers.
| Date (2026) | Event | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 25 | gamescom: Opening Night Live | Geoff Keighley’s big gamescom-eve showcase |
| Aug 26–30 | gamescom 2026 (Cologne) | The world’s largest games expo |
| Aug 26 & 30 | Future Games Show at gamescom | GamesRadar’s digital showcases (two broadcasts) |
| Sep 4–7 | PAX West (Seattle) | Major North American fan expo |
| Sep 17–21 | Tokyo Game Show 2026 | 30th-anniversary edition, Makuhari Messe |
| Oct 9–11 | PAX Aus (Melbourne) | Australia’s biggest gaming expo |
| Oct 23–25 | MCM Comic Con London (October) | Pop-culture + gaming con at ExCeL |
| Oct 29–Nov 1 | gamescom asia × Thailand Game Show (Bangkok) | gamescom’s Southeast-Asia edition |
| Nov 13–15 | TwitchCon San Diego | Twitch’s North American creator convention |
| Dec 4–6 | PAX Unplugged (Philadelphia) | Tabletop-focused PAX |
| Dec 10 | The Game Awards 2026 (LA) | The year’s biggest awards + reveal show |
Biggest game releases left in 2026
The headline releases still ahead, in date order. GTA VI is the tentpole; everything above it is confirmed by the publisher or two independent sources.
| Date (2026) | Game | Platforms & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 23 | Splatoon Raiders | Switch 2 |
| Jul 28 | Halo: Campaign Evolved | Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5 — early access from 23 Jul |
| Sep 3 | The Blood of Dawnwalker | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC |
| Sep 4 | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | Moved up from 25 Sep |
| Sep 15 | Marvel’s Wolverine | PS5 |
| Sep 24 | CONTROL Resonant | PS5, Xbox, PC (macOS comes later — not at launch) |
| Oct 6 | Gears of War: E-Day | Xbox, PC — day-one Game Pass, no PS5 |
| Oct 23 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 | Not confirmed day-one on Game Pass |
| Oct 29 | Phantom Blade Zero | Delayed from 9 Sep |
| Nov 19 | Grand Theft Auto VI | PS5, Xbox Series X|S — the tentpole |
On GTA VI specifically: the solid fact is the 19 November console launch. The PC version is slated for 2027, not day one — and we deliberately don’t repeat the viral “record pre-order” counts and revenue figures floating around, because Take-Two hasn’t disclosed them. For what is confirmed, see our GTA 6 pre-order guide, the UK price & pre-order breakdown, and the Ultimate Edition guide.
Esports finals worth a calendar slot
The three big world finals with public 2026 dates:
| Date (2026) | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 13–23 | The International 2026 (Dota 2) | Shanghai |
| Sep 24–Oct 18 | VALORANT Champions 2026 | Shanghai |
| Oct 15–Nov 14 | League of Legends World Championship | Final: Barclays Center, NYC (14 Nov) |
If you follow VALORANT, we broke down the current meta in the VALORANT Patch 13.01 explainer.
Expected, but not yet dated (TBA)
These almost certainly happen in the back half of 2026 — but the organisers announce them only days ahead, so we won’t invent a date:
- Next Nintendo Direct — a general Direct in this window is the usual pattern; unconfirmed.
- Next PlayStation State of Play — an autumn stream is typical; unconfirmed.
- Xbox Developer Direct — Microsoft’s January deep-dive would be the first tentpole of 2027 (roughly late January by pattern).
Window-only games (real, but no firm day yet): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake (Switch 2, 2026), 007 First Light Switch 2 port (Q3 2026), and Day of the Devs: TGA Edition (usually right before The Game Awards).
Rumoured — don’t bank on these
- A second Xbox Developer Direct in 2026 — a single-insider rumour with no Microsoft confirmation.
- The Duskbloods (FromSoftware, Switch 2) — reported for 2026, but the date isn’t officially confirmed.
Already happened earlier in 2026 (for context)
So you don’t scroll looking for them: Summer Game Fest (5 Jun), Xbox Games Showcase (7 Jun), PlayStation State of Play (2 Jun), a June Nintendo Direct (9 Jun), IGN Fan Fest (Feb), EVO Las Vegas (26–28 Jun) and EVO Japan (May), and gamescom latam (30 Apr–3 May) are all done. So is the year’s biggest launch to date — Palworld 1.0 on 10 July.
Palworld corner (our home turf)
Drawpie is, first and foremost, a Palworld guides-and-tools site — so here’s the honest Palworld status for this calendar: the latest update is v1.0.1 (15 July 2026 bug-fix hotfix), and Pocketpair has not announced a dated 1.0.2 or content roadmap. Everything post-1.0 is genuinely TBA, and we track it on the Palworld Latest News hub as patches land.
While you wait, our free Palworld tools: the Breeding Calculator, Mount Progression Calculator, Currency Farm Calculator, Ancient Bone Calculator, Pure Quartz Calculator, Cryogenic Coolant Planner, and the Base Location Finder.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest upcoming game of 2026?
Grand Theft Auto VI, launching 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The PC version is expected in 2027.
When is gamescom 2026?
26–30 August 2026 in Cologne, with Opening Night Live on 25 August. It’s the largest event left on the 2026 calendar.
When is The Game Awards 2026?
10 December 2026 in Los Angeles — the year’s biggest mix of awards and new-game reveals.
Is there another Nintendo Direct or State of Play in 2026?
Almost certainly, but neither is dated yet — both are typically announced only a few days in advance, so we list them as TBA rather than guess.
Is E3 coming back in 2026?
No. E3 has been permanently discontinued; gamescom, Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards have taken over as the industry’s tentpole shows.
The bottom line
For the rest of 2026, the dates to hold are gamescom (26–30 Aug), Tokyo Game Show (17–21 Sep), GTA VI (19 Nov) and The Game Awards (10 Dec) — with a steady drip of releases from Splatoon Raiders and Halo in late July through to GTA VI in November. We keep this page honest: confirmed dates only, everything else marked TBA, updated as the calendar moves.
More from us: the GTA 6 pre-order guide, what’s free on Game Pass and PlayStation Plus this month, and the Palworld Latest News hub.