PC gaming is often considered the frontier of the games industry as it's easily one of the most accessible and experimental platforms you can choose to play games on. The library of titles you can play on your personal computer is incredibly vast, and 2023 looks to add even more gems to the veritable mine of games you can delve into.
We've asked TheGamer staff to reveal what upcoming titles they are excited about, and you'll be surprised to see what new games we're most anticipating next year (and what familiar favorites we're doubling down on). Read on to discover what PC games we're most looking forward to come 2023!
Updated December 9, 2022: Dozens of great games are shuttling to our PCs next year, and we only mentioned a few the first time around. We've updated this list with even more titles to get excited about in 2023.
Atomic Heart
Jamie Latour
Look, I’ll be honest, I have almost no idea what this game is going to end up being as it seems like every trailer I watch shows me something different. All I know is that this will be some kind of wacky FPS, immersive sim-thing where you fight enemies like faceless automatons who can grow unicorn horns out of their braided hair, robots that turn into balls and try to roll over you, and a giant eyeball with four legs and tentacles. And that's just from one trailer I watched, and that wasn’t even the weirdest trailer!
The whole thing looks like a successor to BioShock that takes place in an alternate-universe Soviet Russia, complete with you getting weird superpowers that you fire with one hand while the other uses complicated and bizarre firearms. It could end up being very bad, but it looks so out there that I need to play it. So yeah, give me the weird Russian BioShock game please.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Sean Murray
Despite owning a Sega Dreamcast which I truly loved, I've never actually played Jet Set Radio. And yet its spiritual sequel, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, has captured my interest in a way few games ever have—which is why its repeated delays have been so disappointing. But Team Reptile seems to think that perfection takes time, and if perfection is what they plan to provide, I will have to patiently presume it'll be worth the wait. And judging by the oh-so-funky trailers that Cyberfunk keeps putting out, it will be.
Street Fighter 6
Chris Sanfilippo
AHA! YES! Finally, I get to rep this game on a “Most Anticipated” list! So, what can I add to the conversation regarding the latest Street Fighter?
Stacey mentioned SF6 brings good vibes back to the series. I think that’s a strong jumping point. Fighting games are an intimidating genre with a steep learning curve. Figuring out the notorious quarter-circle movement alone turns many players off. So, unless I duke it out with highly competitive strangers online, I find myself playing single-player. A lot. It gets lonely.
So, thank goodness Street Fighter 6 is learning from SF5’s mistakes and reaching out to casual fighting game fans! Between the pared-down “Modern” control scheme, ridiculously fun Extreme Battles, and the chill AF Battle Hub, SF6 feels like a game best enjoyed with a group.
Yes, I love the Drive system. And the netcode is smooth like butter! But will I convince my friends to play Street Fighter with me? Well, I’ll have a fighting chance.
Skull & Bones
Sanyam Jain
As an avid enjoyer of the pirate world, I was on cloud nine when I heard that Skull & Bones is being developed by Ubisoft. Our first look at the game displayed it in its entire pirate glory.
Players assume the role of an outcast who will venture into the giant world to make a name for themselves. From ship battles to the law's attempts at stopping piracy, this game has everything.
So, will I be spending my days playing this game when it comes out? Aye Aye, Captain!
Path Of Exile 2
Jacqueline Zalace
Path of Exile 2 isn’t a sequel, but an expansion to the first, which doesn’t have a release date yet. Prior to playing the first game, I didn’t expect to like it. I tend to gravitate towards survival crafting games and visual novels, so I was skeptical at first.
Somehow, Path of Exile quickly became one of my favorite games. Sure, I don’t really know what I am doing half the time, but sitting back and slaying enemies in labyrinth-like maps is therapeutic. With Path of Exile 2, I’m excited to do it all again in a brand-new campaign.
Tron: Identity
Amanda Hurych
I feel like we don’t have nearly enough Tron games zooming around out there as we should, so I’ll take what I can get. Tron: Identity is a visual novel game that follows a detective program trying to solve a mystery, and that’s all we really know about the title so far.
But even with that slim description, I’m here for it. I love the Tron universe. The movies (with all of their foibles and flaws) are some of my favorite films to rewatch. I think the idea of being able to play all sorts of game genres within Tron lore would be amazing. And having a thrilling detective narrative set in the world of programs and users just checks so many boxes.
Baldur’s Gate 3
James Kennedy
This is such an obvious slam dunk for me. What is the best series of games to ever come out of the Forgotten Realms property? The Baldur’s Gate games. Easily. What is the best isometric RPG released in the last decade? Well, in my mind, it doesn’t get any better than Divinity: Original Sin 2. So, hearing that we are not only getting a third Baldur’s Gate game, but it is also being made by the same studio that made Divinity: Original Sin 2, the only entry that makes sense for this list is Baldur’s Gate 3.
The Great War: Western Front
Matt Arnold
Big, overcomplicated historical strategy games are my jam. Total War has always been hit-or-miss for me despite that, but this World War I title from former Command & Conquer devs definitely has my eye.
The Great War has always gotten less attention in media than World War II, but that seems to be changing over the last few years. With so many shooters dedicated to the era, it will be great to see a grand strategy game that gives proper scope to the conflict.
I love seeing emergent narrative in games, and Western Front looks like it will have plenty of opportunities for that; shell marks and trenches remain on the battlefield for the duration of the campaign, so if you fight in the same place the effects of previous battles will be present! We’ll see just how deep it goes when the game launches.
Starfield
Justin Reeve
I’m a real sucker for space opera. I like the genre when it comes to film and television, but I love space opera the most when it comes to video games. Mass Effect, Homeworld, and Elite are among my absolute most favorite franchises of all time. The upshot is of course that Starfield is by far the most highly anticipated game of the year for me, at least on PC.
Similar to countless other people, I’ve sunk hundreds of hours into Skyrim, so the prospect of Skyrim in space would be enough to get me excited, but Starfield seems like it has a lot more in store. The systems are definitely promising, but the story and setting have already sold the game for me.
The Wolf Among Us 2
Stacey Henley
There was a time when Telltale Games and its various imitators ruled the Earth, constantly publishing intricate narrative adventures with well-written characters and strange, brave worlds. Gameplay was limited and often janky, but that allowed for more room for storytelling. Telltale then imploded under the weight of top level mismanagement and crunch, but The Wolf Among Us is returning as Telltale finally gets it act together. A twisted fairytale world built on mythos and legend, TWAU is what would happen if Raymond Chandler wrote Once Upon a Time.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Ben Sledge
We don’t have a release date for this yet, so I’m being a little hopeful by pegging it for 2023, but I think we could see Space Marine 2 before the end of the year. Space Marine was a better third-person shooter than many people gave it credit for, even if Thunder Hammers were overpowered and the most fun activity was squashing Grots with your rolls.
We’ve got Tyranids instead of Orks in the sequel, and it appears that Titus has had a Primaris upgrade, making him bigger and badder. To be honest, I’m just hoping for more of the same: shooting and slashing in a grimdark universe. An improved online mode wouldn’t go amiss, either.
Diablo 4
James Troughton
I missed the launch hype for Diablo 3 because I was never a Blizzard guy — I didn’t play World of Warcraft, skipped Starcraft, and got into Overwatch a little late. But after putting far too many hours into Diablo 3 and Minecraft Dungeons, I’m all in for the newest game. I can’t wait to play new seasons as they roll out, to get stuck in and uncover this world alongside everyone else, because that’s something I sorely lost out on. I thought I’d capture that finally with Diablo 2’s remake and Immortal, but I wasn’t too fond of either, so here’s hoping 4 doesn’t disappoint.
Nine Sols
Lex Luddy
This past summer’s Steam Next Fest had well over a hundred demos for new and upcoming games. Nine Sols was the most promising looking one, and it wasn’t even close. Developer Red Candle Games have already proven themselves master storytellers with Detention and Devotion, and I want this game to succeed purely as a make good from the universe for forcing this tiny Taiwanese team into the centre of Chinese politics for over a year.
But even without all that going on, the Nine Sols demo was stunningly beautiful and disturbingly atmospheric. Will a studio that has mainly only made narrative-focused games be able to pull off a Hollow Knight-like metroidvania? I don’t know — but I am very excited to find out.
The Wolf Among Us 2
Helen Ashcroft
I didn’t get in fast enough to be the first to praise this sequel to the Telltale Games classic, but you can’t stop me from choosing it as well. The Wolf Among Us was one of the first episodic narrative games I played, and it has stayed with me ever since. Unique takes on fairy tales have always been a huge pull for me, and TWAU remains one of the best. It’s been a rough ride to get to this point, but I can’t wait to see Bigby and Snow White once more take on a bizarre mystery in a messed up world. I just hope the storytelling can live up to the high bar set by its predecessor.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Ryan Bamsey
Having been in Early Access for what seems like an age, Baldur’s Gate is one of my most hyped games. There are only so many times you can play through the first act before getting desperate to see what adventures await us, even with the fantastic combat and consistent stream of new content to explore. I have some lofty expectations for the later parts of the game, but I’m also confident that Larian is going to deliver something special and engrossing.
Like A Dragon: Ishin!
Meg Pelliccio
As someone who purchased Yakuza: Ishin in the hopes I could muddle through despite not knowing Japanese — spoiler alert, I could not — I am looking forward to enjoying Ishin properly next year. It’s lauded as one of the best titles in the Yakuza series (saying Like a Dragon series doesn’t feel right yet), and I think it’ll appeal to both newcomers as it’s a standalone title and old fans who want to see their faves again.
For those who don’t know, Like a Dragon: Ishin is a samurai spin-off set in the late Edo period, where Yakuza characters take on historical roles. Kiryu is instead Sakamoto Ryōma, and Majima is Okita Sōji. You get the idea. They look like our faves, but they are, in fact, completely different characters. This remake not only gives the game a Kiwami-style glow-up but promises new content, such as adding in Yakuza 6 and 7 characters. Roll on February!
Like A Dragon: Ishin!
Axel Nicolás Bosso
Can I copy Meg’s entry word for word?
No.
I guess not.
I didn’t know the Ultimate Truth in gaming — that Yakuza is the best series ever — until Yakuza 0 launched. Even though I played the original Yakuza on PS2 back in the day, I was too young and stupid to appreciate it. Years have passed, and this series has won my heart in a way that few other pieces of art have done. Since then, I’ve explored every entry in the series, only hoping for Ishin and Kenzan to have proper releases in the West.
Thanks to the growing popularity of the series, it seems like half of our prayers were answered. With two more projects coming up (The Man Who Erased His Name, also launching in 2023, and Yakuza 8 sometime in 2024), it’s only a matter of time until we get Kenzan and, perhaps, the weird spin-off featuring zombies.