18 January – Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (XO/PS4)

Bandai Namco’s venerable combat flight simulator stages a comeback with a return to the original storyline, more complex battles, and a very promising VR mode. (The PC version is on February 1.)

25 January 2019 – Resident Evil 2 (XO/PS4/PC)

Capcom’s remake promises to be one of the best games of the year no matter when it’s released, with state-of-the-art visuals and a slightly more serious tone.

29 January 2019 – Kingdom Hearts III (XO/PS4)

It’s been well over a decade since the last numbered sequel but the new Disney and Square Enix mash-up looks like it’ll be worth the wait, with excellent visuals and improved gameplay.

15 February 2019 – Far Cry: New Dawn (XO/PS4/PC)

Only recently announced but already set to be one of the biggest games of the spring, with a direct sequel to Far Cry 5 set in what seems to be a very Mad Max-esque world.

15 February 2019 – Crackdown 3 (XO/PC)

Microsoft’s eternally delayed sequel is finally due out soon and it seems to be a game of two halves, with standard single-player and a destruction-filled multiplayer that relies on cloud-computing.

15 February 2019 – Metro Exodus (XO/PS4/PC)

The third in the Metro series of post-apocalyptic first person action adventures is looking extremely promising, with a heady mix of action, stealth, survival, and role-playing.

15 February 2019 – Dead Or Alive 6 (XO/PS4/PC)

Yes, all these games are coming out on exactly the same day. At least Tecmo’s new one-on-one fighter isn’t competing directly with all the open world adventures, but fellow fighter Jump Force is also out on the same date.

22 February 2019 – Anthem (XO/PS4/PC)

For some reason BioWare’s answer to Destiny is still being kept under wraps, but despite some generic art design everything else that’s been seen of it so far looks very impressive.

7 March 2019 – Total War: Three Kingdoms (PC)

Creative Assembly’s strategy series goes to China for the first time, which seems to fit the series perfectly and has inspired some welcome gameplay changes – including one-on-one battles.

8 March 2019 – Devil May Cry 5 (XO/PS4/PC)

Dante and Nero return at last, as Capcom aim to reinvigorate their iconic action series with its customarily over-the-top action and some stylish visuals.

15 March 2019 – The Division 2 (XO/PS4/PC)

Ubisoft has been strangely quiet about this sequel so far, but unless it’s been delayed a beta should be imminent. The gameplay seems pretty familiar but the new setting appears to offer more variety.

22 March 2019 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (XO/PS4/PC)

The new game from the creator of Dark Souls is technically not a Soulsborne game as its ninja theme puts a greater emphasis on stealth and platforming, with some obvious nods to the Tenchu series.

Q2 – Fire Emblem: Three Houses (NS)

Nintendo hasn’t shown much yet, about the first Fire Emblem game on Switch, but it seems to be a fairly traditional entry in the series, with turn-based combat still at the core of the gameplay.

23 April 2019 – Mortal Kombat 11 (XO/PS4/NS/PC)

The ultra violent beat ‘em-up returns once more, but so far all we’ve seen of it is a short pre-rendered trailer. A proper gameplay reveal is planned for January 17.

26 April 2019 – Days Gone (PS4)

It still feels like the black sheep of Sony’s exclusive portfolio, but after significant delays perhaps the new zombie apocalypse game will surprise everyone – the graphics certainly seem good.

14 May 2019 – Rage 2 (XO/PS4/PC)

Yet another open world post-apocalyptic game, although the mix of id Software-developed first person shooter and Avalanche’s Mad Max-esque vehicle combat does look very good.

21 May 2019 – Team Sonic Racing (XO/PS4/NS/PC)

It was supposed to be out this Christmas, but Sega’s spiritual sequel to the Sonic & All-Stars Racing series will hopefully be worth the wait – even if we’ll miss all the non-Sonic characters.

Summer – World Of Warcraft Classic (PC)

Fans have been demanding an old school version of the veteran MMO for years and now it’s actually happening and will be part of the standard monthly subscription.

21 June 2019 – Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (XO/PS4/NS)

There’s a bit of a Mario Kart clone traffic jam this summer, but few will complain about the return of CTR. Especially given how well Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy worked out.

27 August 2019 – Shenmue III (PS4/PC)

It’s still hard to believe it’s really happening but this is the official release date for gaming’s most long-awaited sequel. Assuming it doesn’t get delayed again…

Late 2019 – Untitled Pokémon game (NS)

Unlike Pokémon: Let’s Go this is a mainline sequel and presumably will introduce an eighth generation of new pokémon, but nothing’s been shown of it yet.

Christmas 2019 – Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Episode IX will be out at Christmas, but rather than another Battlefront game EA are planning to release the new game from Titanfall developer Respawn.

2019 – Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (NS)

The logical time to release this would be in April, around the same time as the Avengers: Endgame movie, but it’s unclear how far along in development the game is at this point.

2019 – Stranger Things: The Game (XO/PS4/NS/PC)

Likewise, you’d assume this would be out when season three of the show begins, which is rumoured to be sometime in the summer. The game itself looks like an old SNES title, and is not the once-planned Telltale Games tie-in.

2019 – MediEvil (PS4)

Sony’s answer to the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro The Dragon remakes was announced ages ago but there still isn’t a release date or any detailed information.

2019 – Luigi’s Mansion 3 (NS)

There’s not a clue as to when this will be released and only a few seconds of footage so far, so maybe Nintendo are aiming for a Halloween launch?

2019 – Gears 5 (XO/PC)

Presumably Microsoft’s big Christmas title for the year, although until it’s clear what their plans are for the next generation it’s best not to assume anything… except that probably there’ll be another Forza too.

2019 – Animal Crossing (NS)

There hasn’t been any footage at all yet for the first Animal Crossing game on Switch, and so it’s impossible to guess when it’ll be released.

2019 – Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night (XO/PS4/NS/PC)

The Kickstarted spiritual successor to Castlevania, by the man behind Symphony Of The Night, has been delayed multiple times now and no longer has a specific release date.

2019 – Nioh 2 (PS4)

Another game that’s been announced but about which absolutely nothing has been seen or said. The first game also appeared on PC, but only several months after the PlayStation 4 version.

2019 – Battletoads (XO/PC)

This seems to be a brand new game, rather than a remake, with three-player co-op and new 2.5D graphics. How it’ll cope with the fact that the original games weren’t that great remains to be seen.

2019 – Ori And The Will Of The Wisps (XO/PC)

Arguably Microsoft’s most anticipated exclusive at the moment. The new Metroidvania lacks a release date but the footage so far looks just as heartfelt as the original.

2019 – Control (XO/PS4/PC)

The new game from the creators of Max Payne and Alan Wake looks like it could be their best game yet, but much will depend on its marketing campaign (and a sensible release date).

2019 – Psychonauts 2 (XO/PS4/PC)

Another sequel it’s hard to believe is actually happening, although unlike Shenmue III it doesn’t have an exact release date yet. The most recent footage looked very encouraging though.

2019 – The Outer Worlds (XO/PS4/PC)

The new game from Fallout: New Vegas creators Obsidian, and some of the creators of the original Fallout, turned a lot of heads at The Game Awards and could be a sleeper hit of the year.

2019 – Dreams (PS4)

The new game from the creators of LittleBigPlanet has been running under the radar for years, since it’s essentially a creation tool that’s hard to demo, but it is due out this year.