Rock Paper Shotgun has published a new “most anticipated PC games for 2026” feature from Edwin Evans-Thirlwell—though “anticipated” might be doing a lot of work here. In typical RPS fashion, the piece isn’t a sterile calendar rundown so much as a personality-driven editorial, framed through Edwin’s deliberately over-the-top weariness with the endless wait for certain long-missed franchises.
### A Hype List That’s Really About Waiting
Rather than opening with bullet points and release windows, Edwin sets the tone with a comedic monologue about getting older in an industry that’s always promising the next big thing “soon.” The joke lands because it’s grounded in a familiar PC gaming reality: projects slip, studios reshuffle, and the games fans most want to see can spend years in limbo.
### The Legacy of Kain Elephant in the Room
Edwin specifically calls out the long drought for a new Legacy of Kain entry—an iconic series that helped define late-’90s and early-2000s dark fantasy action-adventure storytelling. While the IP has remained culturally present through nostalgia and rereleases, a true new installment has remained elusive, making it an easy shorthand for the slow burn of fan expectation.
The article itself is positioned as a forward-looking picklist for 2026, but its real hook is that it treats anticipation as a complicated emotion—part excitement, part exhaustion. That angle feels especially relevant on PC, where big announcements often arrive years before anyone can actually install the game.
### Why This Matters
Lists like this don’t just spotlight upcoming releases; they also reflect the broader mood of the audience. As development cycles stretch and publishers lean harder on long-term roadmaps, “most anticipated” content becomes less about certainty and more about hope—and how much of it players have left. If anything, Edwin’s approach is a reminder that hype is a resource, and the industry burns through it faster than ever.
Source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/edwins-most-anticipated-pc-games-for-2026 |