The current console generation seems to be winding down and the next one is slowly gearing up, but the form it’s taking seems to be a strange one. There are rumors that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One successor are due to be announced soon, yet Nintendo is having a lot of success with the far weaker Switch that has caught the imagination of gamers across the world. Google will also be entering the fray with their Stadia platform that promises to change the face of the industry (if they can get it to work as advertised), while Walmart is also rumored to be preparing to do the same.
The PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One still have some life left in them and there are plenty of upcoming games for all of the systems. The Internet has also made it almost impossible to keep a game announcement a secret, with trademark applications and leaks spoiling every reveal before it happens.
We are here today to see which exciting console games are due to come out over the next few years and which ones are just rumored to be in development – from the long-awaited return of Samus to the possible merging of Link and the Xenoblade team.
Here are 10 Console Games Currently In Development (And 10 That Could Be Coming)
20 Metroid Prime 4
Metroid Prime 4 was one of Nintendo’s most highly requested games, especially after Metroid: Other M essentially forced the series into a hiatus following its release. Nintendo finally gave the fans what they wanted and announced that Metroid Prime 4 was in development during their E3 2017 conference.
It seems that fans will be waiting a little longer before they can slide into Samus’ big orange boots once more, as it was revealed that development of the game had been scrapped and was starting over with the help of Retro Studios, which developed the original Prime trilogy. Metroid Prime 4 is coming, but it’s still a few years away.
19 Scalebound (Rumored)
Scalebound was a game that was being developed by Platinum Games for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One before it was canceled in 2017.
The story of Scalebound would have ended there if it weren’t for several persistent rumors that made the rounds earlier this year about Nintendo reviving a canceled game for the Nintendo Switch. The game was then said to be Scalebound.
Platinum Games has a good relationship with Nintendo and it’s possible that the Switch could handle Scalebound, so the rumors seem plausible. There has yet to be any official announcement regarding Scalebound, but E3 2019 is only a few months away and that would be the most likely place to reveal the revival of the game.
18 Halo: Infinite
The Halo series has always been the biggest Microsoft exclusive franchise and will stay that way until someone loses their mind and tries to make Minecraft an Xbox Two exclusive.
Microsoft has big plans for its next console generation and Halo: Infinite might be the centerpiece of what they have in store. Halo: Infinite will be the next title in the Master Chief saga and it’s rumored to be the most expensive video game ever made, which means that Microsoft must have an incredible amount of faith in the project.
There is also an upcoming Halo TV show in the works, so it’s possible that Microsoft wants an amazing Halo title out in time to coincide with the show, which is also shaping up to be a very ambitious and expensive project.
17 The Witcher IV (Rumored)
CD Projekt Red is currently hard at work on completing Cyberpunk 2077, but the question that a lot of fans are asking is whether they will be making another game based on The Witcher?
One of the biggest pieces of evidence to suggest that another Witcher game is in development involves a lawsuit. The author of The Witcher novels tried to sue CD Projekt Red for a cut of the games, as he had previously made an agreement where he received a single lump sum in exchange for no residuals.
CD Projekt Red could have fought the case but they chose to settle rather quickly. The legal agreement they had was solid, yet they wanted to avoid a dispute over The Witcher license, which suggests that something may already be in the works.
16 Death Stranding
Hideo Kojima has left both Konami and the Metal Gear Solid franchise behind, which means that his future projects won’t have the power of Solid Snake/Big Boss to back them up.
Death Stranding is an upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive that has a star-studded lineup of actors providing their likeness and voices to the game.
It’s hard to tell exactly what Death Stranding is about or what the gameplay will be like, as we have seen little outside of bewildering trailers. It’s only the incredible pedigree behind the creation of the game that is keeping people interested at this point, as the trailers would have been written off as meaningless drivel if they were made by anyone other than Hideo Kojima.
15 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Remake (Rumored)
A remake of Resident Evil 2 was released to widespread critical and commercial success in 2019, which has already prompted a call for a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
A remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis seems to be a given at this point, as the original versions of both games used a lot of the same assets, with Jill Valentine also visiting the same police station that makes up most of Resident Evil 2.
The majority of the work needed for a Resident Evil 3: Nemesis remake is done already and the remake of Resident Evil 2 was a big hit, so it seems like a foregone conclusion at this point.
14 System Shock
System Shock was a groundbreaking first-person action adventure game that became eclipsed by its far superior sequel. The fact that the original System Shock was a hassle to run on modern systems for many years meant that it never found the audience that it deserved.
The original System Shock is being remade by NightDive Studios, which managed to gather over a million dollars through Kickstarter in order to fund the project. The System Shock remake was originally touted for a 2017 release but has since been put on hiatus and taken off again with a new team, which now has a tentative 2020 release date.
13 Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Remake (Rumored)
The Persona games helped to bring the Shin Megami Tensei series to prominence outside of Japan, but there are still many who remember Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, which was one of the first games in the series that was localized into English.
Shin Megami Tensei V is in development for the Nintendo Switch, but it will likely be followed by a remake of Nocturne. The developers of Shin Megami Tensei V mentioned a strong interest in porting or remaking Nocturne for modern systems, but it would be something that would have to wait until after Shin Megami Tensei V was completed.
12 Bayonetta 3
Bayonetta has essentially become a Nintendo exclusive series. Bayonetta 2 would have been canceled due to a lack of funding, if it wasn’t for Nintendo swooping in and paying for the game to be finished, so long as it became a Wii U exclusive. Bayonetta has since joined Super Smash Bros. and Bayonetta 3 has been announced as an upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive.
There has been no new information revealed about Bayonetta 3 since it was first announced at the 2017 Game Awards, save for a brief mention during the last Nintendo Direct, but the game is definitely still in development.
11 Star Fox: Grand Prix (Rumored)
One of the most persistent rumors concerning the Nintendo Switch over the past few years is that there is a Star Fox racing game in development by Retro Studios, called Star Fox: Grand Prix.
There are several reasons to not believe in Star Fox: Grand Prix, such as the fact that Retro is now confirmed to be working on Metroid Prime 4 and that Nintendo has shut down most of their non-Mario Kart racing series. If Nintendo won’t make a new F-Zero, then why make a Star Fox racing game, especially after the last Star Fox game was such a dud?
The rumors of Star Fox: Grand Prix still persist, however, and they likely will continue to do so until the game is announced or the Switch ceases development.
10 Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red created The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is a game that is in the running for the greatest video game of this current generation. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a hard game to follow up, but they may be able to do so with Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredibly ambitious open world game set in a futuristic world where people augment their bodies using cybernetics. There hasn’t been much information revealed about the story of Cyberpunk 2077, but the trailers have featured some incredible visuals.
There has only been a short amount of footage revealed for Cyberpunk 2077, but that will change soon, as CD Projekt Red has promised that the game will be featured heavily at E3 2019.
9 Bloodborne 2 (Rumored)
Bloodborne seemed to be a self-contained story and didn’t leave much room for a sequel, which is why most fans never expected to see a Bloodborne 2.
The release of Déraciné changed everything, as there were several hints in that game which suggested that Bloodborne 2 is in development, with dolls referencing the poses from the game and talking about an unfinished story.
Hidetaka Miyazaki was asked about the Bloodborne 2 hints and he downplayed their significance, but he also said that he wasn’t able to discuss a possible Bloodborne 2 at the time, which means that the doors of Yharnam haven’t closed just yet.
8 Persona 5: The Royal
Atlus has been teasing fans with updates on a new Persona 5 game at the end of the anime specials based on the game.
It was recently revealed that a game called Persona 5: The Royal is coming to the PlayStation 4, with a brief trailer that shows a mysterious young girl who has strong opinions about the Phantom Thieves and their methods.
There still hasn’t been confirmation over whether Persona 5: The Royal is an updated port of Persona 5 or is an entirely new game set in the same world (in the same that Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse was to Shin Megami Tensei IV), but we will know soon, as new information about the game is due to be released on April 24, 2019.
7 Duck Hunt & Hogan’s Alley (Rumored)
Duck Hunt is one of the best-selling video games of all time due to it being a pack-in game with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo has only recently revived the notorious Duck Hunt Dog with appearances in Pixels and turning it into a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series.
In 2017, Nintendo revived the trademarks for Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley in Europe, which led to speculation that some kind of revival was in the works. Nintendo has a gun peripheral coming to the Nintendo Switch soon in the form of the Labo Blaster, so it’s possible that Nintendo might be reviving some of its old light gun licenses to be used with the Labo sets.
6 The Last Of Us: Part II
The Last of Us is considered by many to be the finest game ever released on the PlayStation 3, but the story of Ellie and Joel isn’t over yet, as The Last of Us: Part II is due to be released on the PlayStation 4 in the future.
The Last of Us: Part II is set several years after the first game and follows an older version of Ellie as she encounters a religious cult that is committing various atrocities and sacrifices in post-zombie outbreak America.
There are numerous rumors that The Last of Us: Part II is due to be released in 2019, but there has yet to be any confirmation from any official sources related to the game.
5 Superman World’s Finest (Rumored)
Rocksteady Studios is the development house that is best-known for the Batman Arkham series. There have been a lot of rumors circulating that Rocksteady’s next game is going to involve a different DC superhero – Superman.
There have lots of rumors stating that Rocksteady’s next game is called Superman World’s Finest, even though representatives of Rocksteady have denied the speculation.
The question now is how a game starring Superman is going to work? It’s easy to make a game using Batman, as he is essentially just a skilled human being, but Superman has an incredible range of powers and few weaknesses. It’s hard to say how Rocksteady will make a game based on Superman, but it will be incredible to see them try.
4 Final Fantasy VII Remake
There are few E3 moments as hype as when Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced during Sony’s E3 2015 conference. It’s just a shame that the announcement was so premature, as it has been nearly four years and there has been almost no new information revealed about the game.
Final Fantasy VII Remake recently gained a co-director in the form of Naoki Hamaguchi, so the development is still ticking along. The only question now is whether the game will actually be released on the PlayStation 4 or whether it will be held back and saved as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, which would be a heck of an incentive to purchase Sony’s next console.
3 Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Remakes (Rumored)
The Pokémon series has been remaking older titles on modern systems since the days of Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance. The second generation of games was turned into Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver on the Nintendo DS and the third generation of games was turned into Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire on the Nintendo 3DS.
The next games in line for the remake treatment are Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, but the question now is what system they will appear on? The Nintendo Switch seems like the most obvious choice, as Pokémon Sword & Shield are being developed for that system, but the Sinnoh remakes could also be released on the Nintendo 3DS as a way of bookending the games (as Diamond & Pearl were the first Pokémon games on the Nintendo DS) and in order to appeal to a bigger player base.
2 Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is one of the greatest RPGs ever released for the PC, but it never received its due when it was first released, as it was released at the same time as Half-Life 2.
Paradox Interactive has finally answered the call of many Bloodlines fans and has announced that Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 is coming to PC and consoles in 2020.
The original Bloodlines offered a fascinating experience, where the player took on the role of a powerful vampire but couldn’t use any of their supernatural abilities in public, or they would risk destruction for revealing the secret of the existence of vampires. Bloodlines 2 is offering the same kind of experience except with a lot more care and polish put into the design of the game.
1 The Legend Of Zelda (By Monolith Soft)
Monolith Soft is a development studio that is owned by Nintendo and is best-known as the creator of the Xenoblade series, but the people at Monolith Soft are often called in to work on other Nintendo projects, such as The Legend of Zelda titles.
A recent job posting on the Monolith Soft website had want ads for a new game in The Legend of Zelda series, which started a lot of rumors over what this game could be.
Nintendo has been looser than normal with their first-party properties of late, with Link and Princess Zelda appearing in a Crypt of the NecroDancer x Legend of Zelda crossover game called Cadence of Hyrule. It’s possible that Monolith Soft has earned so much trust with Nintendo that it has been allowed to helm the next game in The Legend of Zelda series.
