11 upcoming space and sci-fi games to be excited for in 2026
SOURCE:Space.com|BY: Alan Bradley
We'll be battling aliens, surviving cosmic horrors, and conquering the stars in 2026 with these upcoming space and sci-fi games.
(Image credit: Housemarque, Halo Studios, Alt Shift)
2025 was a banger year for games, filled with everything from breakout indie megahits to AAA juggernauts. It was also a year for delays, with a number of titles getting pushed out of the calendar year entirely. But last year's loss is this year's gain, so let's look at all the upcoming space and sci-fi games for 2026 to be excited for.
Some big sci-fi names are making their return to the gaming landscape this year, with Halo: Campaign Evolved and Dawn of War 4 crashing in for a landing at some point in 2026, but we've also got a load of new franchises and indie titles on the way too, across a huge swathe of genres.
Shooters, roguelites, strategy games, flight simulators — we've peered into the future and curated this list of extra-terrestrial delights for your gaming pleasure. Here's our list of 11 upcoming space and sci-fi games to be excited for in 2026.
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Halo Studios |Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
The Halo remake train arrives in 2026 with a fresh look at the original game, rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal 5.
The Halo grandaddy looks fresh in the new engine — looking even better than Halo Infinite — and it comes with some exciting new wrinkles. There are three never-before-seen prequel missions, a bunch of weapons, and gameplay additions from later Halos, and fully re-recorded dialogue from some of the game's main voice actors.
Most excitingly for non-Xbox gamers, Halo: Campaign Evolved will be available from day one on PlayStation 5. The only downside: as the title implies, this is a campaign-only release, so new Sony adopters won't get access to that famous Halo multiplayer.
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2. Saros
Saros - Gameplay Reveal Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube
Announced back in February 2025, Saros is the next sci-fi action game from developer Housemarque. Set on the "shapeshifting" alien planet of Carcosa, it follows a lone enforcer (played by Midnight Mass' Rahul Kohli) exploring a doomed colony.
Saros looks like a promising follow-up to Returnal, incorporating all the frenetic action and satisfying alien-blasting of the previous game, while also bringing in its own time-loop mechanic to justify the live-die-repeat gameplay style that Housemarque is fast becoming known for.
In the gameplay trailer, we see our main character teleporting across the landscape, gunning down aliens with a variety of weapons, and absorbing enemy projectiles before sending them flying back to destroy his foes. Like Returnal, it's also a roguelite, with Housemarque promising that permanent enhancements will be available between runs to make players more powerful and durable in future attempts.
3. Pragmata
Pragmata - First Contact Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube
Release date: April 24, 2026 |Developer: Capcom |Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Pragmata has been on our radar since way back in 2020, but our interest was revived when it showed up at the State of Play June 2025 showcase. It's a third-person action game with two protagonists that players control simultaneously: an astronaut named Hugh and his petite android companion Diana.
Hugh drives most of the combat, with a variety of guns and a jetpack, while Diana makes life easier for him by hacking into enemy systems and robots. Together, the pair have to navigate their way through a lunar station that's lost contact and determine why the station's AI has decided to exterminate its human creators.
The result is a blend of high-octane combat interspersed with frenetic hacking puzzles that's looking like a tasty, atmospheric sci-fi cocktail. Sign us up.
4. Directive 8020
Directive 8020 - Story Reveal Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Supermassive Games |Platforms: PC (Steam)
Speaking of atmospheric, Directive 8020 looks like a delightfully gruesome addition to the space horror games line-up. It's part of the Dark Pictures Anthology from Supermassive Games, the makers of Until Dawn and The Quarry, meaning it'll be a cinematic rollercoaster with players making life-or-death decisions for the crew of a colony ship stranded on an alien planet.
In a distant future where Earth is dying, humanity pins its hopes on finding a habitable home amongst the stars. The colony ship Cassiopeia crash-lands on what it hopes is a planet that can sustain human life, but to the crew's unpleasant surprise, they discover a violent alien organism instead. This beast can take the shape of its prey, leading to paranoia and dissension on par with John Carpenter's seminal classic The Thing.
The developers have also said that the crew of the Cassiopeia may eventually have to choose between their own survival and the survival of everyone back on Earth, aka the Ellen Ripley dilemma.
5. Space Tales
Space Tales - Official Announcement Trailer - YouTube
On the opposite end of the vibes spectrum lives Space Tales, a manic, cartoonish real-time strategy game that pits killing machines against eldritch horrors from beyond the stars. In a tale as old as time, humanity has expanded too far, too fast in its bid to colonize all of known space, and awakened ancient (and very hostile) cosmic entities bent on our destruction.
As the representative for the armed wing of a human empire, you're tasked with subduing these Lovecraftian abominations and securing a foothold for humanity on alien worlds. With massive armies clashing across 16 distinct factions, Space Tales promises to blend RTS action with a choice-driven narrative.
The branching story will explore a galactic conspiracy, revealing that humanity's development has been influenced by dark powers beyond our comprehension.
6. Lunar Strike
Lunar Strike - Official Release Window Trailer - YouTube
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Cognition |Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
While most of the games on this list lean heavily into the fiction side of science fiction, Lunar Strike is aiming to deliver a near-future story grounded in real mechanics. This narrative-driven game will task you with surviving on the Moon after sabotage disables many of the core systems of a lunar colony. We chatted with the developers last year when it was revealed, and we can't wait to see more in 2026.
Despite the aggressive-sounding title, there's no combat in Lunar Strike. Instead, must investigate the history of the colony and attempt to save it from an impending disaster, all while struggling to survive in the harsh lunar environment devoid of oxygen.
As a forensic scientist, you'll discover the true nature of the colony and its history and define its legacy by choosing which elements to preserve and what to toss into the garbage bin of history. The game draws on real-world lunar research to attempt to accurately model different environments and conditions on the Moon.
7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV – "Back to War" In-Engine Trailer | PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct - YouTube
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: KING Art |Platforms: PC (Steam)
In the grim darkness of 2004, there was only Dawn of War. This sci-fi hit helped to redefine the real-time strategy genre, focusing on tactical-level engagements that pitted the mighty space marines against the worst that the nightmarish gothic future of the Warhammer 40K universe had to offer. In 2026, Dawn of War 4 will take us back into the endless war of the far future for the first time in almost nine years.
After two divisive sequels, the latest game promises to take us back to the series' roots, letting players control four separate factions across more than 70 campaign missions. The Orks and Space Marines return alongside the Necrons and Adeptus Mechanicus, the latter of which is making its debut for the series.
Each faction has its own dedicated campaign playable either solo or in co-op, and the new combat system promises a focus on hyper-detailed combat with Warhammer's signature gory panache.
8. Remnant Protocol
Remnant Protocol - Early Access Release Date Teaser - YouTube
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Progenitor Game Studios Ltd. |Platforms: PC (Steam)
Remnant Protocol is a new twist on the space-sim, starship dogfighting formula. At its core, it promises a frenetic space combat game where you juggle ship systems and hunt down enemy fighters from the cockpit of your customizable ship, but the real draw is the strategy layer.
Remnant Protocol takes place in a galaxy fractured by civil war after the leader of a sprawling empire, the Blessed Mother, was assassinated. You play as a loyalist trying to lead the surviving faithful to deposing the usurpers and other factions attempting to fill the void left in the wake of her murder. To do so, you need to develop and manufacture new ships, make alliances, and research new tech, always trying to stay a step ahead of your opponents, who are constantly scouring for the location of your secret base.
Remnant Protocol has the potential to blend the tactical depth of X-COM with the kind of frantic dogfights you'd expect from the best space flight sims, and that sounds like an intoxicating mix.
9. Falling Frontier
Falling Frontier - Might Of Mars Trailer - YouTube
Release date: TBA |Developer: Stutter Fox Studios |Platforms: PC (Steam)
There's something uniquely humbling about watching huge fleets of massive starships engage in combat across an unimaginably vast swath of stars, and Falling Frontier looks to deliver that in spades.
Falling Frontier takes place in a procedurally-generated star system, tasking you with building a faction of fractured humanity up from a single space port to a galactic empire. You'll research cutting-edge ship technology to stay ahead of your militant rivals while building colonies, spaceports, and glassing entire worlds with planet-killing orbital strikes.
One of the coolest things for us is the depth of the ship design system, which lets you modify the weapons and utility systems of your vessels to best suit your playstyle and crush your opponents. We're also huge fans of the hard sci-fi stylings of this universe — definitely one for fans of The Expanse to check out.
Release date: Q1 2026 |Developer: Alt Shift |Platforms: PC (Steam)
Battlestar Galactica is all about the desperate struggle for survival, and Scattered Hopes looks to distill that experience down into a compelling roguelike experience. It takes place shortly after the Cylon attack that nearly annihilated humanity, and puts you at the helm of a splinter fleet of survivors trying to link up with the main Battlestar Galactica fleet.
As in the show, you'll be running and fighting delaying actions in an attempt to evade the overwhelming Cylon forces long enough to find the core of human survivors. You'll face multiple crises of infiltration and resource management, all while trying to satisfy the disparate factions looking for a controlling stake in your little fleet.
Inevitably, the Cylons will catch you, and it's then a matter of making the best use of your fighters and nukes while you calculate an FTL escape route. The goal is to make it out of each encounter with as little damage as possible, helping as many of your people as possible to reach the main fleet. And if you fail, it's a roguelike, so you get to go again. Remember, all of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.
11. Starship Simulator
Starship Simulator - Official Game Overview - YouTube
Release date: TBA |Developer: Fleetyard Studios |Platforms: PC (Steam)
For a sci-fi fan — and especially a Star Trek fan — there is no greater sci-fi fantasy than being a crew member on the starship Enterprise.
Starship Simulator aims to let us live out those Trekkie fantasies, enlisting us on board a "realistically" modeled, fully explorable starship with simulated systems composed of thousands of components. As part of a crew of more than 200 (that can be played by a mix of real players and NPCs), you'll need to maintain and fuel your seven-deck starship while exploring a full-scale Milky Way galaxy.
As you explore, you'll probe the surfaces of alien planets for relics, resources, and new technology, allowing you to upgrade your ship and its capabilities. Starship Simulator promises to bring the immersive elements that other titles have provided piecemeal all altogether in one massive gestalt simulation that, if successful, could steal hundreds of hours of your (and your friends') time. VR support is also planned for an even more immersive experience. We can't wait to get lost in this one.
Alan Bradley is an experienced tech and culture writer with more than 20 years covering gaming, tech, and hardware. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, U.S. News & World Report, PCMag, TechRadar, GamesRadar+, CNET, Live Science, Variety, and many other outlets.
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