Big Three Predictions 2026

It is that wonderful time of the year once more! I have to make my predictions for the "Big Three"—Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. Honestly, it feels more like the "Big Two and their Little Green Sidekick" these days, but as long as Xbox ships a console developed in-house and remains the largest third-party publisher, I suppose they can stay on the list.

It's a funky year to make predictions too. Grand Theft Auto VI looms over the fall. Nintendo's new console is only seven months old, a bright future ahead. PlayStation feels stagnant, despite its sales dominance this gen. Xbox is poised to have a strong year of releases with Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and Fable all set for release for the first time in over a decade. And we can't forget the ever present rumors swirling about new Xbox and PlayStation consoles. We should all be in for a good time.

For the record and for the curious, you can go back and read all my previous years' predictions—2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

The only rule I have is that the entire written prediction must come true. That's it. I keep it simple around here, despite my consistent losing streak.

There is also the over-the-top prediction, which is dubbed the Kiefer Prediction. This was all Peter Spezia's idea from Show Me Your News! and is inspired by the fact that 24's Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, was the voice of Venom Snake in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Before I assuredly accurately predict all of 2026, we need to check in with how great I did in 2025.

Nintendo 2025 Predictions

1. Switch 2 will be at least $399.99 with some form of support for 4K. ✅
2. Nintendo celebrates the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. in style with special edition goodies and surprises. ✅
3. Three dormant IP have projects announced. ✅

Really quick, I would just like to say that I nailed my 2024 Nintendo predictions, just a year late.

I should have been bold and gone with the price I thought. The Switch 2 started at $450. The Switch 1 consoles are still very much for sale, albeit more expensive than before. Nintendo did the right thing by holding the Switch 2 price and raising...everything else. I have been extremely happy with my purchase.

Nintendo did indeed celebrate Mario's 40th anniversary. Most of the goodies and surprises are slated for this spring, like amiibo, Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 edition and DLC, and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Of course, the Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out in April. I did buy Rosalina's Storybook, which has been a very good read at bedtime.

"Three dormant IP" is kind of a "know it when you see it" phrase. I think we can say 3D Donkey Kong, Kirby Air Riders, and the aforementioned Yoshi game satisfy the definition. I think Mario Tennis Fever qualifies too.

This is an excellent start to my annual predictions! The momentum is not maintained though...

PlayStation 2025 Predictions

1. A GTA VI bundle of the PS5 Pro sells for over $850 (after tax) and sells out. ❌
2. New hardware is announced (Portal, headphones, controller, etc. kind of hardware). ✅
3. Uncharted makes its return. ❌

Silly Max. Never bet on Rockstar delivering their first stated release date—or their second.

"Given Rockstar's track record of delays, I can't wait to play GTA VI in Fall 2026."

The PS5 generation has been one of many, many peripherals, so it felt like a sure bet so new PS5 adjacent hardware. I am actually in need of some desktop speakers, so I might give these Pulse Elevates a look later this year.

By far the weakest prediction in the PlayStation camp. Hard to believe that "Live from PS5" ad just teased nothing?

Xbox 2025 Predictions

1. Xbox will discuss their next home console with a launch window of 2026. ❌
2. A Game Pass mobile app is announced. ❌
3. Everything goes cross-platform. ✅

Xbox did tease the next home console and even co-launched a handheld PC, but the new console launch window is a mystery for now. The rumor mill claims the box is in the vein of the Steam Machine; some sort of PC-home console hybrid. They also seem dedicated to making their own handheld, not a ROG with an Xbox logo slapped on the brick. Given the price of Xbox Series X, I suspect whatever it is will cost north of $1K.

Shockingly, Xbox did not push a Game Pass streaming app out this year. You still have to use your browser to do so. I guess they found a way to monetize V homeOS, but not iOS?

Everything did, indeed, go cross-platform.

I can't believe how close I was to this one. Last year, I said this was "flat out absurd," in hindsight though, it doesn't feel that absurd.

Thankfully, the Switch 2 answered prayers of stable framerates and higher resolutions for Switch 1 titles. I am very much looking forward to Echoes of Wisdom this year. The Cube was, indeed, freed! No one had the Virtual Boy on their bingo card though.

Yes, I pre-ordered one.

The most absurd element was the PS3 emulation. While Sony still has not revealed any sort of official solution, that has not stopped other developers. One day those server farms of PS3 consoles can rest and let their Cell Processors go to the great Silicon Valley in the sky.

Xbox was a bit trickier to confirm or deny. The closest thing to confirmation I found was an announcement for Retro Classics on Game Pass as a collab between Xbox and Antstream Arcade. That doesn't cut the mustard for me or Kiefer. The only other Preservation Team news I found was hubbub about a job listing in May.

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I started strong and ended weak. Suppose that is par for the course. Lessons learned would be tying predictions less to specific dates and windows. Save that for the Kiefer. 5/10 isn't so bad, but I think I can do better.

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Nintendo 2026 Predictions

1. Nintendo's does something with Super Smash Bros. on Switch 2.
2. Three new ports will be announced; one from the Wii, one from the 3DS, and one from the Wii U.
3. Nintendo introduces the first wacky Switch 2 accessory, in the same vein as the Ring-Con, Labo, etc.

There was no Switch 2 Enhanced Edition or even a Switch 2 patch for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. With Kirby Air Riders out and done, I suspect Nintendo will announce plans for the next—and inevitable—iteration of their platform fighter. I could also see Super Smash Bros. or Melee coming to NSO. We shall see.

The Switch 2 has had a great first six months of exclusive titles. I think the momentum will be maintained with some surprise ports, remasters, remakes. I chose the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U since those are the consoles without any support on NSO and feel like they are entering their first real nostalgia window—Wii Sports is averaging $30 for Reggie's sake! I've seen shops marking it at $45! The 3DS, in particular, is ripe for the picking of titles to bring forward.

Nintendo always has something unique for their controllers to do, ever since the Wii. Labo was introduced just after the one year mark for the Switch 1. Ring Fit Adventure was in 2019. Now, we are getting the Virtual Boy headset next month, but I think something more broad will be announced in 2026.

PlayStation 2026 Predictions

1. Resident Evil Requiem gets a PlayStation VR2 version.
2. PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution 2 delivers major improvements over PSSR v1 and fixes key problematic titles.
3. Saros from Housemarque, Marvel's Wolverine from Insomniac, Marathon from Bungie, and MLB The Show are the only first-party PlayStation Studios developed games released in 2026.

VR gaming may be never as popular as I'd like it to be, but Capcom and Sony seem to have always exchanged enough money to bring one of the biggest franchises to virtual reality since 2016.¹ I am hopeful the new Resident Evil hotness makes the jump. We know RE Engine can do it.²

PSSR has been an overall disappointment I'd say for the PS5 Pro. With version 2 rumored to be released within these first three months of 2026, the promise of FSR 4-like gains is tantalizing. We need to see the goods before we get our hopes up though. I suspect Digital Foundry will be impressed. I'd love to see games like Silent Hill 2 and Jedi: Survivor be "magically" fixed of their shimmery, messy upscaling...mostly because I haven't taken those out of the shrink wrap yet.

I'm not a downer, I'm a realist. Sony has been relying on second- and third-party games for most of the PS5's generation—and to great success! The last few years in particular have felt like an absolute drip from their first-party teams. It's in that vein that I conclude we already know PlayStation Studios lineup for 2026.

Sure, rumors are flying about that Firesprite is making Until Dawn 2. There's a fat stack of unreleased Horizon games being worked on over in Amsterdam. Fairgame$ may or may not see the light of day. Naughty Dog won't ship this year. Sucker Punch will release the multiplayer mode for Ghost of Yōtei, but that doesn't count in the spirit of this pick. God and Hermen only know what Media Molecule, Bend, Bluepoint, and Santa Monica Studio are working on.

Now, could we see some of these games get announced? Absolutely. Santa Monica in particular is overdue for a reveal. Concerning actual releases though? 2026 is locked.

Xbox 2026 Predictions

1. OD finally gets some gameplay.
2. Steam functionality arrives on Xbox.
3. Xbox fully reveal the next Xbox console. They call it the Xbox Pro. It features a horizontal-first design.

I'm a sucker for Kojima and I would very much like to see actual gameplay soon please.

I'm not entirely sure about this one, but I am struggling with Xbox this year. Early in 2025, Microsoft "leaked" Steam as an option in a new Xbox interface. But in June, they added viewing your Steam library in the Xbox app on PC. So, was the "leak" just the PC app or is Steam library functionality coming to the Xbox console?

As I mentioned above, all signs point toward the next Xbox console being a Steam Machine-like box with PC game access. There's no reason the Series consoles couldn't be opened up like that too, I think. It would certainly help Xbox and get me to turn on my console. Steam, on the other hand, doesn't need this deal. I could see them going either way.

All right. I know I predicted the new console last year, but this prediction is different! I try to get a bit specific like with the name and design. I think consumers are tired of the verticality of the Series X and PS5, despite the whole "heat rises" thing in physics. Xbox has to stop with the terrible naming conventions. Do what all the companies do and slap a "pro" on the end. Odd are though, it’ll be some nonsense like “Microsoft Xbox 365 Copilot, Pro Version.”

Kept you waiting, huh? It’s time for my Kiefer-level prediction!

It was difficult to choose a Kiefer Prediction this year. I decided to combine multi-system style predictions with a more specific game prediction due to the sheer number of anniversaries coming up in 2026.

Zelda is turning 40 and they gotta do something , right? I suspect Wind Waker or Twilight Princess emerge from their eternal rumored slumber. I could also see a world where we get another top down remake, perhaps of the Oracle games. Or dare I dream of A Link Between Worlds being ported?

Nintendo always announces 3D Zelda well before release. The next big game being teased would be a sweet treat for the anniversary.

Pokémon is swinging for the fences this year, already with a $650 Leo set. Everyone suspects the next generation to be revealed. That makes sense to me, although I could see a world were we get the next remakes instead. I think it is also time for some Game Boy or Advance titles to come to Switch. I doubt they'd be a part of NSO, but we should let more folks buy those games again—including me.

Ever since Capcom shut down that fan remake of Code Veronica, I believe. I know that Requiem is just a month away, but that doesn't mean we can't announce a remake of one of the series' greats, right?

What has Next Level Games been up to? Gotta be more Luigi's Mansion, I think. Luigi's Mansion 3 sold incredibly well.

Metroid might be the biggest prediction in this list. I think Nintendo wants to keep the Metroid train rolling. They could do that with the other ancient-rumored remakes of Prime 2 and Prime 3, but I'd like to see the series go back to 2D again, perhaps with Mercury Steam behind the development once again.

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As generations end and begin, 2026 should be one of the more interesting years in video games. There is plenty to look forward to and speculate about. Really though, we’re all just thinking about Grand Theft Auto VI. That’ll be one for the books.

Here's to 2026 and all the video games we shall play!

Footnotes

1. How has it been that long since PSVR1 and RE7? ↩

2. A small VR footnote tangent: PSVR2 is an undeniable commercial flop. I just saw one open-box at Best Buy for $150. PlayStation Studios has effectively made zero titles for the headset. Might be the most I've ever overpaid for a game console/peripheral ever. Lately, Meta seems hellbent on killing VR gaming by shuttering their first-party teams they paid millions to acquire. The only glimmer of hope is Valve's new Steam Frame. If I ever buy another VR headset—and of course I will—odds are it'll be a Frame paired with a Steam Machine. I gotta play Alyx at some point, right? ^3c5fac ↩