IGN AU’s Top 5 Games from Summer of Gaming 2026

The 2026 Summer of Gaming is upon us, and that naturally means wallet pain - in a good way. So what should you be earning your bucks for over the next 12 months?

Thankfully, this year’s game announcements and reveals have delivered big-time for every major platfom. Friends, we’re eating good. This is our pick of the biggest and best titles coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch 2.


It’s hard to believe that the third and final installment of Square Enix’s brilliantly remastered Final Fantasy VII series is nearly here. Anticipation for this reveal (or Revelation, as it were) was understandably high, but even the most ardent fan couldn’t be disappointed with Final Fantasy VII: Revelation.



Revelations will finally allow players to traverse the entire world map in Cid’s Highwind, creating the interconnected planet that has been teasing us since Rebirth.





The massive and monstrous roaming boss battles from the PS1 classic known as Weapons - specifically Diamond, Ruby and Emerald varieties, also make a return. This is the perfect high-level end game content that will ensure this entry has additional staying power.



The development team has also teased how player choices and interaction moments will subtly change the story flow. While there will be one definite ending, we’re curious to see just how far we can push certain directions. Final Fantasy VII: Revelation is slotted for Spring 2027 release in the US, which translates to between March and May 2027 for Aussies.



We’re so back. After years of fans begging Xbox to stop dancing around the past and give us the gritty, chainsaw revving horror that made Gears a phenomenon, The Coalition has finally done exactly that.

Gears of War: E-Day takes us back to Emergence Day itself, 14 years before the original game, as Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago witness the Locust Horde tearing through Sera for the very first time. The latest gameplay reveal shows a return to the darker tone and horror in a way that feels much closer to the original trilogy - perhaps even the first entry - than Gears 5.





Unreal Engine 5 powers environments that are denser, with levels of destruction cranked up during scripted moments. The new Horde Siege mode also looks like an absolute time sink for co-op diehards. Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6, 2026 in Australia and it already feels like the easiest day one Game Pass download of the year.





Remember when games were allowed to just be games? An emphasis on fun over realism and logic? Well, Stuntman Hollywood looks like a glorious throwback to that era, reviving the chaotic movie making premise of the cult classic series and modernising it with current-gen technology and gameplay refinement.

Instead of simply following scripted sequences, players are now encouraged to improvise and chain together dangerous stunts for higher scores and bigger paydays. The reveal trailer featured everything from leaping between speeding muscle cars to crashing helicopters through giant billboards and, frankly, we’re here for it. It might just scratch that Burnout itch.





There is something deeply appealing about a game that knows exactly what it wants to be. Stuntman Hollywood looks like the kind of game that is made by people who are equally as hungry for game-games. Sometimes games should simply be fun and that’s why Stuntman Hollywood makes the list.





For years, fans have wanted to know more about Laufey the Just. Apparently Santa Monica Studio was listening, because God of War: Laufey shifts the focus away from Kratos and Atreus. The reveal suggested a more agile and magical combat system, with elemental attacks and traversal mechanics that feel more nimble and kinetic than the heavy, deliberate style of the recent God of War entries. We think there’s room for both styles, but we’re loving the change for now. It feels refreshing.





Perhaps most exciting is the opportunity to explore a side of Norse mythology we have only ever heard about through stories and memories. Laufey has always been presented as someone capable of reshaping destinies and standing toe-to-toe with the gods. Finally getting to see those feats for ourselves feels like a natural next step for the series. If this reveal is anything to go by, God of War's future remains in very safe hands.





Nintendo truly delivered a showstopper with their teaser of a fully “reborn” The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Often at the tip-top of many gamers’ lists of their favourite games of all-time, Nintendo clearly knows how important it is.



Thankfully, even with just a glimpse of the approach Nintendo are taking, we are assured that this reimagined Ocarina of Time is being treated with the utmost respect. So what do we know for sure about this reveal? Not a whole lot. But we can see a new engine with razor-sharp texture work, a realistic but stylised Young Link sleeping in his tree canopy bed.





We also see the return of voiceover narration, a stirring, symphonic score that returns to the beloved melodies of the N64 game, and a subtle reworking of the game’s logo, fraying the edges of the Zelda typography along the same lines of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom most recently.



It might have been the worst-kept secret of the showcase, but even early rumours couldn’t sour our delight. The best part? A 2026 release date means we won’t have to wait long for more information from The Big N. We’re ready.