New video games in January 2026 to look out for

January 2026 is here, and things are starting to settle back in after the holiday rush. The first month of the year is usually a quieter time for new game releases, and that’s the case this time around. Even so, there’s still enough on the calendar to keep things interesting, especially if you’re looking for something a little different. TeamKill Media’s Code Violet finally arrives with a Dino Crisis–inspired take on survival horror, mixing tense third-person combat with dinosaurs and careful resource management.

Later in the month, Highguard arrives as a free-to-play PvP shooter from former Respawn developers, built around competitive firefights with raid-style objectives and full cross-play at launch. All that said, January still has a handful of games worth your time, so here’s a look at all the games releasing this month.

Top video game releases for January 2025

Here are all the new video games in January 2026:

Arknights: Endfield

Blightstone

Code Violet

Cairn

Highguard

Pathologic 3

Arknights: Endfield

Arknights: Endfield takes the Arknights universe in a new direction, shifting the series into a fully 3D action RPG set on the hostile moon of Talos II. You play as the Endministrator of Endfield Industries, awakening from a decade-long stasis with no memory of the past and immediately thrust into a growing conflict involving the alien Aggeloi, raiders known as Landbreakers, and the fragile future of human colonisation.

The game’s combat takes place in real-time, featuring a squad-based setup that pairs flashy abilities with careful positioning and cooldown management. Arknights: Endfield also introduces deep automation and base-building mechanics. You construct an Automated Industry Complex, mine multiple resources, and link machines together with power lines and conveyor belts to create full production chains. 

Arknights: Endfield launches on January 22, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android.

Blightstone

Blightstone takes a familiar dark fantasy setup and builds something sharper around it. A corrupted blight is spreading across the land, turning everything it touches into hostile monstrosities and forcing survivors to flee. You lead a small party of heroes into this ruined world, gathering a strange turquoise mineral that may be the only thing capable of stopping the corruption. 

Presented from an isometric perspective, the game draws inspiration from classic PC RPGs, but its mechanics prioritise flexible positioning and run-to-run progression. You can place characters anywhere, flank enemies, and use the environment to your advantage, giving battles a more fluid, player-driven feel. Failed runs will reward you with Earthglass, which permanently strengthens the Guiding Crystal and makes future parties more capable. 

Blightstone launches on January 20 for PC.

Code Violet

Code Violet arrives as one of January’s more unusual survival horror releases, squarely for fans who have been waiting years for something in the vein of Dino Crisis. Developed by TeamKill Media, the game is set in the 25th century, after Earth has been abandoned and humanity has relocated to TRAPPIST-1e. You play as Violet Sinclair, pulled from the past through time-travel experiments and thrown into the Aion Bioengineering Complex during a failed evacuation that leaves the facility overrun with dinosaurs and hostile forces.

The game sticks closely to classic survival horror fundamentals, with deliberate combat, limited resources, and inventory management playing a major role as you navigate enclosed environments and decide when to fight or avoid danger altogether. 

Code Violet launches January 10 on PS5.

Cairn

Developed by The Game Bakers, Cairn is a survival climbing adventure that makes the climb itself the entire experience. You play as Aava, a professional mountaineer attempting to become the first person to summit Mount Kami, with the story told through her ascent and the sacrifices she’s willing to make to keep moving upward. Played from a third-person perspective, the game asks you to manually position each of Aava’s hands and feet while reading the rock face to plan your route.

There are no grids, markers, or on-screen UI to depend upon and instead, the game shows fatigue through breathing, posture, and subtle physical cues. Stamina, balance, and overextension all matter, and a single mistake can send you falling and partially reset your progress. Between climbs, survival elements like resting, eating, drinking, and repairing equipment affect how far you can push yourself on the next ascent. 

Cairn launches on January 29 for PC and PS5.

Highguard

Highguard is a new PvP first-person shooter with some serious pedigree behind it. Developed by Wildlight Entertainment, the studio’s debut title is led by former Respawn developers who previously worked on Titanfall and Apex Legends. You play as a Warden, an arcane gunslinger fighting for control of a mythical continent in fast-paced, team-based matches. Matches play out in two distinct phases. 

Early on, teams clash directly to gain control of the Shieldbreaker, a key objective that shifts the flow of the match. Once it’s secured, Highguard pivots into raid-style gameplay, tasking your crew with attacking and destroying an enemy base while defending your own territory. The game also features a mix of futuristic weapons, powers, mounts, destructible environments, and full cross-play at launch.

Highguard releases on January 26, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.

Pathologic 3

Pathologic 3 brings Ice-Pick Lodge’s unsettling plague saga back with a sharper focus on control, consequence, and repetition. You play as Daniil Dankovsky, a physician in pursuit of immortality who reaches a remote steppe town too late to stop a deadly contagion. His failure to stop the outbreak becomes canon and from that point on, the experience is built around replaying the same 12 days, using what you’ve learned to make different choices and manage the crisis more effectively.

You’ll need to examine patients face-to-face, diagnose illnesses based on incomplete or misleading information, and slowly work toward a vaccine. Outside the clinic, you influence the town through decrees, quarantines, curfews, and force, often at the cost of public trust. Moreover, your mental state will directly affect what happens next, putting even more pressure on every decision.

Pathologic 3 comes out on January 9, 2026, for PC.

Other games to check out in January 2026

Apart from all the games mentioned above, here’s the full lineup of all the new video games releasing in January 2026:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Nintendo Switch 2) – January 15

Arknights: Endfield (PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android) – January 22

Big Hops (PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch) – January 12

BrokenLore: Unfollow (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S) – January 16

Cairn (PC, PlayStation 5) – January 29

Card-en-Ciel – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Nintendo Switch 2) – January 29

Cassette Boy (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac) – January 15

Chrono Ark Deluxe Edition (Nintendo Switch) – January 29

Code Vein II (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S) – January 30

Code Violet (PlayStation 5) – January 10

Core Keeper – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Nintendo Switch 2) – January 28

Dark Auction (Nintendo Switch) – January 29

Dispatch (Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch) – January 28

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! (PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch) – January 29

Dune Crawl (PC) – January 5

Dusk Index: Gion (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch) – January 29

Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Nintendo Switch 2) – January 22

Escape from Ever After (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) – January 23

Fairy Tale: Dungeons (Nintendo Switch) – January 7

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2) – January 22

 Front Mission 3 Remake (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) – January 30

Hermit and Pig (PC) – January 22

Highguard (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S) – January 26

I Am Future (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch) – January 8

I Hate This Place (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch) – January 29

Mio: Memories in Orbit (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2) – January 20

Pathologic 3 (PC) – January 9

Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (PC) – January 12

Run for Money: Hunters vs. Runners! Can You Win as Either? (PC) – January 29

SEGA Football Club Champions 2026 (PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iOS, Android) – January 22

Steel Century Groove (PC) – January 28

Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights (Nintendo Switch) – January 13

The 9th Charnel (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S) – January 30

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon (PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4) – January 15

The Rumble Fish 2 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Nintendo Switch 2) – January 2

The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin (PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android) – January 28

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These are all the video games in January 2026. Which of these are you the most excited for? Let us know in the comments below.