2021 games: all the upcoming PC games to watch for

The new games of 2021 are already looking like a stacked bunch. Due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was a chaotic year that saw quite a lot of games—big and small—get delayed until 2021. Now that the new year is here, we've got quite a feast of new PC games to look forward to even early in the year. 

BEST OF THE BEST

(Image credit: Supergiant Games)

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2021 games: Everything to play this year

Highly anticipated games like Halo Infinite and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 have made their way to this year's calendar alongside big, newly-announced games like Hitman 3. With the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles launching late in 2020, 2021 is sure to be full of surprises. The new year's releases will likely capitalize on the power in those new consoles, which PC versions should benefit from too. 

We likely haven't quite seen the end of game delays caused by the pandemic as developers continue to work from home. As with last year, we'll keep this page up to date with all the new announcements, delays, and reveals for games releasing in 2021.

This is your big guide to the games to watch in 2021, which we've organized by month to help you look ahead. At the top we've highlighted the biggest and most anticipated games launching this year. At the bottom are 2021 games with release dates "TBA"—things that should be (or we hope will be) arriving in the next year—but haven't yet committed to a release date.

2021 GAMES: THE BIGGEST RELEASES

As game studios switched to working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of big releases originally planned for launch in 2020 got pushed back. Now there are plenty of big games, both delayed and newly announced, to look forward to in 2021. Here are the most anticipated games of this year to watch for.

THAT YOU, VAAS?

Far Cry 6 | 2021
Three years after fictionalizing Montana, Far Cry is back with the fictional Caribbean island Yara. This time around, the big baddie is El Presidente Antón Castillo, played by Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito.

Hitman 3 | Stealth Hijinks | January 20
Agent 47 is back for more comedy assassination hijinks, and progress from Hitman 2 will carry over—in fact, you'll be able to play the maps from both of the last two Hitmans in Hitman 3. We also recently learned that the engine supports 300 active NPCs at once. 

Deathloop | FPS Sandbox | May 21
Arkane returns with another FPS adventure, and this one sounds like a great time. Master assassin Colt is stuck in a time loop on Blackreef Island where he'll have to sneak and plan and maneuver to kill all of his eight targets in 24 hours, or start over.

Back 4 Blood | Co-op zombie murder | June 22
Turtle Rock Studios are returning to run and gun zombie co-op under a new name but don't be fooled, this is essentially a Left 4 Dead game, which we're all for.

Halo Infinite | Chief's next rodeo | 2021
The Chief is back in the long-awaited next game in 343 Industries' take on Halo. The Banished are back for Master Chief to tangle with, and this time he's got a grappling hook! Taking a page from other FPS series, Infinite's multiplayer will actually be free to play while the campaign will be purchased as usual.

Elden Ring | The big Souls RPG | 2021?
From Software's ambitious RPG (with a world co-developed by Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin) may still be far away, but we can surely hope that it's coming sometime in 2021.

Gotham Knights | Superhero team up | 2021
Batman is dead, and his superpowered proteges are all that's left to defend Gotham City: Batgirl, Robin, Red Hood, and Nightwing. Developed by the studio behind 2013's Arkham Origins, Gotham Knights can be played alone swapping between the four heroes or in two player co-op.

New World | Amazon-powered MMO | 2021
Amazon's premiere MMO has been in the works for a long time, and has almost released once already. It looks like 2021 will finally be the time for this promising realistic take on traditional MMOs.

Resident Evil Village | Horrific vacation | May 7
The eighth mainline Resident Evil game picks up where RE7 left off, with Ethan Winters investigating a new threat in an extremely creepy village.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 | Bloody RPG | Second half 2021
The sequel to a bloody cult classic is being created by Hardsuit Labs. You'll create your own vampire and start out as a newly minted Thinblood on the streets of Seattle while navigating the politics of the city's other vampire clans.

Ruined King | LoL RPG | 2021
Riot continues to broaden its portfolio with Ruined King, a spinoff League of Legends story taking the form of a turn-based RPG. The game stars a handful of League heroes making the jump from MOBA to RPG: Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Braum, Yasuo, Ahri, and Pyke.

Age of Empires 4 | Strategic Return| 2021
We haven't heard a lot about Age of Empires 4 years after its announcement, but as far as we know, Relic is still chugging along on the anticipated follow-up to a classic strategy series.

2021 GAMES: JANUARY

January's release schedule this year is the home of at least one game that flung itself into 2021 when Cyberpunk 2077 got its final delay into December 2020. Bloober Team's next horror adventure The Medium didn't want to compete with the biggest developer in Poland, apparently. We're also being treated to a new Hitman this month among other surprise delights.

January new game highlights

STEALTH HIJINX

Hitman 3 | January 20
Agent 47 is back for more comedy assassination hijinks, and progress from Hitman 2 will carry over—in fact, you'll be able to play the maps from both of the last two Hitmans in Hitman 3. We also recently learned that the engine supports 300 active NPCs at once. 

The Medium | January 28
Bloober Team is back with another horror game, this time one that takes place in two planes of existence. As the titular medium, you'll use your psychic abilities to solve puzzles that take place between both realities.

Yakuza: Remastered Collection | January 28
At long last, almost all of the Yakuza series will be on PC. The collection includes remastered versions Yakuzas 3, 4, and 5, making up the middle chunk of Kiryu Kazuma's punching adventures in Kamurocho.

January 2021 game releases

• January 7—Noch - Apocalyptic survival horror
• January 8—Iron Conflict (Early Access) - World War 2 RTS
• January 13—Skellboy Refractured - Cardboard action RPG
• January 14—Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Complete Edition - Beat 'em up re-release
• January 14—Sunlight - A first-person hike in the woods
• January 18—Everspace 2 (early access) - Open world space shooter
• January 20—Hitman 3 - Stealth simulation hijinx
• January 21—Dyson Sphere Program (Early access) - Space factory simulation 
• January 21—Ender Lilies (Early Access) - Side-scrolling action RPG
• January 21—Orange Cast: Sci-Fi Space Action Game - What it says on the tin
• January 25—Atelier Ryza 2 - Another Atelier fantasy RPG 
• January 26—Encodya - A kid and her robot point & click adventure
• January 28—The Medium - Bloober Team's next horror game
• January 28—Sword of the Necromancer - Dungeon crawler
• January 28—Yakuza: Remastered Collection - Yakuzas 3, 4, and 5 finally on PC

2021 GAMES: FEBRUARY

February is full of sequels and spinoffs in popular series like Nioh 2, Little Nightmares 2, and Persona 5 Strikers. This month has also turned into the release window for several early access games that plan to continue development throughout this year.

February new game highlights

DEMONS AND SOULS

Nioh 2 | February 5
Team Ninja's next action RPG maintains its Souls-inspired roots but continues to spice up its samurai combat with a new yokai form for your half-demon protagonist. The original was a fun romp through pseudo-historical Japan and the sequel looks to be more of the same.

Hellish Quart | February 16
Hellish Quart looks like the ultimate test of your mettle. The physics-based battles between 17th century combatants use all manner of weaponry in its fencing battles. It could just be the ultimate fighting game.

Little Nightmares 2 | February 10
Tarsier Studios has cooked up a sequel to its grim and spooky platformer. As young children Mono and Six, you'll sneak your way through the horrible nightmare world.

February 2021 game releases

• February 2—Valheim (Early access) - Viking crating survival
• February 4—Aircraft Carrier Survival - Strategy simulation
• February 4—Blue Fire - 3D platformer
• February 4—Nuts - Squirrel surveillance mystery
• February 4—Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood - Action adventure
• February 5—Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition - Souls-like action RPG
• February 8—Becastled (Early Access) - Siege defense
• February 10—Little Nightmares 2 - 2D platformer thriller
• February 16—Hellish Quart - Sword fight simulator
• February 17—Nebuchadnezzar - Isometric city-builder
• February 18—Rustler (Early access) - The medieval GTA game
• February 21—Rogue Invader - Roguelike action shooter
• February 23—Persona 5 Strikers - Persona's Dynasty Warriors spinoff
• February 25—Imagine Earth (Early Access) - Colony management sim

2021 GAMES: MARCH

So far for March, the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake has joined the month after a short delay. We'll also be able to sit down with our friends to play the next co-op adventure from Hazelight, It Takes Two.

March new game highlights

CARTOONY CO-OP

It Takes Two | March 26
Hazelight returns with another co-op adventure, though It Takes Two looks much lighter in tone than the prison escape adventure A Way Out. Once again, you'll be able to invite a friend to play alongside you even if they don't have their own copy of the game.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake | March 18
Ubisoft is bringing back Sands of Time this year with a fresh 2021 redo. The remake will have new motion capture, voice acting, difficulty modes and other modern niceties to go with the updated look.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life | March 25
At long last, almost all of the Yakuza series will be on PC. The Song of Life is the last Yakuza game starring stoic punch machine Kazuma Kiryu and a fitting finale to the original series.

Evil Genius 2 | March 30
Evil Genius 2 is finally arriving, Rebellion's follow up to the old RTS from 2004. Build your lair and train your minions and become the best bad manager you can be while defending against the nefarious good guys.

March 2021 game releases

• March 1—Foregone - 2D Action platformer
• March 9—Stronghold Warlords - Historical RTS
• March 16—Mundaun - Hand-drawn horror
• March 18—Dogworld - 2D pixel platformer with lots of dogs 
• March 18—Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake - Action adventure
• March 23—Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 - Two arcade classics combined
• March 25—Lords of Exile - Side-scrolling platformer
• March 25—Yakuza 6 - The conclusion of Kiryu's punching saga
• March 26—Balan Wonderworld - Action platformer
• March 26—It Takes Two - A cartoony co-op adventure
• March 30—Evil Genius 2 - Goofy strategy
• March ??—Disco Elysium: The Final Cut - Free update with extra voice acting
• March ??—Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Cinematic action adventure

2021 GAMES: APRIL

April is still a bit light for the year with more sure to be announced early in the year. So far, Amplitude is planning to launch its Civilization competitor Humankind and People Can Fly are launching Outriders on (no joke) April 1st.

April new game highlights

A WORLD OF STRATEGY

Humankind | April 22
Aiming to evolve world-building strategy, Humankind looks like a possible rival to Civilization. Amplitude Studios are challenging players to create civilizations that change and survive rather than dominating opponents. 

April 2021 game releases

• April 1—Outriders - Third-person looter shooter
• April 21—Nier Replicant - Mind-bending action remake
• April 22—Humankind - 4X strategy game

2021 GAMES: MAY

May is officially the month for Arkane's sandbox FPS puzzle Deathloop and the long-awaited and much-delayed Biomutant with its martial arts felines. There are sure to be other surprises joining those two big reases as we get closer to spring.

May new game highlights

LIVE DIE REPEAT

Deathloop | May 21
Arkane returns with another FPS adventure and this one sounds like a great time. Master assassin Colt is stuck in a time loop on Blackreef Island where he'll have to sneak and plan and maneuver to kill all of his eight targets in 24 hours or start over.