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The New Game+ Showcase is the first major gaming event for 2026. It is the debut of a new showcase for dozens of video games, ranging from indies to AA to AAA productions. The start time for the event has been confirmed, there’s an extensive list of games, and it will be live to watch soon.
When does the New Game+ Showcase start?
The start time for the New Game+ Showcase is 1PM PST/4PM EDT/9PM GMT on January 8. These hours are confirmed by the event’s official X account.
This year marks the event’s debut. It is produced by Gaming World Media, a company led by gaming content creators Jake Lucky and Hunter Grooms. The showcase is also started by other gaming personalities and streamers such as Luke Stephens, Luality, IamRob, Blue Thunder, and HUN2R.
On X, the event promises “exclusive game footage and interviews”. Unlike other gaming showcases such as Summer Game Fest, there’s also “no paid placements,” meaning no developer or publisher has paid to be part of the show.
Jake Lucky says he has “spent the last 8 months working to put this together”. All the creators involved have participated in curating the list of games, based on their interests in the titles.
Games list
The New Game+ Showcase promises 45 games ranging from indies and AA to AAA productions. There is a hype trailer for the event, and below is a list of every game part of the trailer, curated by Gematsu’s editor-in-chief, Sal Ramano, on ResetEra:
- Alpha Response (Ultimo Ratio Games)
- Aphelion (DON’T NOD)
- Atomic Heart (Mundfish)
- Avowed (Xbox Game Studios / Obsidian Entertainment)
- Beautiful Light (Deep Worlds)
- Blind Descent (META Publishing / Pokuch)
- The Blood of Dawnwalker (Bandai Namco Entertainment / Rebel Wolves)
- Core Keeper (Fireshine Games / Pugstorm)
- Crimson Desert (Pearl Abyss)
- The CUBE (Mundfish)
- Dark Light: Survivor (Mirari & Co.)
- Denshattack! (Fireshine Games / Undercoders)
- Dinoblade (Team Spino)
- Distant Shore: BETAGNE (DISTANT SHORE)
- Dragontwin (Draconic Interactive)
- Duskfade (Fireshine Games / Weird Beluga Studio)
- Erosion (Lyrical Games / Plot Twist)
- The Eternal Life of Goldman (THQ Nordic / Weappy)
- The Expanse: Osiris Reborn (Owlcat Games)
- ExeKiller (Paradark Studio)
- Far Far West (Fireshine Games / Evil Raptor)
- Forsaken Realms: Vahrin’s Call (Titan Roc)
- Gallipoli (Blackmill Games)
- Grounded 2 (Xbox Game Studios / Obsidian Entertainment)
- Last Man Sitting (Raw Fury / DoubleMoose)
- Outward 2 (Nine Dots Publishing / Nine Dots Studio)
- Prologue: Go Wayback! (PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions)
- Project Shadowglass (Starhelm Studios)
- RuneScape (Jagex)
- RuneScape: Dragonwilds (Jagex)
- SAND: Raiders of Sophie (tinyBuild / Hologryph / TowerHaus)
- Shadow of the Road (Owlcat Games / Another Angle Games)
- Sprint City (Second Stage Studio)
- Starfinder: Afterlight (Epictellers Entertainment)
- Tape 101 (Double H Productions / Suversa / Nana)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Ubisoft / Massive Entertainment)
- Towerborne (Xbox Game Studios / Stoic)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy (Owlcat Games)
- Where Winds Meet (Everstone Studio)
There are many exciting games listed above. Atomic Heart is a brilliant first-person shooter set in a reimagined 1955 Soviet Union full of AI and robots. Atomic Heart 2 was announced at Summer Game Fest 2025, along with The Cube, an ambitious FPS MMO.
Avowed is an Xbox exclusive RPG from Fallout New Vegas developer, Obsidian Entertainment. It was released in February 2025, so its reappearance could possibly mark the announcement of a port for PS5.
Crimson Desert is one of the biggest open-world RPGs coming out this year. It is developed by Pearl Abyss, the developers behind the MMO Black Desert Online, and Crimson Desert features the talents of Neil Newbon from Baldur’s Gate 3.
Where the Winds Meet is another fantastic game that you can play right now on PS5 and PC for free. We praised Where the Winds Meet as a “sumptuous meal that will spoil your appetite,” so it’s definitely a game we recommend.
The Prince of Persia Sands of Time Remake is noticeably absent from any promotional material. Ubisoft’s remake is rumored to launch in mid-January, and a Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake website has recently been updated, but it’s possible that release plans could have changed, and fans shouldn’t expect an appearance.
How to watch the New Game+ Showcase live
You will be able to watch the New Game+ Showcase live on the event’s official YouTube and Twitch channels. The creators have also welcomed content creators to stream the event, so you’ll likely be able to watch the showcase via a favorite Twitch streamer or YouTuber.
There’s no mention of how long the event will run, but we recommend getting snacks and beverages ready.
While the New Game+ Showcase is the first gaming event of 2026, it’s not the only exhibition this month, as Xbox has confirmed a Developer Direct for January. There’s no date for the event, but Microsoft’s president of game content and studios, Matt Booty, told Variety that Playground Games will be present, the developer for the upcoming new Fable, as well as Forza Horizon 6, leaked to release in the “first half” of 2026.
Booty also hinted at an appearance for Halo Campaign Evolved, a remake of Halo Combat Evolved that is coming to Xbox and PC sometime in 2026, as well as PS5 for the first time in the series’ history.
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