Let’s be honest: the main Summer Game Fest show has been hit or miss for years now. For every standout reveal, there’s usually been a stretch of filler that has me checking out, so I went into this one with my expectations firmly in check. Geoff Keighley exceeded every expectation. This year’s two-hour show was one of the best Summer Game Fest showcases since its inception—a packed, well-paced lineup with real surprises and almost no dead air.
There was a little of everything: third-person shooters, turn-based tactics, FPS co-op, a medieval sandbox game, and a huge JRPG reveal to top it off. Here’s my personal top 10 from Summer Game Fest, counting down to the Game of the Show. As always, your mileage will vary, so let’s get into it.
10. Chronicles: Medieval
Platforms: PC (Steam); console versions to follow
Release date: Early Access in 2026
Developer: Raw Power Games
Publisher: Raw Power Games
Raw Power Games kicks off my list with Chronicles: Medieval, a medieval sandbox that looks very high quality. You don’t just command armies—you drop right into the fray as a single soldier and wreak havoc yourself. Set during the Hundred Years’ War and powered by Unreal Engine 5, it might be one of the most graphically intensive games of its kind I’ve seen, with massive battles that left a real impression. My one hope is that the strategy underneath holds up as well as the spectacle does. It hits Steam Early Access in 2026, with console versions to follow.
9. Haex
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store)
Release date: Early Access in 2027
Developer: Dead Astronauts
Publisher: Dead Astronauts
Haex is a cool-looking co-op FPS with some weird, intriguing sci-fi vibes, and the aesthetic alone had me curious. From Swedish studio Dead Astronauts—made up in part of former The Division and Little Nightmares developers—it drops one to four players into an alien-scarred Nordic wilderness wrapped in a paranormal mist, where you scavenge, survive, and dig into the mystery of a missing expedition. The powers on display looked neat, and the overall vibe made me want to jump in. It’s headed to Early Access on PC in 2027, and I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
8. Street Fighter 6: Year Four
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: Year 4 begins 2026
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Street Fighter 6 keeps the lights on with its Year 4 reveal, and Capcom came correct. Three brand-new characters—Yasmine, Arjun, and Bosch—all look great, but the real showstopper was the surprise announcement of Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII joining the roster. A guest character that big is exactly the kind of swing that keeps a fighting game in the conversation years after launch, and the timing alongside the FF7: Revelation news made it land even harder. SF6 is everywhere at this point so however you play, Year 4 is shaping up to be a strong one.
7. Wolf Among Us 2
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5
Release date: 2027
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
After years in limbo, The Wolf Among Us 2 finally resurfaced, and it’s slated for next year, hopefully for real this time. The first season ended on a cliffhanger I’ve turned over in my head for more than a decade, so seeing Bigby back in action hit a specific nerve. Telltale’s narrative adventures live and die on their writing, and the original remains one of the studio’s very best, so I’m cautiously thrilled to finally continue this mystery. It’s targeting 2027 across Xbox, PC, and PlayStation.
6. Final Fantasy VII Revelation
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: Spring 2027
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
The finale to the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy was also a worthy finale to the show. Final Fantasy VII Revelation closed out Summer Game Fest, and the icing on the cake was the confirmation that it’s launching day one on every platform—no PlayStation exclusivity this time around. The gameplay is looking to be even more ambitious, with combat that’s been refined to near-perfection. The ability to leap from the Highwind airship and drop straight into any town or area looks awesome as well. Ending the trilogy with the widest possible audience is the right call. Spring 2027 can’t come soon enough.
5. Gen Atlas
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5
Release date: TBA
Developer: genDESIGN
Publisher: Epic Games Publishing
Fumito Ueda doesn’t make many games, but the ones he does tend to become timeless, so Gen Atlas immediately had my attention. Previously known as Project Robot, his latest with genDESIGN is an ambitious sci-fi game built around mechs that carries the same haunting, awe-struck atmosphere that made Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian so special. There’s a sense of scale and quiet loneliness to Ueda’s work that nobody else quite captures, and seeing it applied to a sci-fi setting is fascinating. No date yet, but it’s coming to Xbox, PC via the Epic Games Store, and PlayStation. An easy one to get excited about.
4. Cross/Fire
Platforms: PC (Steam); consoles TBA
Release date: TBA
Developer: That’s No Moon
Publisher: Smilegate
Cross/Fire is an awesome looking cover-based sci-fi military shooter from That’s No Moon, a studio stacked with ex-Naughty Dog talent who worked on The Last of Us Part II—and it clearly shows. I’ve never cared for the Crossfire franchise, but this reveal turned my head completely. That’s No Moon really showed out with the gameplay. My one gripe is a big one though: they confirmed there’s no co-op, even though the whole thing looks tailor-made for a two-player, Army of Two-style campaign. That feels like a real missed opportunity. It’s only slated for Steam for now.
3. Star Wars: Zero Company
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5
Release date: August 27, 2026
Developer: Bit Reactor, Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Star Wars meets XCOM? I didn’t know I needed that until it was announced, but now I need it yesterday. Star Wars: Zero Company is a turn-based tactics game developed by Bit Reactor—a studio of Firaxis veterans who worked on the XCOM series—alongside Respawn, who’ve made arguably the best Star Wars games of recent years. That’s a match made in heaven on paper, and the new trailer only sold me harder. Tactics fans and Star Wars fans don’t always overlap, but this is the rare game aimed squarely at both. Since I land in both fandoms, this is a surefire W for me.
2. TMNT: The Last Ronin
Platforms: PC; additional platforms TBA
Release date: TBA
Developer: PlatinumGames
Publisher: Paramount Game Studios
This one was the most hype announcement of the show. TMNT: The Last Ronin is a game I’d convinced myself would never see the light of day, and after learning who the original developer was, my expectations weren’t that high to begin with. Then came the dream announcement: PlatinumGames, my favorite action-game developer, has taken over development, adapting one of the greatest and most mature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories ever told. Even with no gameplay shown, it’s nearly impossible not to get hyped about that pairing. Platinum’s pedigree in the action genre speaks for itself. I will be there day one for this.
1. Virtua Fighter: Crossroads
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5
Release date: 2027
Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: SEGA
I love fighting games, but I’ll be honest—Virtua Fighter has never been my cup of tea. It was never flashy enough compared to Tekken or Dead or Alive, and I tend to prefer 2D fighters in general. Virtua Fighter Crossroads changed that in a single showing.
Not only does it look stylish and impactful while keeping the grounded realism the series is known for, it has a robust, narrative-driven single-player mode from RGG Studio that takes the fighting mechanics and lets you brawl like a beat-em-up. That’s the dream mode I’ve wanted in every fighting game ever since Tekken Force showed up in Tekken 3 & 4 (only to never be seen in that capacity again). Crossroads might just be the game that comes out on top of this fighting game renaissance. The entire showing was incredible, and it easily earns my number one.
Final Thoughts
Summer Game Fest delivered the kind of variety that makes these showcases worth staying up for. In one night we got a Virtua Fighter reinvention I never saw coming, a TMNT dream team, Star Wars tactics, and a multiplatform FF7 finale to close it all out. Not every reveal came with a release date, and a couple left me wanting more (looking at you, Cross/Fire), but the hit rate was high. There’s a lot to look forward to over the next year and beyond. That’s my top ten, but I already know yours looks different, so sound off and tell me what I snubbed.
