The last few years have been good to the FPS, bringing breakouts like Overwatch and PUBG and continued growth of competitive shooters like CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege. Can 2018 keep that momentum? Here's a list of every shooter coming out in 2018.
Confirmed or likely:
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
December | Piranha Games | Link
The first numbered MechWarrior game in 15 years, Mercenaries is “one part MechWarrior and one part Football Manager,” according to Piranha Games president Russ Bullock. You’ll build up your fledgling outfit from a single mech to a full-fledged mercenary company, taking jobs from various factions across 300 planets. Combat is all about wearing down your enemies and their surroundings, with fully destructible environments and armour-peeling damage modeling.
Hunt: Showdown
TBA (Early Access) | Crytek | Link
One part horror game and another part battle royale, Crytek’s ambitious FPS pits five teams of two hunters against each other in search of some straight up Lovecraftian horrors. Through a mix of traditional tracking and black magic, you’ll trace the location of up to three boss monsters, banish them back to Hell, and make off to safety before another team manages to ambush you and usurp your prize. You’ll want to exercise extreme caution, however, as death is permanent, meaning you’ll lose everything but “bloodline traits” for your next hunter. Our favorite game of E3 2017.
Metro Exodus
TBA | 4A Games | Link
After two adventures through the post-apocalyptic Moscow subway system, intrepid Russian hero Artyom is finally ditching the dark depths for a cross-country journey via steam engine. Developer 4A Games promises larger, non-linear levels, familiar ammo and item scrounging, and at least one pissed-off mutant bear.
Far Cry 5
March 27 | Ubisoft Montreal | Link
Far Cry’s brand of open-world chaos comes to the land of the free and the home of the stark-raving lunatic cults. After a violent religious group takes over the mountainous woods of fictional Hope County, Montana, it’s up to you to wreak enough mayhem to spur a new revolution. You’ll have help from the game’s new “for hire” system, which lets you recruit individual resistance members, animals, and a real-life buddy in co-op if you’ve got one.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Q1 | Fatshark | Link
Fatshark's breakout co-op melee brawler throws you back into the realm of Warhammer Fantasy, ready to tangle again with Skaven horde, as well as the larger, more brutish Chaos warriors of the north. Customize your hero with 15 different career paths and a new settings-altering “heroic deeds” system.
Anthem
Fall | Bioware | Link
In a world of exosuit-wearing “freelancers,” you and a group of pals jet around a lush world full of enemy aliens, giant monsters, and “shaper storms,” fighting to protect the last of mankind. It’s definitely attempting to channel the social shooter experience of Destiny, with co-op squads, loot drops, and gated raid areas for you to ponder, but it sure is pretty.
Mothergunship
TBA | Grip Digital | Link
The dude behind Tower of Guns sends his FPS bullet-hell love letter to space, with another massive series of enemies and environments to shoot and dodge your way through, this time with co-op. Besides some upgraded graphics, you’ll be swapping gun parts in and out with a densely modular crafting system, permitting your dream of a 12-barrel lightning rocket launcher.
System Shock
TBA | Nightdive Studios | Link
The grandfather of BioShock, Deus Ex, and Dishonored is getting a makeover in 2018, courtesy of a portion of the original development team and SHODAN voice actor Terri Brosius. Unlike the largely visual-only redo that was System Shock: Enhanced Edition, significant changes will include level redesigns, enemy introductions, and certain equipment (like the roller blades) being changed into something more fitting of a spooky space station.
Strange Brigade
TBA | Rebellion | Link
Take on an evil witch king’s army of the dead in this pulpy 1930’s co-op shooter. In between blasting mummies and towering minotaurs with magic shotguns and traps, you’ll be solving some environmental puzzles, digging up loot behind secret walls, and modifying your character’s unique abilities along the way.
Overkill's The Walking Dead
Fall | Overkill | Link
The Walking Dead franchise shambles onward into another game genre, this time as a four-player co-op survival action experience set in the streets of Washington, D.C. Details are sparse, but we’ve already seen one player character swinging his bat through a cluster of undead, suggesting melee will be an option for those who dig it up close and personal. Each character will have a unique story arc, skill tree, and special abilities to upgrade as you run raids to beef up your own base’s defenses.
Deep Rock Galactic
TBA | Ghost Ship Games | Link
This class-based co-op adventure pits you and three space dwarf buddies against alien bugs ripped right from Starship Troopers in procedurally generated caverns teeming with ore. Shoot your way through the critters, or dig your way around in a fully destructible environment. Read our recent hands-on for more.
Consortium: The Tower
TBA | Interdimensional Games | Link
Currently in early access, Consortium: The Tower is aiming to be the quintessential “first-person-whatever-you-want-us-to-be” experience, meaning you can tackle your secret agent mission literally however you want—or not at all. After skydiving onto the immense Churchill Tower, you can kill everything in sight, or try negotiating with one of a hundred or more fully unique NPCs with their own individual backgrounds and behaviors. You can even skip major plot events, if that’s your jam, and the game will (ostensibly) account for that. It’s a lofty goal, but developer Interdimensional Games did manage to make it work, albeit with a smaller scope, in the original Consortium.
Superhot: Mind Control Delete
TBA | SUPERHOT Team | Link
This standalone expansion (currently in Early Access) to the “time moves when you move” action franchise adds a roguelike element to all the slow-mo gun fu. As players progress through the new worlds, they’ll unlock abilities, uncover secrets, and gain access to new playable characters. The roguelike side of things will spawn different power-ups and weapons throughout each level.
Escape from Tarkov
TBA | Battlestate Games | Link
Featuring a “frankly bewildering level of weapon customization,” this S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-style shooter pits two factions of players against each other in tense combat dense with inventory management. There’s no permadeath, but you’ll lose every piece of gear you’ve scrounged unless you store it in your vault for later, creating a tense risk versus reward mechanic.
DONT PLAY THIS GAME.EXE
TBA | Link
Edgy title aside (hey, I’ve read “There’s a Monster at the End of this Book” too), this FPS looks like it’ll blend SUPERHOT's look with violent hordes of enemies, creating quite the chaotic gunfight. At some point, you get a katana, which is always a plus.
Battalion 1944
TBA | Bulkhead Interactive | Link
If you miss the old school twitch shooting of early Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, the team behind Battalion 1944 is selling its 5v5 WWII shooter as the modernized, refined take on that era. No killstreaks, no upgrades, just you and the ping of a Kar98 from across the map. There’s plans for community modding support, too, if that’s your jam.
Left Alive
TBA | Square Enix | Link
If you’re getting a distinct Metal Gear vibe from this offbeat third-person shooter, then good eye. Featuring the talents of Metal Gear character artist Yoji Shinkawa, the director behind Armored Core, and the mech designer from Xenoblade Chronicles X, you’ll shoot your way through the dimly lit streets of a war-torn city filled with robots or scavenge resources and set traps in three different character arcs.
Emerging from Early Access, probably:
Quake Champions
TBA | id Software | Link
After changing the Quake formula into a more hero-based format, recent additions like Doom’s space marine and Wolfenstein’s BJ Blazkowicz have managed to keep things fresh, with US editor-in-chief Evan Lahti calling it his “favorite game of the year.”
Unreal Tournament
TBA | Epic Games | Link
While still sitting in pre-alpha, Unreal Tournament has managed to overcome a number of technical problems and added a new team-focused mode for an overall solid arena combat experience.
Polygod
TBA | Krafted Games | Link
Currently in Early Access, this roguelike shooter puts you in the shoes of a low-poly assassin named “Faceless the Blessed,” tasked with defeating the champions of a bunch of evil gods. Steal the souls of enemies and turn them in for upgrades called “Blessings,” which can be stacked for some interesting combos.
Unannounced, but likely:
Call of Duty
TBA | Activision
If history is any indicator, 2018’s Call of Duty will likely be developed by Black Ops 3’s Treyarch, but it’s anybody’s guess if the series will jump back to science fiction after revisiting WWII in 2017.
Battlefield
TBA | EA DICE
Rumors abound for the next installment of Battlefield (popular YouTubers with mixed track records have claimed it’ll be set in WWII, walking back earlier claims of a Bad Company sequel), but we’ll just have to bunker down and wait for more substantial news.
