The year doesn’t look particularly promising for CRPG lovers as Baldur’s Gate 3 still hasn’t spawned a wave of high-budget isometric turn-based RPGs. Still, there are some projects to look forward to.

Also, I noticed an uptick in announced first-person dungeon crawlers/blobbers. Not my genre, but if you’re into it, the year might be actually a good one, if any of them actually get released.

This time, I decided not to take RPG Watch for its word, and tried my best to find release dates for mentioned games. Where I failed, I just put “(no date)”.

1. RPG.

Wicked_Seed (already released)

Horror RPG in modern setting, create by a solo developer (a common thing these days, it seems; it says something about how powerful and accessible modern gamedev tools became). Turn-based combats seem to be closer to JRPG style. Surprisingly good reviews for a game that seems very niche!

Banquet for Fools (05.03.2026)

Party RPG/beat-em-up(?!) from developers of Serpent in the Staglands. The previous game turned me off with its janky RTwP combat. This one’s combat system is… somewhat unique. It’s a cross between RTwP and action combat, or something like that. When you want to make an attack, you first have to pause the game by clicking right button, then select a target in range with left, and then the attack happens in real time, and the rest of your companions (you control one at a time) keep doing what they were doing. Then the attack goes on cooldown, and for a while the only thing you can do is to run away from the enemies. I’m not sure I like it – just like with RTwP, I feel like the game is mostly playing itself, and I only control a little piece of the battle, only here you can’t even give commands to all party members during the pause. I guess you can quickly switch between them to optimize your tactics, but this feels exhausting.

Still, I think you got to check it out for yourself. The demo is available, and the release date is official, it’s coming in March.

Aether & Iron (31.03.2026)

This is one of the most interesting projects this year for me! A noir RPG in alternative 1930’s with car combat? That’s not something you get every day. The release date is official, so we’ll be able to check it out quite soon. The demo looks really good, with great art and atmosphere.

Esoteric Ebb (Q1 2026)

Fantasy Discoid with political bent. Promises “turn-based encounters where dices will decided the outcome”, but it’s not obvious if it’s some kind of separate combat-like mechanics, or just some skill checks. I played the demo, and it’s well-put together game, but the amount of backtalk you get out of your stats (and standard set from D&D) is overwhelming. But I guess it was the same way in Disco Elysium for the first 10-15 minutes – I remember wanting to get out of that first room already!

Anyway, the game looks good, and I think it worth checking out. And that first scene where you wake up in a morgue… It brings back memories 🙂

Starfinder: Afterlight (Early Access в 2026)

Well, people asked Owlcat Games to make a Starfinder game, but no luck, so here’s another sutdio to the rescue. I think pretty much everyone already heard about this project from its successful Kickstarter, but if not – check it out. The beta should be out on February 26, but a full 2026 release is unlikely.

Rod of Asclepius (demo Q1 2026, full release date unknown)

An RPG about a doctor in late Roman Empire where you will need to fight for your patients’ health in card-based “battles”. The author promises to release the demo during the coming Steam Next fest, but there is no ascertained full release date yet. The demo is really janky, and do not inspire much confidence. I wasn’t able to enter the tower because I needed to collect several plants, but could only find two.

Abyss Fantasia (2026)

Beautiful stylized RPG with card-based battles. Looks interesting. While the Steam page shows 2026 release, there is very little communications from the developer, so this is by no means certain.

Aletheia: Prophecy of Perseus (2026?)

An RPG in Ancient Greece setting with turn-based combats in style of Fallout. Steam page shows release in 2099(!), but in forums the author says 2026. His style of messaging, however, is quite strange, so this is not a sure shot.

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies (2026)

A Discoid(?) from the new line up of ZA\UM (people say there are no one from the original team of Disco Elysium remaining). Promises “Tactical view”, but it’s hard to see if this is combat or stealth or whatever.

Solasta II (Early Access в 2026, no full release date)

I more-or-less liked the original Solasta, but though it lacked in narrative department and encounters design could be better. Solasta II seem to have a much bigger budget and ambitions, and I’m looking forward to the release – which, probably, will NOT be this year. But those willing to help the developers to make their game better in Early Access will not have to wait very long.

Knights of Frontier Valley (no date)

Tactical fantasy roguelike with old-school CRPG visuals. Usually, I’m not interested in rogue-likes, but this one at least grabs my attention with graphics: it really looks like a “normal” RPG. One from late 90’s. I wonder if it’s a straight up rogue-like, or more of a rogue-lite with incremental progress between runs, and if there is some kind of story. If so, I may be willing to play it on release. For now, the playtest is ongoing, and considering that the author is yet another solo developer, I don’t think we’ll see the full game this year.

Legends of the Round Table (no date)

I’m struggling to come up with the exact sub-genre here. It’s a side-scrolling RPG in style of medieval scrolls. It’s really beautiful, but side view make some things pain in the ass: for one thing, you’ll be backtracking a lot during quests, and you can’t just click on the other side of the map – you must continiously “drive” your knights. And in battles, where combatants are situated in three “lanes”, there will be much overlapping.

The game offers a lot of complex mechanics and can be overwhelming: your knights has a lot of stats, wounds are tracked independently for each body part, and on top of that there is mass combat mechanic and kingdom management. This combination of somewhat “casual” looks with very hardcore gameplay might cost the game, but the extensive demo won me over, and I wishlisted it. No full release date is available for now.

Ruinlander (no date)

Post-Soviet survival RPG. The demo shows its deadly nature: the very first combat with a bunch of rats is likely to leave you with very little health and poisoned, without any means to cure the poison. I think the idea is that you should earn some money by doing some honest work or scavenging first, and only try fighting once you have some better equipment, or at least money for the doctor. The general feeling reminds me of ATOM RPG, but this game feels a bit more board game than a straight Fallout clone. Survival will require tracking hunger and dehydration, as well as poisoning and radiation levels, so it seems the final game might involve a lot of hassle which I usually find distracting and annoying. Still, might be worth checking out during some quite period once it comes out.

It’s not yet obvious how survival-focused it will be, and whether there will be any story, or just sandbox survival. No release date.

Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG (no date)

A sandbox RPG with turn-based combat. The stated goal is to have a “living world” that “reacts to player’s actions”, but the reviews from Early Access are calling the game shallow. Still, it has no full release date yet, so maybe things will improve by then.

2. Tactics.

FRONT MISSION 3: Remake (already released)

The remake of the best part of Front Mission series from PlayStation (somehow, both previous and next games are all worse). Unfortunately, the remake does little to adapt the game to PC: mouse support is frustratingly limited. This is a huge disappointment, as my biggest gripe about the original game was atrocious UI: for example, in hangar you had to navigate a butt-load of menus while trying to upgrade your Wanzer. I wasn’t able to get to that point in demo, as lack of mouse support in combat is too irritating, but others might be willing to forgive it, or even prefer to play with a gamepad.

NORSE: Oath of Blood (17.02.2026)

Tactical RPG in Viking settings with base/village building. Visuals look good. According to the developer, one playthrough should take ~15 hours, so close to Banner Sage. It’s going to be released very soon, and we shall see if it’s any good.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II (spring 2026)

Well, the first Mechanicus game was pretty good, and I’m sure the sequel wouldn’t be worse. Some previews accuse the game of changing too little compared to the first one, but I’m not sure it’s a bad thing: the original formula was a good one, so just giving us a new story and some new abilities is good enough for me. Not every series have to change with every release! (looking at you, Dragon Age). The release is slated for “spring”.

Ashbane (Q4 2026)

Tactical RPG with expeditions (which means we’ll probably see resource management mechanics). Not much details are available, visuals are nice. Developers promise release in Q4 2026, but knowing how gamedev works, I think it’s probably a 2027 game.

Tattered Banners (Q4 2026)

Looks like a Wartales clone. Authors promise “living world”, so for example if you burn a farm, the nearby city might have a famine. Frankly, we heard such promises many times, and I can’t remember a single one where they were fulfilled and led to a fun gameplay (I really want to write a longer post about it someday). Steam lists 2026 release, but there are no confirmations.

ABYSS REBEL (2026)

Tactical RPG with mechs. Steam lists 2026 release, but there are no confirmations.

Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades (2026)

Yet another tactical RPG in open world with procedural generation. Differentiates itself by really old-school, maybe even JRPG-like graphics. The success, I guess, hinges on combat system, of which nothing much is currently known. Developers hope for 2026 release.

Space Scum (2026)

Tactical RPG about space mercenaries. You can travel between planets. Seems like it has no story. Visuals are somewhat cartoonish.

Warhounds (2026)

Tactical game in style of Jagged Alliance “without random, only honest ballistics”. Apparently, an “improved” version of SPARTA 2035, which has a lot of bad reviews.

Shadow of the Road (2026?)

Tactics about Japan and steam mechas. Release seem to be planned for 2026.

3. Last year’s entries.

Game that I mentioned last year, but weren’t released in 2025. There are a lot of them – RPG Watch release dates are really too optimistic most of the time! And for some games, even Steam release dates only mean start of Early Access.

Sector Unknown (already released)

This Sci-fi RPG finally was released recently. EA reviews are mixed, but I’m still going to check it out.

Mars Tactics (May 2026)

Tactics about struggle between Labour and Capital on Mars. Steam lists May 2026, but there are no confirmations.

Scourge of the Reptiles (Q3 2026)

Tactical RPG with a story where you control and fight dinosaurs. In January, author wrote that the game is largely complete, but needs polish, so a 2026 release is a possibility.

Guild Saga: Vanished Worlds (Q3 2026)

Ambitious indie RPG with a large number of mechanics. Developers promise the last update to EA version in March, and the release is officially planned for Q3 2026.

Veterum (2026)

Tactics with a story from the authors of Warbanners. Early Access started in November 2025, but authors still plan for a full release some time in 2026.

Plague Lords (2026?)

Tactics and base building in 14th century. You will fight the Plague and try to find its origins. Steam page lists 2026 release, but developers say in forums they can’t name the certain date. A free prologue was released in 2025, so you can check it out.

Dead Weight (2026)

Pixel-graphics steampunk rogue-lite. Features very small combat arenas. Full release was originally planned for 2025, but only demo was released. Now Steam lists 2026, but there are no confirmations.

The Way of Wrath (2026)

A tactical game about pre-historic tribe. Authors promise both beta and full release in 2026, which sounds unlikely.

Sacred Fire: A Role Playing Game (2026)

RPG/Visual Novel mix with some kind of unique emotions mechanic. Developers write that the game is largely finished, but they are re-doing the epilogue after testers’ feedback, so 2026 release really seems likely.

Glasshouse (no date)

A game about survival of a group of friends in a locked house. Pre-alpha started in late 2025, so I don’t think 2026 release is likely.

New Arc Line (no date)

A spiritual successor to Arcanum with no release date.

Shore of Jord (no date)

Political Discoid in Scandinavian post-apocalypse setting. No news, and no release date. Possibly a dead project.

Paraside: Duality Unbound (no date)

Tactical RPG with “dual-sided” world. A demo was released in October 2025, but no news since then.

Zodiac Legion (no date)

Tactics with destructible environments. Early Access is planned for Q1 2026, but no full release date.

MENACE (no date)

A new game from developers of Battle Brothers. Was release to Early Access, but doesn’t have an official release data. Still, PR activity around it is picking up, so maybe it will come out this year.

Project Haven (no date)

A tactical game with detailed weapons mechanics. Failed to release in 2025, and no new release date was announced.

Urban Strife (no date)

A tactical game with zombies which reminds me of Dead State. In Early Access, no full release date.

Archaelund (no date)

RPG with first-person exploration and isometric combats which remind me of Betrayal At Krondor. No specific release data, but according to the roadmap, it seems possible that it might be released close to the end of the year, or early next year.

Games from the last year’s list that were released.

The Necromancer’s Tale – “pretty mid”, with combat being a low point
Burden of Command – surprisingly good mix of WW2 tactical game and unusual visual novel. Like Banner Saga, but about WW2 and very grounded in real historical events.
Hades II – hasn’t played it yet.
Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy – hasn’t played it yet, waiting for all patches/missing content
Shrouded Aspect – hasn’t played it yet.
Chains of Freedom – hasn’t played it yet.
Void Marauders – hasn’t played it yet.
Demonschool – hasn’t played it yet.