With the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 about to come into their own 2014 is set to be another classic year, but exactly what new games are coming out?
For the first time in several years there are unlikely to be any new hardware announcements in 2014, not unless Apple or some other dark horse contender makes a surprise reveal. (Although there will no doubt be plenty more on Valve’s Steam Machines and virtual reality visors such as Oculus Rift.) But that’s good, because that means all the focus will be on the most important thing: the games.
Unlike last year we already have a good picture of what 2014′s line-up is going to look like, and although many big name titles haven’t yet picked a specific date they’ve at least said that they will definitely be out this year.
But as well as the list of confirmed titles below we’ve also added those that have a reasonable chance of being surprise releases, and those that are almost certainly not going to be out until at least 2015.
As ever with video games though take all release dates with a pinch of salt and it wouldn’t be surprising if even some of these with specific release dates change their mind before they actually came out.
Confirmed for 2014
January – Broken Age (PC/iOS/Android)
Double Fine’s adventure started the whole Kickstarter craze for video games but almost nothing was seen of it until VGX. The first episode is out in January though and the second in April or May.
7 February – The Lego Movie Videogame (360/PS3/Wii U/XO/PS4/PC/3DS/PSV)
There are already two Lego games scheduled for 2014, but this looks considerably more interesting than Lego The Hobbit, as for the first time in a game the entire landscape is made out of Lego bricks.
14 February – Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (360/PS3)
It’s very unlikely that Final Fantasy XV will be out in 2014, so apart from Final Fantasy XIV on PS4 this action role-player and final part of the Lightning trilogy is the only major Final Fantasy of the year.
21 February (US) – Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)
Controversial for both its delay and for tying up developer Retro Studios with yet another 2D platformer, but for fans of the franchise this looks to be another polished new entry.
28 February – Thief (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC)
The creators of Deus Ex: Human Revolution try their hand at revamping Eidos’ other stealth classic, and although there’s been some controversy from old school fans it’s looking highly impressive.
4 March – South Park: The Stick Of Truth (360/PS3)
Delayed more times than Kenny’s been killed, this is hopefully the final release date for what may be the first worthwhile South Park game ever made – and potentially even a decent role-playing game.
14 March – Titanfall (360/XO/PC)
The Xbox One’s most important third party exclusive so far. But can the creators of Call Of Duty catch lightning in a bottle a second time? With the help of giant robots, perhaps…
14 March – Dark Souls II (360/PS3/PC)
The original was a surprise hit but the sequel is one of the most anticipated games of the year, although the big question at the moment is whether it will also be out on the Xbox One and PS4.
21 March – Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (360/PS3/XO/PS4)
The Phantom Pain has been implied to be a long way out, but this budget-priced prologue will be the first outing for the new Fox Engine graphics and Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Snake.
21 March - inFamous: Second Son (PS4)
Sony’s first big release since the PS4 launch. The graphics looks excellent, but it’ll need to do a lot in terms of gameplay and storytelling to convince those unimpressed with inFamous 1 and 2.
28 March – Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)
After an amazing 2013 the 3DS has almost nothing of note scheduled for this year, although the English translation of this fan favourite crossover should certainly prove to have been worth waiting for.
March 2014 – Elite: Dangerous (PC)
The big question with this reboot of the original space trader is whether it has a big enough budget to do the series justice, and whether it’ll suffer from the usual Kickstarter rush job.
Early 2014 – Driveclub (PS4)
Originally intended as a launch title it’s unclear exactly how ‘early’ early 2014 is meant to be. In fact the whole game, from the makers of MotorStorm, remains something of an unknown quantity.
Spring – Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
Mario Kart Wii was the best-selling non-bundled video game of all time and although it’s hard to imagine this doing the same sort of business the new anti-gravity gameplay looks intriguing.
4 April – The Elder Scrolls Online (XO/PS4/PC)
The console versions aren’t out until June but that should hopefully give Bethesda the chance to get over the inevitable teething troubles in this massively multiplayer online spin-off from Skryim et al.
Q2 – Watch Dogs (360/PS3/Wii U/XO/PS4/PC)
Originally intended as a next gen launch title, it’s still not clear why Watch Dogs was delayed. Whether it was bug fixing or fear of comparisons with GTA V hopefully the extra time has been worth it.
First half 2014 – Kinect Sports Rivals (XO)
Microsoft’s first major Kinect-only retail game has been looking pretty impressive in previews, the question is how this new attempt at an Xbox Wii Sports will work outside of controlled conditions.
9 September – Destiny (XO/PS4/PC)
Halo creators Bungie have been slow to ratchet up the hype with their ambitious not-an-MMO shooter, with many questions about the game still unanswered – except that visually it looks amazing.
Q3 – Dragon Age: Inquisition (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC)
BioWare has obviously been stung by the criticism of Dragon Age II and are promising that this follow-up will have a much wider scope and much more developed role-playing elements.
Q3 – The Order: 1886 (PS4)
Sony certainly aren’t going for the obvious sells with their PS4 exclusives, but this third person shooter set in an alternative history version of Victorian London looks extremely promising.
Second half 2014 – The Sims 4 (PC)
The disastrous launch of SimCity seems to have caused EA to rethink its plans for its next Sims game, with a greater focus on offline play. Although very little of it has been seen in public so far.
Q4 – The Division (XO/PS4/PC)
One of the most graphically impressive next gen games at E3, this new Tom Clancy third person shooter is also extremely ambitious in terms of its online features and smart device connectivity.
Winter 2014 – Persona 5 (PS3)
Technically the game is only confirmed for 2014 in Japan, but as the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed Japanese role-players of all time fans will be hoping for a quick release here too.
2014 – Wolfenstein: The New Order (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC)
MachineGame includes many veterans from The Chronicles Of Riddick and it shows in this daring mix of old school and modern gameplay, and an atmosphere that ranges from camp to horrific.
2014 – Dying Light (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC)
The latest game from the creators of Dead Island doesn’t find them moving very far from their comfort zone, but in terms of visuals and combat this already looks like a major improvement.
2014 – Super Smash Bros. (Wii U/3DS)
Apart from fighters such as the Animal Crossing villager, Wii Fit trainer, and Mega Man it’s not clear what new features this is really offering, but it should be another guaranteed hit for Nintendo.
2014 – The Evil Within (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC)
Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, returns to the world of survivor horror with the biggest budget horror game in years. The only question is whether there’ll actually be a market for it.
2014 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (XO/PS4/PC)
Having previously made little impact on consoles this stunning looking action role-player sees The Witcher enter the big league, with some of the best visuals of the year and a massive game world.
2014 – Project Spark (360/XO/PC)
Although there’s no specific release date yet Microsoft is already organising beta testing on the Xbox One, and they’re promising their ambitious game creator will be ready for everyone this year.
2014 - Mad Max (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC)
Strangely nothing to do with any specific movie, not even the new Mel Gibson-less one, but the new game from the makers of Just Cause has a massive open world and some great-looking car chases.
2014 – Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)
One of the most unexpected sequels of recent times, especially on the Wii U, this is Platinum Games’ only confirmed game for 2014 but if it’s even half as good as the first one that’ll be more than enough.
2014 – Deep Down (PS4)
Capcom’s mysterious dungeon crawler was one of the best-looking games at the PS4′s unveiling in February but the biggest surprise so far is that it’s a free-to-play game set in New York of 2094.
2014 – X (Wii U)
This still isn’t the final name for the follow-up to Xenoblade Chronicles and that’s reason enough to wonder if it’ll really be out in 2014, but if it is it should be the best-looking Wii U game so far.
2014 – Sunset Overdrive (XO)
All we know about the latest from the makers of Ratchet & Clank comes from a very brief CGI trailer, but it seems to be an action game with a heavy emphasis on parkour style acrobatics.
2014 – Fortnite (PC)
Announced two years ago now, but never seen again since, this new multipayer co-op game from Gears Of War creators Epic Games has you scavenging to creating a base to survive the zombie horde.
2014 – Call Of Duty 11
Not actually confirmed at all, but it’d be unprecedented if Activision didn’t release a new Call Of Duty, possibly Black Ops III, in 2014. A new Assassin’s Creed is only a little less certain, but at the moment there don’t seem to be any plans for a new Need For Speed or Battlefield in 2014.
Also confirmed for 2014: 31 January – Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (XO/PS4), 7 February – Fable Anniversary (360), 21 February – Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (360/XO), 28 February – Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2 (360/PS3/PC), 28 February – Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (360/PS3/PC), February – Earth Defense Force 2025 (360/PS3), Early 2014 – The Witness (PS4/PC/iOS), Spring 2014 – Yoshi’s New Island (3DS), May – EA Sports UFC (XO/PS4), Q3 – The Crew (XO/PS4/PC), 2014 – Rime (PS4), 2014 – D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die (XO), 2014 – Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4/PC/PSV), 2014 – Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS), 2014 – Transistor (PS4/PC), 2014 – Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture (PS4), 2014 – Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC), 2014 – Galak-Z: The Dimensional (PS4/PC), 2014 – Child Of Light (360/PS3/XO/PS4/PC), 2014 – Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS), 2014 – Godus (PC/iOS/Android)
Unlikely for 2014
Fallout 4
If Bethesda had unveiled it this year, like everyone expected, this might have been a shoe-in for Christmas 2014, but now you’ll be lucky if it even gets announced before E3 in June.
No Man’s Sky
It may have been the most exciting new announcement of the last few months but Hello Games hasn’t even said what formats their sci-fi epic is going to be on, let alone when it’s due out.
Monster Hunter 4 (3DS)
A huge hit in Japan but so far there’s been no hint of a Western release for Capcom’s latest money-spinner. There is a chance it might arrive later in the year, but nothing you should set your watch by.
Uncharted 4 (PS4)
Naughty Dog’s latest is in a similar situation to Halo 5, in that it has been teased (although in even less detail than Microsoft’s game) but the lack of any real info makes a 2014 launch seem unlikely.
Halo 5 (XO)
There is a chance that Halo 5 may be the big Xbox One exclusive for Christmas 2014 but since all we’ve seen of it so far is a pre-rendered trailer it seems more likely it’d be the year after.
Rainbow 6: Patriots (XO/PS4/PC)
Exactly what Ubisoft is doing with Rainbow Six is unclear but although they’ve said they are still working on it the implication is it’s being started again from scratch, which means even more delays.
Quantum Break (XO)
Since we still know so little about the new game from the creators of Alan Wake it’s hard to imagine it being ready for 2014, with only a few snippets of third person action shown so far.
The Legend Of Zelda (Wii U)
The recently announced Hyrule Warriors seems like a classic stop gap release until the real next gen Zelda is ready. A reveal at E3 in June is very likely, but a Christmas release the same year is not.
Fable Legends (XO)
Microsoft has been very vague as to when the next Fable game is coming out, and whether the co-op action is intended as a spin-off or a mainline entry – but it’d be surprising if it was ready for 2014.
Definitely not for 2014
Final Fantasy XV (XO/PS4)
The game previously known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII has certainly been in development for long enough, but it only recently became a numbered sequel and its unlikely it’ll be finished this year.
Kingdom Hearts III (XO/PS4)
It’s taken Square Enix the best part of a decade to announce this Disney crossover sequel, so there seems little hope it’ll suddenly be rushed to launch, and even 2015 may be asking too much.
Mass Effect 4
Although it’s another game that will almost certainly be unveiled in 2014 it probably won’t be released until 2015. Not unless development is much more advanced than BioWare is letting on.
Mirror’s Edge 2
A 2014 release for the much wished-for first person sequel (actually believed to be a prequel) always seemed unlikely, but doubly so now that DICE have abandoned all work to try and fix Battlefield 4.
The Last Guardian (PS4)
If there’s anyone in the world, including at Sony, that has any clue as to when this follow-up to Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus will be out we’d be surprised. But who knows, maybe 2014 will be the year…
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