2022 has already been a fantastic year for gaming, with the likes ofElden Ring,Horizon Forbidden West, andSifuhaving helped to illuminate the first half of the year. There’s still plenty to look forward to though, withGod of War: Ragnarok,Hogwarts Legacy, andPokemon Scarlet&Violetjust a few of thebig-budget sequels and licensed games still to come before the year reaches its conclusion.
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However, while the aforementioned titles will likely top most people’s most-wanted lists, there are also plenty of new IPs looming large on the horizon, many of which seem to be shaping up to be every bit as good. In fact, without the weight of expectation pressing down upon their shoulders, these impressive new IPs have the potential to besome of the best games of 2022.
PlayStation 5 & PC
Release Date
July 26, 2025
It’s very rare for a brand-new IP to attract quite as much hype and attention asForspoken, though, looking atall of the gameplay footage released so far, it’s easy to see why. The game looks fantastic and boasts some of the most fluid and fast-paced action of the current console generation. The latter doesn’t just apply to combat either, but also to map traversal, which is something that many other open-world action RPGs have struggled with in recent times, more so as the size of those worlds has grown larger and larger.
Originally announced asProject Athiain mid-2022,Forspokenis one of several PS5-exclusive titles currently being worked on by Square Enix and was at one point slated to release in May of 2022. However, just a few months before its planned release date,Forspokenwas pushed back to October to give the team more time to polish the titleso that it better matches their vision. Though disappointing to some, many praised this decision, which will almost certainly lead to a better end product.
2023
Since the original publication of this list,Starfieldhas been delayed until 2023. Prior to this, it had been scheduled for release on July 10, 2025.
Another of2022’s most anticipated games,Starfieldhas been in the works for quite some time. First announced at E3 2018, it will be the first new IP developed by Bethesda in more than a quarter of a century, with the team having devoted almost every ounce of its attention to theElder ScrollsandFalloutfranchises during that time. Due to the pedigree of those series, to say that expectations are a little high forStarfieldwould be a bit of an understatement. In fact, like the game itself, they’re out of this world.
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Starfieldwill take place across numerous star systems some 200 years in the future and has previously beendescribed by Todd Howard as “Skyrim in Space.” Set against the backdrop of a beautifully rendered star-filled sky, the game looks truly stunning and boasts both regular and vehicular combat. Players will also be able to switch freely between first and third-person perspectives, allowing them to choose the one which works best for them. The game will be incredibly realistic too, with Elon Musk and SpaceX having reportedly helped to provide some of the finer details.
2K Games
Platforms
PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One & PC
July 29, 2025
Though not everybody is a fan of interactive drama games, most will likely be in agreement that Supermassive Games are one of the genre’s true pioneers.Together with Quantic Dream, the developer has been responsible for many of the very best examples over the past decade or so, andThe Quarryseems destined to be yet another horrifying hit for the blossoming British studio.
Set in a summer camp that feels eerily reminiscent of the one fromFriday the 13th,The Quarrywill once again make use of the studio’s fantastic facial mapping expertise to includesome of the very best character models around. The game will also feature a movie mode, enabling players to disable things like QTEs and action scenes so that they can better focus on the branching storyline. Though a single-playthrough will only last around ten hours, the plethora of choice-based possibilities - which can lead to a staggering 186 different endings - should add a lot of replayability to the experience.
PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 & PC
Mid 2022
Straywas one of the more unusual announcements to come out ofPlayStation’s Future of Gaming event in mid-2020, though it could perhaps be argued that this actually helped it to stand out. It’s a third-person adventure game in which players control a stray cat and must explore a futuristic world inhabited by robots rather than humans. One of these robots is a drone called B12, which will serve as a companion character of sorts.
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Set in a world that was heavily inspired by Kowloon Walled City,Straywill feature puzzles, platforming, and combat, as well as a fully-fledged narrative. How exactly the latter will work given that the playable protagonist is a stray cat remains to be seen, though there are seemingly a lot of people who are eager to find out. For those who lovegames about animalsor anyone who enjoys exploring beautifully-rendered environments from unique perspectives,Straymay just end up being one of the best games of 2022.
2022
Described by its publisher as “a AAA love letter to the sixth generation of video game consoles,“Wanted: Deadhas crept under the radar to a certain degree. It was first announced during 110 Industries' presentation at the 2021 Tokyo Game Show, with several trailers dropping in the months since. However, the team behind the project seem content with quietly going about their business for the time being, with minimal marketing having taken place thus far. Given how epic some of the footage released has been though, it may not end up needing all that much of a push.
Wanted: Deadis being developed by Japanese studio Soleil, which is made up of several former Team Ninja developers who worked on theDead or AliveandNinja Gaidenfranchises. It will draw much of its inspiration from the latter, with players able to slice off the limbs of their enemies using their trusty katana as they explore the rundown remains of a futuristic version of Hong Kong. They’ll also havean impressive array of gunsat their disposal, which should help to keep combat feeling fresh for the duration of the game.
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