GTA 6 Pre-Order Can Wait: 4 Upcoming Open-World Games to Lock In Right Now

Sooner or later, Grand Theft Auto 6 will be available to pre-order. It might start in May, or it might happen in Summer 2026 when Rockstar really begins to ramp up the marketing for the upcoming open-world game, provided the November 19 release date is set in stone. Due to some behavior by stores like Best Buy, rumors that GTA 6 will become available for pre-order soon have been gaining steam, but they have yet to be actualized (at the time of writing, things could change very quickly). However, even if that comes to pass, you might want to pre-order some other games instead, especially since they will be coming out sooner than GTA 6 and are bundled with nifty pre-order bonuses.

To be honest, GTA 6 is arguably one of the few games to actually warrant a pre-order, just because it might be difficult to get a physical copy on release day (or even around it). On November 19, I imagine at least 50% of the world will storm brick-and-mortar shops in search of Rockstar’s latest masterpiece, a stampede that might make Black Friday seem tame in comparison. Personally, I would like to avoid being caught up in that mayhem.

These upcoming open-world games won’t have the same issue, but if you are looking to get them on release day anyway, you might want to pre-order them.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Pre-Order Incentive: Dark Knight Returns Suit / Play From May 19 (Deluxe Edition)

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight drops on May 22, which might make a pre-order feel pointless. However, if you already know that you will be purchasing the game either on launch or close to it, there really is no reason to hold off on a pre-order. The standard edition comes with the, well, standard preorder bonus: a suit. In this case, players get The Dark Knight Returns suit, which is one of Batman’s most famous aesthetics.

Unlike 99% of LEGO licensed games, Legacy of the Dark Knight will not feature a billion playable characters, instead opting to stick to a manageable 7; in place of alternate characters, we have a huge selection of suits, with each hero having at least a couple. Customization is set to be a core part of the new LEGO Batman, and suits are a big part of that.

The Deluxe Edition also lets you start playing 3 days early, but you would need to get the digital version to take advantage of that now. Besides that, the Deluxe Edition includes the Legacy and Mayhem Collection, with the former having three packs that come with other customization options. The Mayhem Collection is more interesting since it will feature new story missions and two playable characters in The Joker and Harley Quinn, but that won’t be released until September 2026.

Gothic 1 Remake

PS5 And Xbox Series Pre-Orders Get Gothic Classic (Now)

Know, here is a pre-order bonus that puts other bonuses to shame – That’s right, you get a completely free game. PS5 and Xbox Series owners who pre-order a digital version or a physical copy from the THQ Nordic Store will get a copy of Gothic Classic. Digital purchases instantly unlock the original version, while pre-orders of the physical version should receive a physical copy of Gothic Classic to be shipped.

I will say, Gothic 1 Remake is shrouded in a bit of shadow at this point, and it is difficult to predict how well it will turn out. On paper, a faithful modern remake of one of the most ambitious RPGs of the early 2000s sounds perfect, especially one that emphasizes that things that still define that original game. However, Alkimia Interactive is a new developer, and the project has been in development for quite a long time.

Gothic Classic will be released individually on July 28, so definitely don’t buy the remake if you are just interested in the original version.

Echoes of Aincrad

Pre-Order Bonus: Get Kirito’s Sword (And Other Weapons)

This one goes out exclusively to my fellow isekai fans who always pick up the latest Sword Art Online project. We have pushed through some pretty terrible releases over the year, but Echoes of Aincrad is (by far) the franchise’s most exciting video game to date. Rather than embodying Kirito, players create their own hero, who they then take on a single-player adventure that blends action, customizable progression, exploration, and survival (of the combat and story variety, I don’t think the game will actually have survival mechanics).

Game Studio Inc. is handling the development, and its recent releases (Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai and Synduality: Echo of Ada) weren’t great by any stretch of the imagination. Still, Echoes of Aincrad is one of those games that mostly just caters to a single audience, so you might as well pre-order it if it is going to be part of your SAO collection anyway. The pre-order bonus is a Proto-Elucidator weapon pack containing one of each type (sword & shield, mace & shield, greatsword, rapier, dagger, and battle axe). A fairly standard bonus, but Elucidator is Kirito’s primary weapon, so it is pretty cool.

If you want to unlock Echoes of Aincrad‘s Death Game mode early, that require the Deluxe edition. It isn’t a pre-order bonus, though.

Special Mention: Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

Play The Game & Get The Pre-Order Bonus For Just $17.99 (Don’t Lock In Right Now)

Generally, I wouldn’t recommend pre-ordering an Ubisoft open-world game, just because the publisher’s projects tend to go on sale quickly and steeply. Still, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a unique case due to being a known quantity; we know that Black Flag is great, and a modernized, perfected version should be one of the best open-world games of 2026.

Going by what Ubisoft has revealed, the remake gives a substantial overhaul to the original, improving the visuals, gameplay, parkour, and naval sections (no more stealth ship sequences that automatically fail if you are spotted!). Captains will even be able to keep a pet cat or monkey, which instantly makes Black Flag about 10% better. In terms of a pre-order bonus, Resynced offers Blackbeard’s Crimson Pack, which includes a costume, sword, and pistol. Nothing too special.

However, the main reason I included Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is that Ubisoft+ subscribers will also get access to the game on Day 1 and receive the pre-order bonus, provided they subscribed before July 9, 2026. Even if you are only interested in playing Resynced and nothing else on Ubisoft+, you might as well subscribe and complete the game within the first month. Mind you, you won’t own Resynced, but that might not be important to everyone.