Xbox released a lot of big games in 2025. It was one of the only good bits of Xbox-related news from last year. And in 2026, it will release new entries in four of its oldest franchises: Forza, Gears, Halo, and Fable. But new reporting indicates that while these projects, and others including a Fallout 3 remaster, are on track, Xbox is trying to avoid Grand Theft Auto 6‘s big launch in November.
On February 5, The Verge reported a lot of interesting tidbits and nuggets about Xbox’s plans heading into 2026. For example, the company is apparently working on a new “next-gen” Xbox controller that will support connecting via wifi, which should help reduce lag when streaming games via the cloud. But the most interesting news from the report concerns three of Xbox’s big games launching in 2026.
According to The Verge, Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remaster of the OG game, is on track to launch this summer. Meanwhile, Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel to the original Gears, is tentatively aiming for fall. This is also the same window in which Xbox plans to launch that long-delayed Fable reboot. The outlet reports that it has heard Xbox has a solid idea of when the new Fable and Gears will launch, but that it’s also trying to avoid having either title land too close to GTA 6‘s November 19 release. And with news that marketing for the next GTA is set to start in summer, it seems unlikely it will be delayed again, meaning Xbox will have to dance around that date with Fable and Gears. (Forza Horizon 6 is launching in May, way ahead of GTA 6.)
Reportedly, Double Fine’s recently announced next game, the online pottery smasher Kiln, is set to drop in April. Starfield is getting new content “soon,” and the PS5 port, long rumored, is allegedly going to be revealed in the near future. And for folks sad that Bethesda didn’t announce a Fallout 3 remaster following the season two finale of Amazon’s Fallout show after so many rumor mongers online claimed it would, don’t worry. The previously reported remaster is still in development, according to The Verge.
2026 could be a big year for Xbox games once again. But ironically, Xbox enters this new era of actually having games at the same time that it has begun porting most of them to other consoles. The universe is weird like that.