January marks the beginning of a new year for video games, whetting your appetite for 12 months of high-profile releases across mobile, PC, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S. This month’s offerings include Nintendo’s updated Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hypergryph’s free-to-play Arknights: Endfield, and Bandai Namco’s vampire-packed RPG Code Vein II. Want to see what else 2026 has in store? Kick off the new year by perusing these seven fresh console, mobile, and PC releases.
Pathologic 3
In Pathologic 3, you play as the Bachelor, a traveling doctor who aids a plague-ridden town. Unravel the mystery behind the bizarre sickness, manage your resources, and make critical patient diagnoses in this narrative-driven, survival-horror title.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
If you skipped this adorable cozy game when it hit the original Nintendo Switch, or simply long to return to the cutesy world, the Nintendo Switch 2 version arrives this year. The enhanced Animal Crossing: New Horizons features 4K graphics, improved loading times, and mouse controls. If you own the original release, an upgrade pack will be available on launch day for $4.99.
Mio: Memories in Orbit
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Platforms: PC, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S
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Release Date: Jan. 20, 2026
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Rating: E10
In this Metroid-style platformer, you play as an amnesiac android onboard a derelict spaceship. The mission? Restore the ship and revive your lost memories by exploring the vast, interconnected ark and mastering new abilities.
Arknights: Endfield
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Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PS5
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Release Date: Jan. 22, 2026
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Rating: T
Arknights: Endfield combines action and strategy elements for a twist on the typical, open-world gacha RPG. You control a single character at a time, but your entire party fights alongside you on the field, and you can swap between them at any time. Surprisingly, factory management is a core gameplay pillar. With it, you place mining rigs and gathering stations on the field, connect them to processors and refineries, and create useful gear and materials for your adventure.
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Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
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Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2
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Release Date: Jan. 22, 2026
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Rating: T
The expanded and enhanced version of Final Fantasy VII Remake makes the jump to Nintendo Switch 2. It reimagines the original Final Fantasy VII’s first arc using real-time and turn-based combat, as well as a side story featuring Yuffie, the ninja-thief. If you love Final Fantasy VII, this is your game.
Cairn
Test your mettle against a silent and unforgiving mountain in this unique, physics-based mountaineering game. Study the rockface, independently control each of your character’s limbs, and master the climb in an experience surprisingly reminiscent of QWOP. You can read our Cairn impressions here.
Recommended by Our Editors
Code Vein II
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Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
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Release Date: Jan. 30, 2026
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Rating: T
In the mood for frights early in the year? Check out this vampire-riddled action-RPG. Code Vein II delivers more methodical Souls-like combat, new weapons to master, and even greater narrative stakes as soldiers across the globe transform into abominations under the influence of a new threat.
For more on gaming, check out PCMag’s best PC games roundup.
About Our Expert
Gabriel Zamora
Senior Writer, Software
Experience
In 2014, I began my career at PCMag as a freelancer. That blossomed into a full-time position in 2021, and I now review email marketing apps, mobile operating systems, web hosting services, streaming music platforms, and video games as a senior writer. I’m a graduate of Hunter College, a hard-core gamer, and an Apple enthusiast.
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