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We're in an era when it feels like there's less of a need for physical video games, at least when the industry trends towards digital-only releases. This distinction is highlighted by PlayStation changing the way people buy games by 2028 as it moves away from disc-based games. That makes games that received physical releases, particularly limited collector's editions, an increasingly precious commodity for fans.

French game development studio Quantic Dream has been making narrative-driven video games for over 20 years. Among the studio's most popular titles is the 2018 science fiction game "Detroit: Become Human," released for PlayStation 4 and PC. Set in a near-future where lifelike androids serve humanity, the game follows three different playable synthetic characters as tension between androids and humans escalates.

After launching the "LittleBigPlanet" series, the PlayStation franchise took a more conventional 3D platforming direction with "Sackboy: A Big Adventure." Released for PS4 and PS5 in 2020, eventually receiving a PC port in 2022, the game leans more into platforming than the level editor features of its predecessors. The game's story has Sackboy step up to save his home of Craftworld from the new antagonist, Vex.

The PlayStation 3 saw Sony's gaming output reach something of a crossroads after its past success with the original PlayStation and PS2. The console was the first high-definition PlayStation and the first that had a built-in modem to allow for online functionality, including gameplay. The console pushed the entire gaming industry forward, even if the initial PlayStation 3 reveal was a huge flop before Sony won back fans.

When Sony officially entered the home console market with the original PlayStation, it definitely made big waves across the industry. A hit with gamers worldwide, Sony's PlayStation accomplished something no other console could at the time by selling over 100 million units. That was done with a vast library of games published for the platform, many of which still maintain their appeal today.

One of the most anticipated video games of 2026 is "Marvel's Wolverine," a PlayStation 5 exclusive developed by Insomniac Games. As the first solo Wolverine video game Marvel has made in years, the title is a standalone story set in the Marvel Universe introduced in Insomniac's previous "Marvel's Spider-Man" games. A wide linear hack-and-slash experience, players control the adamantium-laced superhero as he investigates a nefarious plot targeting mutants.

It wouldn't be the build up to a new "Grand Theft Auto" if there wasn't controversy surrounding it. Likewise, it also wouldn't be "GTA" unless some of that controversy was unlike any other type of controversy that a game has ever faced. Sure enough, "GTA VI" protagonists Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval are already being accused of being the unwanted third wheel in people's real-life relationships.

It seems like forever ago that we got our first look at "Grand Theft Auto 6" from that very rough massive leak of footage in 2022. Part of that likely has to do with the excruciating 16-month wait between the first and second official trailers in 2023 and 2025 respectively, though the differences between those two trailers proved that Rockstar was still very much in full development on the game and was continuing to improve everything.

The "Grand Theft Auto" series has been the de facto gold standard for open world games since "Grand Theft Auto 3," arguably the first big 3D open world game of its size and scope, which laid the initial foundation for that style of game going forward. Each new "GTA" has pushed the benchmark for the overall open world genre even further, becoming that era's standard by which all the rest are measured. Naturally, any list of the best open world games will inevitably be overrun with "GTA" titles.

Ever since "Fable" concept art apparently leaked online in 2024, fans have been awaiting the return of Xbox Game Studios' big fantasy franchise. The existence of a new game in the series, simply titled "Fable," was since confirmed and expected for a 2027 release. Now, players are ready to get back to the medieval realm of Albion. The new game is poised to bring a full open-world experience to fans, played from the franchise's typical third-person perspective.