From this selection of five games on our Most Wanted list, 2023 might just be the year of the game that’s been in development for what feels like forever. Two of these games will come out over a decade after the previous entry, while another has been in a dictionary definition “development hell” for nine years and counting. Will they all be worth the wait?
20. Forza Motorsport
XSX|S, PC | Spring 2023
There’s a lot riding on 2023 for Xbox as a brand, after a fallow start to the decade for first party exclusives. Even reliable tick and tock of the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon has slowed in the last few years, but the more serious side of the racing game franchise should come roaring back next year.
Marking a new era for the series, Forza Motorsport has symbolically ditched the number to its title, but it’s sure to be compared to two racing games with a 7 in the name: Forza Motorsport 7 and Gran Turismo 7. For the former, it’s Turn 10’s own legacy that they’ll be looking to improve upon, for the latter, it’s more of a sibling rivalry, as the younger brother tries to prove it’s just as good, if not better. This game will be helped by being a current gen exclusive, instead of cross-gen or last-gen, enabling fully dynamic time of day, real-time ray tracing even when driving, significantly deeper simulation of car physics, weather effects and track evolution.
19. Skull and Bones
PS5, XSX|S, PC, Luna | 9th March 2023
Is this it? Is this finally happening? Is Ubisoft actually, legitimately going to release Skull and Bones after all these years? Really? It certainly seems that way… but it could still be delayed again.
Set in the vast expanse of water from the coasts of Africa to the tropical East Indies, you’ll venture out as a fresh outcast taking to the waves on your small Dhow and basic spear for fishing, looking to build up your gear and skill to become an infamous pirate. You’ll build a fleet, craft to improve you ships, and grow in infamy as you take on bigger and more challenging contracts. PvE will be the bread and butter of this online game, but PvP will be an option as well.
It’s difficult to imagine this won’t have some rough edges after such a protracted game development, but there’s an open beta on the way, so we’ll get to check it out early.
18. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name
PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, PC | 2023
It’s kind of fitting that the first game in the Like a Dragon series to drop the Yakuza brand in the West will be one about name erasure. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will tell a story set between the end of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, showing what Kiryu got up to between those games.
17. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, PC | 2023
I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there who have no real knowledge of the games FromSoftware made before they struck gold with Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls. With the studio’s reputation in the stratosphere and more people paying attention to their work than ever, it’s time to break the decade-long wait for a new Armored Core.
We don’t really know much outside of the quite stunningly rendered announcement trailer that was released just a few weeks ago, but that teaser has fans salivating at the prospect. What will be interesting to discover is the kind of gameplay that will be found in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. The last game released in 2012 with a more tactical slant to the mecha combat, compared to the quicker reflex-based combat of older games.
16. Diablo 4
PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, PC | 6th June 2023
Everything that we’ve seen of Diablo 4 in the past year has looked and seemed like the fourth coming of the defining action RPG. A fresh chapter in the long-running battle between heaven and hell will see players once more step into the boots of the Nephalem, picking from Barbarian, Sorceress, Druid, Rogue, and Necromancer classes, and striding into battle on a quest to find eternally better gear and loot. It’s almost certain to be another excellently refined example of the genre.
While a full, paid game, Blizzard are adopting a seasonal approach to updating the game and keeping things fresh. Each season will come with new gameplay features, a new questline and mysteries, and more of the world of Sanctuary. There will also be live events that crop up, and a Season Journey that is free for all players. This, however, feeds into a battle pass system that has both free rewards and a paid track of rewards to complete – because of course it does. Will that dampen enthusiasm for this game? Will the manner in which Activision Blizzard’s reputation as a business and workplace has been dragged into the pits of hell harm this game? We’ll see.
That’s all for this set of five, but what if you missed the first twenty games in our list? Well, we’ve got handy links for you right here:
