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Our 10 Most Anticipated Shooters Of 2016
Last year was an interesting year for the shooter genre, as many titles like Rainbow Six Siege, Star Wars Battlefront, and Evolve left single-player campaigns behind in favor of focusing all the attention on multiplayer. Even though some of the future shooters we're most excited for, like Titanfall 2 and Ghost Recon Wildlands, currently don't have projected release years yet, genre fans still have plenty to look forward to in 2016 when many fan-favorite series return to the fray. I polled the Game Informer staff to see which 10 shooters they are most looking forward to, and here are the results.
10. The Division
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: March 8
Longtime Tom Clancy fans like myself may be put off by the spongy shooting mechanics (why does it take 50 shots from my assault rifle to kill a sanitation worker?!), but several other elements of The Division make it a shooter worth keeping an eye on. In the aftermath of a Black Friday epidemic, New York City is quarantined and cut off from the rest of the world. As one of a few covert operatives on the ground, you must work to restore order, investigate the virus origins, and suppress the violent factions that have taken root in the shaken city. The base building, strong narrative focus, and loot system breathe life into the world, and the PvP Dark Zone is an ambitious attempt to do something new in the cooperative/competitive hybrid space. Will it work? We'll find out in March.
9. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
Platform: PC
Release: 2016
Since its debut with the popular Unreal Tournament 4 mod Red Orchestra, Tripwire Interactive has steadily expanded its military repertoire from the gritty realism of those World War II battles to mutant outbreaks in Killing Floor. The studio's next project jumps back into the time machine to bring gamers back to Vietnam. Rising Storm 2 brings 64-player, asynchronous firefights to the jungles and rice paddies of Southeast Asia. Featuring a streamlined squad system, vehicular combat, and gunplay that injects a heavy dose of realism into the second-to-second action, Tripwire hopes it can build off its award-winning last entry.
8. Superhot
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Release: 2016
This Kickstarter-funded indie game takes a unique approach to the first-person shooter genre. In Superhot, time only moves as the player moves. With a limited amount of ammo to last you through the level, and enemy bullets slowly and surely heading your direction, the game almost feels more like a strategy game taking place within a Matrix scene. The stylish aesthetic and Oculus Rift support also factor into why we're so excited for this one.
7. Homefront: The Revolution
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: May 17
Originally a THQ-owned franchise being developed by Kaos Studios, Homefront is drastically different than it was when the first game released in 2011. With a new publisher, new developer (Dambuster), and new commitment to taking its combat into the open world, Homefront: The Revolution doesn't have a lot in common with its predecessor. Two years after the events of the last game, the Greater Korean Republic has seized control of the United States. Your band of resistance fighters must employ hit-and-fade tactics to weaken its grip on Philadelphia, securing valuable war resources along the way. It's been a long time since we last saw this game in action, but the setup still has us intrigued.
6. Gears of War 4
Platform: Xbox One
Release: Holiday
After Epic Games sold the Gears franchise to Microsoft, many wondered what the future held for the Xbox exclusive. Then Gears vet Rod Fergusson took the reins and fans all over the world heaved a sigh of relief. Our brief glimpse of Gears 4 at this past E3 hints at a return to the dark, moody setting of the original, reintroducing the horror elements lost as the brutish pack of Cogs fought off the fantastical Locust over the course of four games. It also appears to have a new set of heroes and enemies.
5. Call of Duty Next
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: TBA
The next Infinity Ward-created Call of Duty game is the first the studio has worked under the new three-year development cycle for COD games. Given the cliffhanger ending of Ghosts, it's natural to think the studio is picking up where that story left off. However, that entry was underwhelming to many fans, so we wouldn't be surprised if Infinity Ward goes in a new direction instead.
4. Destiny Next
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: TBA
Despite rumors to the contrary about a delay, given the popularity of the game and lack of announced paid expansions on the horizon, Bungie is almost certainly working on a Destiny sequel for 2016. This seems like the natural next step in the studio's 10-year agreement it has with publishing partner Activision. However the new content manifests itself, we expect to learn more about The Stranger, get another bump in the level cap, and hopefully get some follow-through on Osiris, who has been repeatedly alluded to for the last year and a half.
3. Battlefield Next
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: TBA
Will the next Battlefield game be Bad Company? Another numbered entry? We don't know much yet, but that doesn't stop us from being excited that the franchise is back in the hands of DICE. Where it belongs. The studio is coming off of Star Wars Battlefront, so we're hopeful the franchise steers clear of the overpopulated sci-fi shooter space and gives us another modern military entry or a historical throwback. Can you imagine how good this series will look if DICE employs the photogrammetry techniques it used to bring Battlefront to life?
2. Doom
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: Spring
As we have stated time and time again during our month-long coverage of Doom, the Game Informer staff is extremely excited about id Software's return to the fast-paced, heavy metal, bombastic franchise that put the shooter genre on the map. With an action-centric single-player campaign, arena-style competitive multiplayer, and the versatile SnapMap suite that allows players to craft their own Doom experiences, id Software is giving fans a lot to chew on when this game launches in the spring.
1. Overwatch
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: Spring/Summer
When Blizzard Entertainment tackles a new game genre, people take notice. Overwatch is the legendary studio's first original universe since a little ditty known as StarCraft. This cartoony shooter may look like it skews to a younger audience, but the squad-based, team-oriented competitive play offers impressive strategic depth thanks to its many unique hero characters. The beta left many Game Informer editors eager to play more, and now that the game is planned for consoles as well as PC, Overwatch could very well become one of the biggest games of 2016.
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