The 15 Most Anticipated Games Of Fall 2016

Believe it or not, the summer months are almost behind us. The official beginning of the fall season is exactly one month away, and with autumn comes the annual barrage of games as developers, publishers, and retailers eye the holiday season. As usual, we have a ton of games to choose from as the busiest shopping months of the year approach, but we whittled down the release list to 15 games that we're most anticipating.

For the sake of this article, we're defining the fall months as September, October, and November. Unfortunately, that means that anticipated releases like World of Warcraft: Legion (August 30) and South Park: The Fractured But Whole (December 6) narrowly miss the cut. Check out our 15 most anticipated games of fall 2016 below, and if we missed any that you're looking forward to, add your picks in the comments section.

Destiny: Rise of Iron – September 20
Bungie's wildly popular shooter is back with its first expansion since The Taken King. In addition to new content and chances to level, Rise of Iron brings with it new artifacts, a new raid, and the ability to play private matches in PvP. For more on Destiny: Rise of Iron, head to our cover hub.

NBA 2K17 – September 20
The NBA 2K series has stood head-and-shoulders above the competition for several years now, but even more than that, it's the franchise that all other sports games measure themselves against. To see a trailer showcasing the legendary Dream Teams in NBA 2K17, head here.

FIFA 17 – September 27
As the best-selling sports franchise in the industry, EA Sports' FIFA franchise has enjoyed long-term success thanks to polished gameplay and a well-rounded feature suite. This year, however, the series is stepping it up with an all new story-based career mode called The Journey that looks to bring a whole new demographic into FIFA's target audience. To learn more about this new mode, head here.

Forza Horizon 3 – September 27
The Horizon Festival returns yet again, but this time it's taking place in the open-world environment of Australia. This more casual take on Microsoft's long-running racing sim franchise has a solid history of strong releases, and there's no indication that this third entry is going to slow down the Horizon spin-off series. To see a few videos of the game in action and learn more about Horizon 3, head here.

On the next page, we dig into October's offerings.

Paper Mario: Color Splash – October 7
The beloved Paper Mario series has seen several different forms over the course of its 15-year history. With Color Splash, players are given a unique battle system centered on cards and paint you collect. With the series' trademark humor and fun nostalgic nods intact, it's looking like one of the final anticipated Wii U exclusives. You can read our most recent impressions of our hands-on time here.

Gears of War 4 – October 11
Gears of War 4 is all about pushing the series forward while remaining connected to the past. Every time we've played Gears of War 4, we've come away more impressed than the time before. Check out our most recent hands-on impressions, where we squadded up with the legendary hero Marcus Fenix.

Battlefield 1 – October 21
With Battlefield and Call of Duty focusing on modern combat in the late '00s, and then Call of Duty and several other franchises jumping to a near-future setting in recent years, the historic wars from which those series were born has seemed all but forgotten. World War I has remained largely overshadowed by the second World War to this point, but Battlefield 1 looks to change that. To see what this means for the series' trademark multiplayer modes, head here.

Civilization VI – October 21
One of the most lauded turn-based strategy series in the industry returns this October with a few new twists. This time cities are no longer confined to one tile, giving it an urban sprawl effect, as well as more accessible city management options since they are now presented directly on the map. You can read more about the effect this has on gameplay, as well as other impressions in our most recent preview.

The Last Guardian – October 25
At long last, The Last Guardian is finally coming out. The game has been in development by Fumito Ueda and his team for nearly a decade, and has suffered numerous delays since its reveal at E3 2009. We can't wait to get our hands on the finished product from the developer that has brought us such titles as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. At E3, we saw the first 30 minutes of the game; you can read our impressions here.

Titanfall 2 – October 28
The original Titanfall was meant to be a huge selling point for the Xbox One. While the game was well-received, it failed to have the kind of legs it needed to become the major system seller EA and Microsoft had hoped for. Now, with single-player campaign and multiplayer improvements in tow, Titanfall 2 is set to branch out to PlayStation 4 as well. If you want to learn more about what Titanfall 2 is doing with its single-player campaign, you can read our most recent preview.

On the last page, we look at what the typically busy month of November is bringing us this year.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – November 4
While the Battlefield franchise looks to the past, Call of Duty is looking ahead – way ahead. From the near-future settings of Sledgehammer's Advanced Warfare and Treyarch's Black Ops III, Infinity Ward's Infinite Warfare is taking the series to orbit as the soldiers battle it out among the stars. New gameplay mechanics change the experience of the biggest shooting franchise in gaming. If you want to learn more about Infinity Ward's new entry, check out our exclusive cover hub.

Dishonored 2 – November 11
Arkane's sequel has been on our radars as one of our most anticipated titles since it was announced at E3 2015. Everything we've seen to this point has looked awesome, including the addition of Emily as a playable character and her new powers that enable players to approach encounters in distinct ways. We can't wait to dive into the madness of this world again and see all that Arkane has learned since the release of its 2012 hit. For more on Dishonored 2, check out our coverage hub.

Gran Turismo Sport – November 15
Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi is heralding Gran Turismo Sport as the beginning of a new era for the iconic racing franchise. Despite the spin-off-sounding name, GT Sport carries more content than the Prologue titles from years past, including a new eSports-focused direction and compatibility with the upcoming PlayStation VR. To see Gran Turismo Sport in action, head here.

Pokémon Sun and Moon – November 18
With Pokémon as big as it has been in nearly two decades thanks to Pokémon Go, Nintendo is hoping the renewed interest in the franchise translates to excitement surrounding the next mainline releases, Pokémon Sun and Moon. Sun and Moon bring players to the Alola Region, an area based on Hawaii, and the developers are clearly having a blast embracing that theme. From new characters based on sandcastles to tropical redesigns of Gen 1 monsters, Sun and Moon promise plenty of new additions for players to explore. To see some of the aforementioned sandcastle Pokémon, head here.

Final Fantasy XV – November 29
The long road to release finally comes to an end for Final Fantasy XV this November. With director Hajime Tabata at the helm, fans are hopeful that this entry can restore the faith the fan base has lost due to inconsistent entries over the past 15 years. We were pretty positive on what we saw during our cover story, and you can check out all of the exclusive behind-the-scenes action on our exclusive coverage hub.