Technologies

Biggest Games Coming in 2023: All the Release Dates You Need to Know

All the games delayed in 2021 and 2022 are hitting in 2023. Between The Legend of Zelda, Starfield and Final Fantasy 16 alone, it’s going to be a big one.

The last few years have been rough on the games industry. Development teams disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic had to delay big games — Starfield and the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom chief among them. But the losses of 2021 and 2022 are the gains of 2023. Free up some weekends, because there are a lot of games that look worth playing this year.

This list of release dates for notable 2023 titles is already packed, but for now we’ve added only games set for launch in the first half of the year. More will be added as the year progresses and we get more concrete dates.

2022 was a sparse-but-good year for games. We got an open-world Pokemon, the long-awaited sequel to God of War and, of course, the tour de force that was Elden Ring. Only time will determine if the games of 2023 reach those same heights, but the numbers are certainly in our favor.

Nearly two months into 2022 and we’ve already had two big releases in Fire Emblem Engage and the long-delayed Hogwarts Legacy. Let’s just hope Zelda doesn’t get delayed again. Here are all the big PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch games to keep track of in 2023.

Horizon Call of the Mountain (PSVR 2)

Release date: Feb. 22.

One of Sony’s goals for 2023 is to make VR happen. To help do that, it’s enlisted Guerilla Games to make Horizon Call of the Mountain, a virtual reality spinoff to Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. You won’t be playing as Aloy, but will rather take up the hunter bow of Ryas, a member of the Shadow Carja tribe that featured prominently in Zero Dawn. Being a VR game, Call of the Mountain looks to feature less open-world roaming, but more exhilerating climbing, exploration and bow-based combat. It launches alongside the PlayStation VR2 headset on Feb. 22.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: March 3.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a new IP with a pedigree: It’s developed by Team Ninja, the gang behind the acclaimed Ninja Gaiden and the even more acclaimed Nioh franchise. Wo Long is set during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history — roughly 220 AD — but features plenty of fantastical (and grotesque) beasts to slay. Like Nioh, this looks to be inspired by Dark Souls, meaning you should be prepared to die. A lot.

Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: March 24.

After the roaring success of the Resident Evil 2 Remake, Capcom is at it again. Originally released in 2005 as a GameCube exclusive (imagine that) Resident Evil 4 is the most acclaimed title in the illustrious franchise. Because of its fanfare, Capcom has ported and remastered Resident Evil 4 over and over again. Hopefully you don’t have RE4 fatigue, because it’s now getting proper remake treatment.

If you’ve never played Resident Evil 4, and if Capcom can do for it what it did for Resident Evil 2, this is sure to be a must-play.

Crime Boss: Rockay City (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)

Release date: March 28.

We know Rockstar is developing Grand Theft Auto 6, but it’s still yonks away. Crime Boss: Rockay City, by 505 Games, is clearly inspired by GTA, and may help fill the GTA-shaped hole in your heart while you wait for the next big open-world crime bonanza.

Crime Boss: Rockay City is a first-person game about 90’s Florida turf wars, and it’s designed to be played alone or with friends. The most attention-grabbing feature of the game is its celeb-heavy cast. Kill Bill’s Michael Madson stars as the protagonist, Travis Barker, and the supporting cast features Kim Basinger, Danny Trejo, Chuck Norris and Vanilla Ice.

Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp (Switch)

Release date: April 21.

If you weren’t a big Game Boy Advance player, you likely have no love for Advance Wars. But don’t sleep on Advance Wars. It’s some fine turn-based strategy — damn fine, even. Its developers — Intelligent Systems — helped make some of Nintendo’s biggest-ever games. That includes Fire Emblem, Metroid and a little number called Super Mario Bros. Re-Boot Camp features Advance Wars 1 and 2, brings their graphics forward by about 20 years, adds voice acting and online play.

Redfall

Release date: May 2.

Redfall looks like a mix of Deathloop and The Last of Us. It takes place in Redfall, a fictional Massachusetts town that was flowing along swimmingly until a swarm of vampires took it over and cut it off from the outside world. Like in The Last of Us, you’ll explore a town brimming with remnants of the before times, but the game looks to have a less serious, more quirky attitude about it, similar to Deathloop. That makes sense, as Redfall is developed by Arkane Austin, a sister studio to Deathloop creators Arkane Lyon.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)

Release date: May 12.

Not much needs to be said here. The Legend of Zelda is one of gaming’s most renowned franchises, and 2017’s Breath of the Wild is incontestably one of the greatest games ever. Nintendo has a habit of delaying Zelda games — Tears of the Kingdom has already been delayed once — so hopefully the May 12 date sticks.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: May 26.

Last year’s Gotham Knights was unable to step out of Batman’s Arkham City-sized shadow, so now the Suicide Squad has a perfect opportunity to upstage the good guys… and then kill them.

Though Gotham Knights was a sequel of sorts to Batman’s Arkham series, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is its true spiritual successor. It’s developed by Rocksteady, the same studio that developed the Arkham trilogy. The game lets you play as four members of the Suicide Squad — Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark — and includes Kevin Conroy’s last recorded performance as Batman.

Street Fighter 6 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: June 2.

Street Fighter 6 is the first major new game in the franchise since 2016. As you can imagine, it’s expected to have dramatically improved visuals. There will also be five new characters, with more to potentially be announced. Other new additions include a single-player adventure mode and in-game commentary, a welcome feature for esports fans. But as nice as those extras are, the Street Fighter series is all about its rock-solid fighting system, which is simple enough for beginners to have fun but deep enough that dedicated fighters will spend years to mastering it. As long as that still works, this should be a banger.

Diablo 4 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: June 6.

Last year we got an updated version of Overwatch, now it’s Diablo’s turn to get supercharged. Diablo 4, the latest major installation in Activision Blizzard’s long-running action RPG franchise, couldn’t come sooner. Fans have been awaiting Diablo 4’s arrival since its announcement in 2019, a whole pandemic ago.

Final Fantasy 16 (PS5)

Release date: June 22.

I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve watched various Final Fantasy 16 trailers several times and I still have no clue what this game is about. There’s a fight going on between six different countries, and somehow giant summons like Ifrit are involved. I’m not super sure, but the fact that Final Fantasy is coming to a new console generation is reason enough for this game to turn into a massive cultural event. (It’ll be a PS5 exclusive until the end of the year.) It may also be the first of two big Final Fantasy releases this year, with Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s sequel potentially — but probably not — hitting during the holiday season.

Pikmin 4

Release date: July 21.

Pikmin 3 was one of the many great games that didn’t get the spotlight it deserved thanks to being on the woefully unsuccessful WiiU console. Though that was partially rectified by the Pikmin 3 Deluxe port to the Switch, Pikmin 4 gives the little critters a better shot at greatness. The first mainline Pikmin game in a decade, it launches on July 21.

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: First half of 2023.

Hollow Knight, launched in 2017, was praised for being one of the best Metroidvania games without the words «Metroid» or «Vania» in its title. In 2023, indie developer Team Cherry wants to do it all again. You’ll play as a different character — a boss you fought in the original game — but the core gameplay here is the same. Explore, fight a bunch of dudes, get lost, explore some more, repeat a few times and ultimately succeed. I, for one, am ready.

Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced on June 12, 2022, and Microsoft said it would launch within a year of that date.

Forza Motorsport (Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: Second half of 2023.

Forza Horizon brought the driving franchise’s open-world exploration to the Xbox Series X|S, but in 2023 we go back to Forza’s driving-sim roots. This game will be more similar to Gran Turismo 7, which hit the PS5 last year, trading open roads for closed tracks. A little more finesse, a little more professional. No matter their flavor, Forza games can be relied on to provide some delicious drives — and 2023’s Forza Motorsport should be the prettiest one yet.

Starfield (Xbox Series X|S, PC)

Release date: First half of 2023.

Like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield was one of 2022’s great delays. Originally slated for a Nov. 11 release, it was pushed back to the «first half of 2023.» It’s for the best: Starfield is a game from the same Bethesda studio that made Skyrim and Fallout 4.

If done right, Starfield could be a game that people will be playing for years to come. There are apparently 1,000 planets to explore, so an extra few layers of polish will go a long way. If Tears of the Kingdom is most predicted to be 2023’s best game, Starfield may be its most ambitious.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Luna)

Release date: 2023.

Ubisoft is taking an unusual approach with Assassin’s Creed Mirage. After years of «bigger is better,» Ubisoft is now scaling down and trying the «less is more» approach. In announcing Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the company boasted it to be a «shorter, more narrative-driven game than recent entries in the series.» Sounds good to me. Mirage is set in 9th century Baghdad, a couple decades before Valhalla, and stars Basim, who played a supporting role in that game.

Lies of P (PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)

Release date: 2023.

Lies of P sounds gnarly as hell: It’s the story of Pinocchio reimagined as a 2023 Dark Souls. Your goal is to find Mr. Geppetto, and a synopsis for the game talks about needing to lie your way through a rough city to do that. That’s all well and good, but from Lies of P’s trailer it looks like combat will be the real star of the show here.

Spider-Man 2 (PS5)

Release date: Fall 2023.

I didn’t like 2018’s Spider-Man as much as I’d hoped to: It was good, but no Batman: Arkham City. Almost everyone else loved it, though: Spider-Man has an 8.7 rating on Metacritic, and beat out Arkham City to become the best-selling superhero game ever. Spider-Man 2 will launch in late 2023 exclusively for the PS5, and will feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, who starred in his own 2020 spin-off. The Spider-Men will need to combine their powers in this game, because there’s a wild Venom on the loose.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 20, #300

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 20, No. 300

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Football fans should cruise through today’s Connections: Sports Edition. The purple category isn’t too challenging. I figured that one out first for a change. Check out our hints and the answers for today’s game.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: All about the numbers.

Green group hint: Catch and run.

Blue group hint: Hello, Hollywood.

Purple group hint: In the hole.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Statistic.

Green group: NFL wide receivers.

Blue group: Football movies, with «The.»

Purple group: What «ace» could mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is statistic. The four answers are datum, figure, number and stat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL wide receivers. The four answers are Chase, Lamb, Nabers and Waddle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is football movies, with «The.» The four answers are Express, Longest Yard, Replacements and Waterboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «ace» could mean. The four answers are pitcher, playing card, tennis serve and WNBA player.

Technologies

Warframe’s The Old Peace Expansion Revealed: A Perilous Trip to Tau Unfolds Soon

The Tenno are traveling the cosmos to end up in a different star system — and getting their hands on some sweet new gear along the way.

Warframe’s last few updates have been a narrative tour de force through time and space, weaving together disparate threads from the far-flung past of the year 1999 and the fairytale void-dimension of Duviri.

Core to these expansions is the conflict with the Eldritch threat known only as the Indifference. As it comes closer to piercing the veil of our reality and escaping the void, it’s up to the Tenno to navigate lost memories — rediscovering forgotten allies, a peace that was doomed to fail and a path to a star system beyond our own.

Warframe’s The Old Peace expansion gives us our first real look at Tau, introduces a frame that follows closely on Oraxia’s heels and expands players’ arsenals with a familiar Prime Warframe and new Operator abilities.

At this year’s TennoCon convention, studio Digital Extremes outlined what’s coming in the next year of Warframe, including its next expansion landing in the coming months and the big plans for next year.

Here’s everything you need to know about the next chapter of Warframe — as we once more delve into the past to prepare for future battles.

Read more: How Warframe Balances Bleakness With Quirky Foes to Stay True to Its Universe

What is Tau? Traveling to Warframe’s promised land

For Warframe lore junkies, the upcoming opportunity to actually see the long-teased Tau for the first time is a mind-boggling prospect. This is the star system that the Orokin Empire created the Sentients to colonize. It’s the very place that the Zariman Ten Zero was en route to before its accident created the Tenno, the void-powered player characters.

The turbulent rise and fall of the current major factions can be attributed to a greedy superpower wanting to get its paws on the resources in this star system, making it arguably one of the most important set pieces in the Warframe universe. And now we’re getting our eyes on it for the first time in the game’s 10-year history.

Note that players won’t actually get to properly explore Tau until 2026 — most of the system’s mysteries will remain intact for now, with players grappling with the past as they run and gun across a single planetary moon.

In the lead-up to Tau, The Old Peace will be the next expansion — another time-bending adventure, as the Tenno use funky void powers (and sensory deprivation tanks) to explore repressed memories.

Though the new narrative doesn’t necessarily retcon anything we know about the old war between the Orokin and the Sentients, it does call into question how much we truly know about that time period. The Tenno, Orokin and Sentients all made it to Tau and at one point established a tenuous peace — you’ll even find out about a forgotten childhood best friend, a Sentient named Adis.

The Old Peace will surely be a tragic tale, because we know this story ends in bloodshed. Even if the Tenno enforce the peace by cutting down Orokin Dax warriors who are currently violating the agreement, war will inevitably break out and history will run its course. Although we won’t be able to make a difference on Tau’s moon of Perita, there are hidden truths to uncover — ones that will help us prepare for the approaching war with the Indifference.

The Devil’s Triad: An Orokin story that introduces visually stunning zealots

The Old Peace introduces three characters who might as well be the physical embodiment of Catholic guilt. I love decking my Warframes out to look a bit medieval, so this gothic squad is right up my alley.

The Devil’s Triad is a group of Orokin enforcers — religious zealots and confessors — who seem to be involved in some way with Albrecht Entrati, the scientist who made first contact with the Indifference, created the Warframes and hid in the 1999 time loop.

Father Lyon Allard and Marie Leroux are new protoframe variants of Harrow and Wisp, expanding on the concept introduced with the Drifter’s Hex allies. Their colleague has been fully consumed by the Infestation’s steelskin, becoming the next Warframe: The devil Uriel.

These characters match the darker vibe of The Old Peace — their striking visuals call to mind the religious zealotry of the Warhammer’s Inquisitors, and they fit right in with Harrow’s original lore as Rell’s Warframe protector in the Red Veil faction.

Caliban Prime, focus system upgrades and more

A mental traipse through Tau reveals old Tenno powers born anew. A temporary alliance with the Sentients created hybrid technologies lost to time — but now we’ll have the chance to bring them back to the present.

The next Warframe to get the prime treatment will be Caliban — which slots perfectly into the lore for the upcoming expansion. Prime Warframes are more powerful versions of the biomechanical suits that were created in the heyday of the Orokin Empire, and Caliban is the amalgamation of the Infestation and Sentient technology.

It only makes sense that Caliban Prime is the product of the titular old peace, and so the recently reworked ally-summoning frame will get its chance to shine in your arsenal very soon.

The other big change to Warframe’s power scaling won’t come in the form of traditional weaponry. The Tenno’s void powers are getting upgrades, as players who are fully invested in the five core focus schools (Operator skill trees) will soon be able to wield powerful ultimate abilities. Though there aren’t many details yet about what the Tauron focus expansion will look like in practice, developer Digital Extremes has promised to elaborate on the feature in future Devstreams.

Other big TennoCon announcements that will shape the way you interact with your Warframes and weaponry throughout the rest of the year include a long-awaited Oberon Warframe rework, a new mod-related story quest that teaches new players how to properly ramp up their power, and special skins for Valkyr and Lavos.

The Old Peace expansion will launch later in 2025, with continual content updates slated to come out in the following months. Tau is set to become the key story driver for Warframe next year, so this will become an important expansion to familiarize yourself with postrelease.

Technologies

How to Play Soulframe Preludes. The Limited Alpha Period Starts Now

Developer Digital Extremes is opening the doors to its fantasy adventure, at least for this weekend. Here’s how to join.

Whether you’re a fan of Warframe’s brand of sci-fi RPG ninja looting or you’re locked in on Elden Ring Nightreign’s hard-core dark fantasy raids, developer Digital Extremes’ next game might be right up your alley.

Soulframe is an upcoming dark fantasy MMO experience where players, controlling powerful characters known as Envoys, burn the evil out of the land of Midrath. Whereas Warframe is a sci-fi adventure, Soulframe explores human connections with nature through a world of living fables.

The game’s combat centers on third-person hack-and-slash action, as well as magic and ranged weaponry. The classic Digital Extremes attention to detail was put into the arsenal of weapons, which will grow and expand alongside the game.

During the weekend of July 19, as TennoCon 2025 roars to life, all prospective Soulframe players will be allowed into a brief test of the game as the alpha opens up. Here’s how to try it out.

Read more: Warframe Isleweaver’s Spider-Man-Like Frame Is a Masterpiece of Design

What is Soulframe Preludes?

Soulframe is the biggest game developed by Digital Extremes since the release of Warframe in 2013. Despite the similar naming conventions, Soulframe isn’t a prequel to Warframe. The two games take place in entirely separate worlds and spin out unrelated narratives. This is a brand-new game with different gameplay mechanics that’s perfect for players looking to jump into something different.

Soulframe Preludes is the closed alpha version of the game, meaning a lot could change between now and the actual release. The latest update, Soulframe Preludes 10, went live May 27.

The current iteration of the game lets players battle corrupted foes like the Will-o-wings and Mendicant King, wield fearsome weapons and sidearms and even ally with factions to befriend their very own (fearsome) wolf pup.

Soulframe Preludes is a way for development to continue while gathering community suggestions from previewing players, and getting a key to the closed alpha qualifies you to join a special Discord server (and will unlock for you the Alca’s Eye item in-game upon the full release, as appreciation for your feedback).

How to get into the Soulframe Preludes alpha during TennoCon 2025

Soulframe Preludes is currently available only to PC gamers because this is a limited alpha launch intended for community-centric testing and development.

Anyone who creates a Soulframe account will be able to access Soulframe Preludes 10 for the duration of TennoCon 2025. Here’s a step-by-step guide to start your Soulframe journey:

Go to Soulframe’s online home page.
Click the «join us» button.
Fill out an email address, password and envoy name (this will become your Soulframe in-game name, so choose wisely).
Accept the privacy policy and participation agreement.
Click «join us» and check your email for a verification link.
Optionally, you can navigate to your account’s personal information and link a Twitch account to earn Soulframe Twitch drops for the game’s full release.
Download the Soulframe Preludes build from the website’s home page.

Can I play Soulframe Preludes after TennoCon?

You’ll be able to play Soulframe Preludes after the TennoCon open alpha test is closed, but you’ll once more need to sit tight for an access key to do so. You need a Soulframe account spun up to be eligible for Soulframe Preludes access.

The good news is that following the same steps to enter Soulframe Preludes during TennoCon 2025 puts you in the pool to be sent a key to access the game after the alpha closes again. It’s likely there will be additional open play tests in the future, but Digital Extremes hasn’t indicated when those might be — so if you want to play soon, keep an eye on your email.

Once you’ve verified your email address, there’s nothing else you can do but wait for a Soulframe Preludes key. These are released in weekly waves and include keys for friends as well, so if you’re lucky enough to have co-op buddies, they might be able to usher you into the alpha more quickly.