Upcoming New RPGs For 2024 & Beyond

Role-playing games have been a staple of the gaming industry for more than three decades. Each month, the genre tends to welcome a couple of noteworthy titles, be it high-profile releases such as Starfield, Lies of P, Hogwarts Legacy, Octopath Traveler 2, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty or more niche projects like Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society, 8-Bit Adventures 2, and Little Witch Nobeta. There are always new RPGs on the horizon.

Due to the ambitious nature of the genre’s AAA projects, they are often announced years in advance, a practice that can result in extremely high expectations. Once the hype train gets moving, stopping it can be impossible, which has resulted in some disappointments in the past. However, when a game lives up to its potential, it is a thing of beauty. Which upcoming RPGs are the most sought-after?

Updated June 23, 2024: This month has been great for RPGs, both in terms of releases and reveals. Consequently, two 2024 RPGs have been added to this article, and they are both set to debut in November.

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak

A New Era For Nihon Falcom

Despite never quite garnering the same exposure as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, Nihon Falcom’s Trails franchise has been dishing out quality games for the best part of two decades. While all the main titles take place in the same world, they are divided into smaller region-based arcs that focus on a set group of characters. Trails Through Daybreak marks the start of a new storyline, one set in Calvard, a country that has recently established democratic rule. Players take control of Van, a Spriggan who works as a bounty hunter.

Now, like all Nihon Falcom games, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak was released in Japan a couple of years ago, so it is a known quantity by this point. Going by that version’s reception, this entry seems to be a bit more of a mixed bag than some of the franchise’s highest points; however, it also takes quite a few risks. For one, the gameplay blends real-time and turn-based combat, which is unheard of for a Trails title.

Cat Quest 3

Cute Pirate-Themed Action RPG

RPGs are synonymous with grand, massive adventures; however, they do not have to be. The Gentlebros’ Cat Quest games are delightful. The available titles deliver short but sweet adventures packed to the brim with charming NPCs, solid open-worlds, and enjoyable combat. They might not have jaw-dropping visuals or 100+ hours of content, but they are cute, polished, and fun. The upcoming Cat Quest 3 should offer more of the same, albeit with a pirate makeover.

On the surface, the sequel does not appear to be a stark departure from its predecessors. Players will still travel across an overworld in search of quests, dungeons, enemies, and puns. The combo-driven combat is likely to be simple but flashy, and Gentlebros promises to expand on this area. When it comes to new ideas, sailing appears to be a big part of Cat Quest 3, which makes sense considering the pirate theme and the open-world’s island structure.

Black Myth: Wukong

Action With Hints Of Soulslikes

Black Myth: Wukong has been making the rounds for a couple of years. Although the early footage was encouraging, the hype train picked up considerable steam in August 2023 when some publications got hands-on time with the game, showing that it has more to offer than well-done trailers. Naturally, these previews only got to experience a sliver of what the final product will hold, but they did highlight the title’s combat system that appears to combine melee, magic, and stance changes. The former comes courtesy of a staff, which makes sense considering the game is inspired by the Journey to the West novel (which also helped shape Dragon Ball).

Visually striking and featuring fast-paced and complex action, Black Myth could prove to be among 2024’s nicest surprises. The game appears to provide a fairly fresh take on the Soulslike blueprint, utilizing that subgenre’s penchant for tough boss fights and hard-hitting combat as a launch pad to craft something familiar but new.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

Open-World, Survival, & FPS

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a difficult series to define. The games are first-person shooters, but they are hardly similar to most of the genre’s popular releases. Open-world is more of a theme and concept rather than a full-blown genre, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘s very harsh universe and survival elements set it apart from seemingly similar projects like Fallout. Survival horror is somewhat accurate, although newcomers expecting something in the vein of Resident Evil or Silent Hill will be disappointed. The same holds for the RPG descriptor, although the games usually incorporate enough ideas from the genre to be worth recommending to fans provided they are not averse to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.‘s other categories and its immersive sim qualities.

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Heart of Chornobyl has had a challenging pre-launch cycle due to developments beyond GSC’s control, resulting in some delays; however, a September 2024 release has been announced. Seeming to be an ambitious evolution of its great predecessors, Heart of Chornobyl could provide a unique experience that no other 2024 project will be able to match.

Atlus’ Next Turn-Based JRPG

A new Atlus production is always exciting, and Metaphor: ReFantazio is far from an exception. Announced halfway through the 2010s, the game has finally reached maturation, allowing a release date to be set for October 2024. While taking inspiration from Megami Tensei, Metaphor: ReFantazio should be introducing quite a few twists to the Atlus formula, including a battle system that blends real-time and turn-based. Going on the current information, action combat is used for easy battles, while harder fights switch to turn-based. The concept sounds intriguing on paper.

Narratively, Metaphor: ReFantazio appears to have a lot going on. Set in a fantasy realm that has entered a period of disarray due to the king’s demise, a tournament has been declared to crown the next ruler. The protagonist is aiding the kingdom’s prince, and they will be accompanied by a plethora of other playable characters. The game also seems to have a social link-style system called Archetypes.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership

Nintendo’s First New Mario RPG In A Long Time

Recently, Nintendo has been happy to embrace Mario’s role-playing legacy, releasing remakes of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Both of those Switch games are great, particularly the latter, but they are hardly a replacement for new adventures. Putting aside remakes and remasters, Paper Mario: The Origami King was the only fresh Mario RPG to debut in the last eight years, and an argument could be made against that game being part of the genre.

For a while, the Mario & Luigi series started to feel like a thing of the past, with the last fully new entry being 2015’s Paper Jam. However, that all changed during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, which included a reveal for Mario & Luigi: Brothership. This upcoming project will mark the IP’s home console debut, and it seems set to be an impressive evolution of the franchise’s gameplay, visual style, and sense of humor. While perhaps not as decorated as Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi is arguably among the most consistent JRPG series of all time, delivering nothing but greatness. Even the weakest entries – Dream Team and Paper Jam – are very good, and Brothership should surpass that threshold.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake

Gorgeous Take On A Classic

While the HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 are tentatively set for 2025, the third game’s revamp is confirmed to be coming in November 2024. Utilizing a visual style similar to Octopath Traveler, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake modernizes the classic look in a way that remains authentic to the original’s simple beauty, all the while looking more than sharp enough to stand alongside contemporary JRPGs.

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Dragon Quest 3 is recognized as a masterpiece that helped firmly establish the tropes and conventions that would go on to define the franchise for decades to come. While some things have changed over the last three decades, Dragon Quest‘s gameplay, story style, and world-building have remained consistent. DQ3 will now be as accessible as possible.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Stealth Action-Adventure RPG

While not everyone loved the shift, Assassin’s Creed has been steadily implementing more RPG elements since Origins, with Mirage being an exception. Ubisoft’s upcoming entry, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, looks set to continue this trend, at least according to comments made in this Xbox interview by its Game Director, Charles Benoit. Set in Feudal Japan, this project will feature two protagonists, a shinobi named Naoe and a samurai called Yasuke. Except for certain missions, players will be able to swap between these characters on the fly, and they have unique skills, weapons, and playstyles.

Every Assassin’s Creed game is a big deal, but Shadows appears to be attracting more hype than usual. Part of that has to do with the setting, as fans have been craving a Japan-based adventure for years. The dual-protagonist structure is also compelling, especially since Naoe seems to be designed to facilitate stealth-based combat similar to the older entries in the series. As November 2024 approaches, Ubisoft will gradually pull back the curtain and reveal more of Shadows‘ unique ideas, hopefully paving the way to one of the best Assassin’s Creed games.

Ys 10: Nordics

Action JRPG

Ys 10: Nordics came out on September 28, 2023, in Asia, so Falcom’s most recent entry in its long-running JRPG franchise is available in some parts of the world; however, the English version’s release date has yet to be confirmed. While Ys 9 garnered a slightly mixed reception, the overall series has been on a high since Ys 8, which helped expose the decorated license to a more mainstream audience.

If reviews of the Japanese version are any indication, Ys 10 will likely be divisive among fans. The game ditches the series’ party system in favor of a dual protagonist setup; more importantly, a combo system that allows the two leads to combine forces seems to be overpowered to the point of rendering individual abilities somewhat pointless. The ship-based exploration and combat might also prove to be polarizing. Still, Falcom knows its way around fun action, and even if Ys 10 proves not to be among the franchise’s greatest creations, it should still be very enjoyable.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Action With RPG Elements

A new Monster Hunter is always a cause for celebration, and Wilds looks primed and ready to be an impressive work of art. Although details are still fairly scarce at this point, Capcom has confirmed that a 2025 release is on the cards and that the game will launch on the PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. Consequently, Wilds will likely have more in common with World rather than Rise since the latter was designed around the Nintendo Switch’s limitations, resulting in fairly small maps compared to its predecessor.

Now, an argument could be made that Monster Hunter exists in a unique category outside of RPGs, which is certainly fair. Still, the games always incorporate a variety of role-playing elements, and they are generally good picks for fans of the genre who want to focus on action over story.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Action & Social Sim

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is the definition of a cult classic. While rough around the edges, the RPG features fantastic writing and characters, along with a great deal of customization that provides players with plenty of creative freedom. It is a masterpiece that, for the longest time, seemed destined to remain a solitary project (in the video game industry, anyway); however, in 2019, Bloodlines 2 was revealed to the world. Since then, the game has been pushed back a few times, and information regarding its production has been inconsistent. That said, a few Vampire: The Masquerade spin-offs have debuted over the last few years, so the IP is alive.

Set in Seattle, Bloodlines 2 will let players create a newly-transformed vampire, which will involve picking things like their human background and preferred discipline. Vampire: The Masquerade‘s success can be partially credited to its deep clan system, which permits players to commit to one of the vampire groups operating in the city. This element should be present in Bloodlines 2. In terms of gameplay, so far, it seems like the sequel will stick close to its predecessor; therefore, expect first-person action with a heavy focus on a dialogue system.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf

Action (Presumably)

More than a decade has passed since the last Dragon Age game, and the world is long overdue for another BioWare masterpiece. Even if the sequels were polarizing, the franchise still holds a lot of weight in the RPG sphere, and a new entry will not only attract a lot of attention but also be held to very high standards.

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According to reports, a sequel has been in development for years and the process has not been smooth. A complicated development cycle does not have to result in an underwhelming final product, but fans might want to temper expectations until more information is officially released. Still, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will be a big deal when it eventually comes out.

Open-World (Presumably)

It was only a matter of time before The Elder Scrolls 6 was revealed, although that is essentially all that Bethesda has done. Except for some minor details that can be surmised from the few seconds of footage that has been released so far, the game is still largely a mystery; however, TES 6 is one of those upcoming RPGs that only needs to exist to generate hype.

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Realistically, Bethesda’s sequel is still a few years away from a debut, and the publisher will probably not start to heavily market the project until after Starfield‘s cycle is complete. Nevertheless, it would be shocking if TES 6 does not wind up as one of the best-selling games of all time.

Dragon Quest 12: The Flames Of Fate

Turn-Based (Presumably)

Dragon Quest 12 is a weird one. Since being revealed in 2021, Square Enix has barely uttered a word regarding the next mainline entry in the storied JRPG franchise. Dragon Quest‘s influence and popularity cannot be understated, particularly in Japan where the series is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. While there was a fairly long dry spell after DQ8, the 11th mainline entry was a hit in Western countries, elevating the license to international highs it had not experienced for a while. Thanks to its predecessor’s success, Dragon Quest 12 is poised to be one of the biggest releases in the license’s history outside of Japan.

Perhaps, Square Enix announced DQ12‘s existence a bit prematurely or simply wanted to gauge the public’s interest in a sequel; whatever the reason, the post-reveal silence has lasted slightly too long. Hopefully, the publisher will expand on the game’s development at some point in the near future as the gaming world is ready for a new mainline Dragon Quest adventure.

The New Witcher Saga (Polaris)

Action & Open-World (Presumably)

Subjective opinion aside, The Witcher 3 is objectively one of the best RPGs in the history of gaming. And, for the longest time, the 2015 release seemed destined to be the last mainline entry in CD Projekt Red’s franchise; at least, that was the case until 2022 when the developer announced several new Witcher projects.

Along with a remake of 2007’s The Witcher, CD Projekt Red confirmed that a new saga is in development. The studio has remained tight-lipped about what this might entail, outside of confirming that the game/s will use Unreal Engine 5.

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