As usual, January is a fairly quiet month for new PC games and updates, with several of the most notable releases piled up near the end of the month. There's still plenty to look forward to, including Cairn, the mountain climbing game whose release date was announced at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted in December.
For a bigger look at what's ahead this year, drop by our guide to the new PC games of 2026. Chris has also put together a look at the city builders of 2026, and Jacob's published a preview of the year's new hardware. More 2026 previews and predictions are in the pipeline, but for now, here's what to look forward to in the immediate future of PC gaming:
January's big PC release dates
January 12
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (Steam) is already popular on TikTok thanks to its free demo. Somewhat in the style of Papers, Please, your task is to examine zombie apocalypse survivors for signs of infection before waving them through a checkpoint.
January 26
Highguard (Steam) was announced at the end of The Game Awards to a resounding 'so what?' The free-to-play hero shooter faces an uphill battle as it tries to convince the public to care about yet another free-to-play hero shooter, but Marvel Rivals has been a success, so the genre's clearly not full.
January 29
Cairn (Steam) is a mountain climbing game we've been looking forward to since playing its demo a couple years ago—just based on that, Jake called it the best climbing game he'd ever played.
January 29
Code Vein 2 (Steam) closes out the month with a time-travelling action RPG adventure. We were quite taken by its golden motorcycle when it was revealed back at Summer Game Fest last year.
January gaming events and sales
- Tech showcase CES runs January 6-9—head to our CES 2026 preview for details on the gear we expect to see there.
- The tail end of the Steam Winter Sale is followed by two smaller Steam sales:
- December 18 – January 5: Steam Winter Sale
- January 12 – January 19: Detective Fest
- January 26 – February 2: Board Game Fest
- Taipei Game Show closes out the month, running January 29-February 1.
Early access launches in January 2025
January 6
StarRupture (Steam) is a sci-fi base building and defense game—from the looks of it, it's half Satisfactory-like industrial automation, half Earth Defense Force-style bug extermination.
January 22
Bladesong (Steam) is a sword smithing game entering early access in late January. As you design cool engraved blades for dark fantasy clientele, you'll also "uncover the secrets of Eren Keep, a last haven of a dying world—or so they say."
January TBA
Echoes of Elysium (Steam) is described as a "co-op airship survival RPG." It was originally scheduled for an early access launch on December 4, but was delayed to January.
Games with major updates and events in January
January 20
World of Warcraft's Midnight Pre-Expansion Content Update goes live on January 20 with the new Demon Hunter Devourer specialization and more. You can see everything coming in Blizzard's blog post, and Midnight releases in full on March 2.
January 12
Anthem is finally being put to rest on January 12. The BioWare live service shooter was taken off sale last year, but if you already own it, you can log in and pay your respects before the 12th.
