KEY TAKEAWAYS
- 2026 has already delivered some of the strongest PS5 titles in the console’s five-year history
- Pragmata is the surprise critical darling of the year, a completely new Capcom IP with a unique hacking-and-shooting combat loop
- Nioh 3 takes serious cues from Elden Ring with open-world exploration, and obsessive fans are calling it the best of the series
- Ghost of Yotei won multiple PS Blog Game of the Year awards in 2025 and remains unmissable if you skipped it
- GTA 6 is confirmed for 19 November 2026 on PS5, so the year’s biggest release is still to come
Who is this for? Anyone with a PS5 who wants to skip the noise and go straight to the games that are genuinely worth your time in 2026. Whether you like action-RPGs, cinematic adventures, multiplayer shooters, or indie gems, there’s something in this list for you.
Why 2026 is already a strong year for PS5
Five years in and the PS5 library has never looked better. The early years brought technical showcases and remasters. Now in 2026, we’re getting bold new IPs, long-awaited sequels, and games that genuinely push what you expect from a console.
What makes this year different is the range. There’s a brand-new Capcom sci-fi shooter that no one saw coming. There’s the best Nioh game ever made. There’s a Resident Evil title that tied the highest Metacritic user score in history. And by November, Grand Theft Auto 6 lands on PS5 and resets the conversation entirely.
The best PS5 games to play in 2026 aren’t just about spectacle. The best ones this year earn your time through sharp design, real replay value, and the kind of creative ambition that makes you glad you own this console.
Here are the 10 games you should be playing, or at minimum, have on your list.
1. Pragmata
Genre: Sci-fi action | Developer: Capcom | Released: 17 April 2026 | Price: £49.99
If you follow gaming at all, you know Pragmata has had one of the longest waits in recent memory. First teased alongside the PS5 in 2020, Capcom’s sci-fi action game missed multiple release windows before finally arriving on 17 April 2026. Six years of anticipation is a dangerous thing. Pragmata delivered anyway.
You play as Hugh, part of a response team sent to a massive lunar research facility that has gone dark. After a disaster cuts him off from his squad, he teams up with Diana, a mysterious android, to figure out what happened and find a way back to Earth.
The combat is where Pragmata does something genuinely new. The game perfectly balances Hugh’s shooting and Diana’s hacking within a framework of tight combat encounters and strong level design. You’re not just shooting. You’re hacking enemies in real time to expose weak points, then unloading on them while managing cooldowns and positioning. It sounds complicated. It isn’t. It clicks fast and stays satisfying from start to finish.
The game runs at a near-constant 60fps on base PS5, makes excellent use of DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers, and comes in at only 33GB. It’s also well-priced at £49.99, notably below the current £69.99 standard.
The only real criticism is that the campaign is short at around nine to twelve hours. But Capcom has built in enough post-game content, including a New Game+ mode and an additional unlockable area, to extend that meaningfully.
Pragmata is one of the best PS5 exclusives in years. It deserves to be your next purchase.
Best for: Action fans, people who want something fresh and original, Capcom fans
2. Nioh 3
Genre: Action-RPG | Developer: Team Ninja | Released: 6 February 2026 | Price: £64.99
Nioh 3 is a gigantic open-world action-RPG with best-in-the-business combat. Team Ninja clearly looked at what FromSoftware did with Elden Ring and thought: we can do this with Nioh’s combat depth. They were right.
The game takes clear cues from Elden Ring, offering multiple sizeable open-world regions to explore and challenging enemy encounters aplenty. The unique combat flow takes a little time to click, but once it does, it’s genuinely obsessive, and not since Elden Ring has there been an open-world game this compelling to fully explore.
Set in Edo-period Japan, Nioh 3 returns with legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi as you fight through a corrupted, dark-fantasy version of Kyoto. The stance system, the Ki management, the sheer depth of build-crafting: all of it is back and sharper than before.
The honest caveat: the opening hours are brutal and the menu systems are overwhelming. Don’t let that put you off. Stick with it past the prologue and you’ll find one of the most rewarding games on the console. Tom’s Guide called it completely obsessive after dozens of hours.
If you liked Elden Ring, Sekiro, or the first two Nioh games, this is non-negotiable.
Best for: Soulslike fans, build-crafters, players who want a challenge
3. Resident Evil Requiem
Genre: Survival horror | Developer: Capcom | Released: 27 February 2026 | Price: £59.99
Resident Evil Requiem tied the highest Metacritic user score in history, matching 2025’s Game of the Year winner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with a 9.5 user score. That’s not a small thing.
Requiem takes the series back to Raccoon City. You play as FBI agent Grace Ashcroft, investigating a case at an abandoned hotel where her mother was murdered years before. Capcom uses the RE Engine to devastating effect, creating a version of the city that feels lived-in, decayed, and threatening in a way even the remakes didn’t fully achieve.
The game builds on the tight third-person horror of RE2 and RE3 Remake, adds genuine open-ended exploration to the abandoned hotel, and delivers one of the most tense and well-paced Resident Evil campaigns in the series’ 30-year history. If you’ve been following the franchise’s critical comeback since RE7, Requiem is the payoff.
External reviewers at IGN and GameSpot have both ranked it among the strongest entries in the series. The PS5 version runs at a locked 60fps with ray tracing and full DualSense support.
Best for: Horror fans, RE series fans, players who want a tense cinematic experience
4. Ghost of Yotei
Genre: Open-world action-adventure | Developer: Sucker Punch | Released: October 2025 | Price: £54.99 (frequently discounted in 2026)
Ghost of Yotei won Best PS5 Game at the PlayStation Blog Game of the Year awards, along with awards for Best New Character, Graphical Showcase, Art Direction, Audio Design, Accessibility, and Use of DualSense. That’s not a shortlist. That’s a sweep.
Set in the wilderness of 1600s Japan near Mount Yotei, Sucker Punch’s follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima is visually the most impressive game on the console. The foliage density, the ray tracing, the sound of wind through the DualSense speaker: it’s the kind of game you stop mid-fight just to look around.
The story follows Atsu, a lone warrior pursuing revenge across sprawling, open terrain filled with outposts, side quests, and moments that rival anything in Ghost of Tsushima. 30% of Yotei players had logged over 20 hours within the first week of launch, which tells you how easy it is to lose yourself in it.
It missed our 2025 roundup. It earns a spot here because if you haven’t played it yet, it’s now your best excuse.
Best for: Open-world fans, fans of Ghost of Tsushima, anyone who wants the most visually impressive game on PS5
5. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Genre: Metroidvania | Developer: Team Cherry | Released: 4 September 2025 | Price: £14.99
Silksong finally launched on 4 September 2025 across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, after years of anticipation. Players control Hornet, the agile protagonist from the original Hollow Knight, in a brand new kingdom called Pharloom, with over 150 unique enemies, faster acrobatic combat using Hornet’s needle and silk powers, and a fresh storyline.
On launch day, Silksong reached a peak concurrent player count of over 535,000 on Steam alone, making it one of the most-played single-player game launches ever recorded on the platform.
The PS5 version is the definitive way to play. The DualSense haptics add texture to every parry and hit, and the 60fps performance makes Hornet’s acrobatic movement feel even crisper than on PC. The boss fights are where the game shines most. They’re cinematic, punishing, and endlessly replayable once you start pushing for better times.
At £14.99, this is the best value in gaming right now. If you played the original Hollow Knight on PS4 or PS5, Silksong is a day-one purchase. If you haven’t played either, start with the original (it’s even cheaper) and come straight here.
Best for: Indie fans, Metroidvania fans, anyone who wants a challenge without a full-price commitment
6. Battlefield 6
Genre: Multiplayer FPS | Developer: DICE | Released: October 2025 | Price: £54.99
Battlefield 6 is a multiplayer experience that impresses with its chaotic mix of tight gunplay, best-in-class audio design, and the cinematic flair that made fans love the series in the first place. After the disappointing Battlefield 2042, DICE came back with a game that remembers what made the series great.
Battlefield 6 won Best Multiplayer Experience at the PS Blog Game of the Year awards, ahead of heavy competition including Marvel Rivals and ARC Raiders. On PS5, the game uses every technical advantage at DICE’s disposal: destruction physics that change the shape of each match, 3D audio that makes flanks genuinely terrifying, and DualSense haptics that make every weapon feel distinct.
The campaign is short and unremarkable. Nobody buys Battlefield for the campaign. The multiplayer, with its signature 64-player mayhem, squad mechanics, class diversity, and massive maps that collapse and change as a match progresses, is among the best the series has ever offered.
You need a decent squad to get the most out of it. Random matchmaking can be frustrating when teammates don’t communicate. But get a few friends in a party and Battlefield 6 is some of the most fun you’ll have on PS5 in 2026.
Best for: Multiplayer fans, FPS fans, anyone who wants a social gaming experience
7. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Genre: Turn-based RPG | Developer: Sandfall Interactive | Released: April 2025 | Price: £44.99
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Game of the Year across major award shows in 2025. It’s a genuinely unexpected new IP that became an instant classic.
This French-developed RPG builds turn-based combat around real-time parry and dodge mechanics that keep every single encounter active and engaging. The story is a painterly, emotionally devastating journey through a world slowly being erased. The soundtrack is exceptional. The writing is sharp and humane in a way that most big-budget games aren’t.
Clair Obscur won Best Story, Best Soundtrack, and Best Independent Game at the PlayStation Blog awards, across a year that also featured Hollow Knight: Silksong and Ghost of Yotei. That’s how good it is.
It released in April 2025, which means it’s now discounted regularly and often appears in PlayStation Sales. If you haven’t played it, this is your reminder. It belongs in any conversation about the greatest RPGs on PS5.
Best for: RPG fans, players who want a story-driven experience, anyone who appreciated games like Persona or Final Fantasy at their best
8. Cairn
Genre: Climbing adventure | Developer: Midgar Studio | Released: 2026 | Price: £24.99
Cairn represents a new peak for mountain-climbing games, fusing a vivid sense of wonder with a feeling of true peril. With equilibrium as a key component, Cairn also knows exactly when to let players breathe, offering moments of quiet reflection as a counterbalance to the tension of ascending steep cliffs.
This is the hidden gem of the year. Most PS5 game lists miss Cairn entirely because it’s an indie title in an unusual genre. That’s a mistake.
You play as Aava, climbing steep mountain faces in a game where every handhold matters and every shift of weight has consequences. The core loop is genuinely novel: you’re not sprinting through action sequences, you’re carefully solving a vertical puzzle, committing to routes, and managing your stamina. When you reach a summit, the relief is real.
Cairn also looks stunning on PS5. The mountain environments are rendered with a detail and atmosphere that rivals the biggest games on the platform. It’s shorter than most games on this list, around six to eight hours, but every hour earns its place.
If you want something different, this is it.
Best for: Players who want something unique, fans of puzzle games and exploration, anyone who enjoyed Journey or Firewatch
9. Romeo Is a Dead Man
Genre: Action | Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture | Released: 2026 | Price: £39.99
From the creators of No More Heroes and killer7, Romeo Is a Dead Man is a bombastic, bloody, and constantly unpredictable action game in which you play as an undead FBI agent sent out to combat threats to the space-time continuum. The story is completely unhinged, but the gore-soaked combat is far more coherent and easy to get into.
Grasshopper Manufacture hasn’t lost a step. Romeo Is a Dead Man is loud, stylish, and packed with the kind of creative lunacy that made Suda51 games cult classics. The combat system is fast and punishing, the level design is inventive, and the game commits fully to its bizarre premise without ever losing control of it.
This one flew under the radar on release. TechRadar named it a sleeper title you “absolutely shouldn’t overlook” in their 2026 PS5 roundup. They’re right. If you like your action games with a thick layer of weirdness and a director who clearly doesn’t care about conventions, Romeo Is a Dead Man is made for you.
Best for: Action fans, players who want something creative and weird, fans of Grasshopper Manufacture’s previous work
10. GTA 6 (coming November 2026)
Genre: Open-world action | Developer: Rockstar Games | Confirmed release: 19 November 2026 | Platform: PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
GTA 6 is now officially dated for 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, following two official delays from its original 2025 target. No PC release date has been announced, consistent with Rockstar’s established pattern of launching on consoles first.
It’s here in this list because it’s the reason to own a PS5 by the end of 2026. Rockstar’s open-world formula has set the standard for every game on this list and dozens we haven’t mentioned. The return to Vice City, the dual-protagonist story, the technical ambition behind a game in development for over a decade: GTA 6 is shaping up to be the most significant console release of the generation.
What we know: the game is set in Leonida, a fictional state centred on a neon-soaked version of Miami. The two protagonists are Jason and Lucia, with Lucia being the first playable female lead in the mainline GTA series. The open world is reportedly larger and more detailed than anything Rockstar has built before.
Mark 19 November in your calendar. GTA 6 will dominate the rest of 2026 the moment it drops.
Best for: Everyone with a PS5
How we picked these games
This list focuses on quality over release date. We pulled from Metacritic critic scores, PlayStation Blog community voting data, review consensus across TechRadar, GameSpot, and Push Square, and a deliberate effort to include titles that aren’t just the loudest or most-marketed releases.
Ghost of Yotei and Clair Obscur released in 2025 but earned their place here because both are widely available at reduced prices in 2026 and remain among the best experiences on the platform. If you haven’t played them, 2026 is the year to fix that.
The full list targets a range of budgets and playstyles. You don’t need to buy everything. Pick the genre you love and start there.
FAQs
What is the best PS5 game to play right now in 2026? If you want something fresh and available right now, Pragmata is the strongest pick. It’s a brand-new Capcom IP with a genuinely original combat system, a compelling story, and excellent PS5 performance. If you want a longer experience, Nioh 3 or Ghost of Yotei are both exceptional. The right answer depends on what genres you enjoy, but Pragmata is the safest universal recommendation for 2026.
Is GTA 6 coming to PS5 in 2026? Yes. GTA 6 is confirmed for 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It has been delayed twice from its original 2025 target, but Rockstar has committed to the November date. No PC release has been announced yet, which is consistent with how Rockstar has handled previous GTA launches.
What are the best free-to-play PS5 games in 2026? While this list focuses on paid games, the free-to-play PS5 space in 2026 includes Fortnite, Genshin Impact, and the recently released The Seven Deadly Sins online RPG, which has been attracting attention for its production values. For the best overall experience, the paid titles on this list offer far more complete gameplay loops.
Is Hollow Knight: Silksong still worth buying if I haven’t played the original? Yes, but play the original first. Hollow Knight is available for a few pounds on PlayStation and remains one of the best Metroidvania games ever made. It gives you the essential context for Silksong’s story and mechanics, and that context makes Silksong significantly more rewarding. Both games together cost less than a single full-price PS5 release.
How many of these games work with PS5 Pro? All of them. Games like Pragmata, Nioh 3, Resident Evil Requiem, and Ghost of Yotei have specific PS5 Pro modes that offer improved ray tracing, higher resolutions, or more stable frame rates. If you’re playing on a standard PS5, you’re not missing out on anything essential, but the Pro enhancements are a genuine upgrade for titles that support them.
Related reading
- How to Get More Out of Your PS5: Settings You Should Change Today
- Best Gaming Monitors for PS5 in 2026: Top Picks at Every Budget
- PS5 vs Xbox Series X in 2026: Which Console Is Worth Buying Now?
Conclusion
2026 has delivered a PS5 library that rewards every type of player. Pragmata is the standout new release for anyone who wants something original. Nioh 3 is the best action-RPG on the platform. Ghost of Yotei remains the gold standard for open-world visual storytelling. And GTA 6 in November will change the conversation for the rest of the year.
Start with the genre you love. Every game on this list earns its place. None of them are here because of marketing budgets or hype cycles.
Our top pick for right now: Pragmata. It’s fresh, it’s well-priced, it runs perfectly, and it does something the genre hasn’t done before.
Author bio: The GrabbedDeals team covers tech, AI tools, and smart buying decisions for readers across the UK, US, and Europe. Our gaming coverage focuses on honest picks that are worth your actual time.
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