2026 is no doubt a big year for gaming with all of the new releases that are set to come out, but it’s also a great chance to look back on many of your favorites from the past. 2026 has a long list of notable video games that will hit milestone anniversaries.
As time marches on, our favorite franchises get older, but our love for them doesn’t. Here are the biggest video game anniversaries in 2026.
The Legend of Zelda – 40 Years
The original Legend of Zelda was released on the Famicom Disk System on February 21, 1986, marking the beginning of one of the longest-running and most critically acclaimed video game franchises ever. It wouldn’t release on the NES in America until August of 1987.
As of this writing, it doesn’t seem there is any big celebration planned by Nintendo in the form of a game release (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment released just two months ago), though a February Nintendo Direct could change that outlook with a potential port of Wind Waker or Twilight Princess on the Switch or something else. We will likely get a better look at The Legend of Zelda Movie with a trailer this year, as it is set to hit theaters in May 2027.
Pokemon – 30 Years
Another of Nintendo’s biggest franchises will be hitting a big birthday this year, as Pokemon Red and Green both released in Japan on February 27, 1996. Red and Blue wouldn’t make their way out of Japan until 1998 for both America and Australia, with Europe getting the games in 1999.
Every year, The Pokemon Company holds a celebration presentation of the series on February 27 called Pokemon Day, and this year is no different, with the company already teasing it at the beginning of the new year.
As of this writing, we know that Pokemon Pokopia is set to release on March 5, but we would be shocked if that’s the biggest celebration piece. There is potential that the next generation of games could be announced, rumored to be called Wind and Wave, and we have been waiting a long time to get the original games on the Switch, so this could be a nice time to do that.
Resident Evil – 30 Years
Resident Evil is also turning 30 this year, having originally released in Japan (where it is called Biohazard) on March 22 for the PlayStation. A week later, it was released in America, with Europe getting the iconic survival horror game that August.
As of yet, we haven’t seen Capcom acknowledge the 30th anniversary too much. Back in August, it posted an illustration of the franchise’s biggest heroes, plus Grace Ashcroft, who will be starring alongside Leon in February’s Resident Evil Requiem, which is one of the more highly anticipated games of the year. There will also be a merch collaboration with rock band Baby Metal at some point this year.
Tomb Raider – 30 Years
After taking a little bit of a step back out of the limelight for a while, Tomb Raider seems to be on the way back in its 30th year. The original game was first released on the Sega Saturn on October 25, 1996. Bet you didn’t know that, did you? The PlayStation version that made the series famous came out a couple of weeks later.
A reimagining of that first game, called Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, is set to release at some point this year, with a new original game, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, coming in 2027. There is also a live-action television series in the works currently, though that doesn’t have a release date yet.
Crash Bandicoot – 30 Years
Not to be outdone by its original PlayStation buddies, the first Crash Bandicoot became the console’s mascot after its release on September 9, 1996, in the US, with Europe and Japan getting to spin the platformer in November and December.
Crash has been pretty quiet since the release of Crash Rumble in 2023, so there is always potential for the reveal of a new game, but we wouldn’t count on it. Toys For Bob, who developed both that and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, have gone independent, and while they are working with an Xbox-owned property on a new game, it is rumored to be featuring a purple scaly lizard rather than an orange marsupial. If Crash has a new game in the works, another team is likely working on it.
Halo – 25 Years
Halo: Combat Evolved and the Xbox brand will both be celebrating their 25th birthday on November 15. This game changed the fate of first-person shooters on consoles by using the dual-stick control scheme that has become so second nature to games like Call of Duty these days.
At some point in 2026, a remake of that original game’s campaign, called Halo: Campaign Evolved, will be released and will bring the series to PlayStation for the first time. Outside of that, it is unknown what celebrations are on the way for Halo. Maybe a tease or reveal of the next full game following Halo Infinite?
Devil May Cry – 25 years
The first Devil May Cry was a beautiful spinoff of what was originally a very different take on Resident Evil 4. It was released on the PlayStation 2 on August 23, 2001, in Japan, with American and European releases coming months later.
Since Devil May Cry 5 in 2019, Dante and Nero haven’t made any noise in a video game, but the Netflix anime series that started last year will be getting its second season in May. While that is good news, we would really like Capcom to give some indication of what the future of the games looks like.
Overwatch – 10 Years
Overwatch took over the world on May 24, 2016, quickly becoming one of Blizzard Entertainment’s biggest franchises, and went on to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards. The game quickly became the tentpole hero shooter that so many other games since have tried to replicate, to varying degrees of success.
While the game you play today may have the number two attached, it is still, by and large, the same idea it was back then: two teams work together to overtake objectives with colorful characters and personalities, all having very unique abilities to make them stand out from each other. A lot has changed on the margins in that time, though, including the shift to 5v5, the build-up and tear-down of the Overwatch League, and Blizzard not really doing much with the story anymore. There is a lot you can talk about with Overwatch over the last decade.
As for how the game will celebrate its milestone, we don’t know yet. You can expect new heroes and maps, but outside of that, we are in the dark. Last February, the team held a presentation called Overwatch Spotlight, which detailed the biggest updates coming in 2025, so another one of those would be amazing to have. BlizzCon is returning in September, but we would really like the festivities to begin sooner than that.
Dead by Daylight – 10 Years
Dead by Daylight is another live service game hitting the decade milestone in 2026, having released on June 14, 2016. The horror game has become easily the biggest success story out of any asymmetrical multiplayer game ever released, with tons of playable survivors and killers, many of them being some of the most iconic horror characters ever.
The festivities for the 10th anniversary are kind of already underway. As well as a celebration of the series finale, a second pack of Stranger Things characters is coming to Dead by Daylight at the end of January, including Vecna as a new killer, and Dustin and Eleven as survivors. We don’t know what other additions are coming to the game this year yet, but a cool Huntress and Sable statue is available for pre-order, and an anniversary party with the devs will be held in Montreal on June 14, which is bound to be a lot of fun.
No Man’s Sky – 10 Years
At the time of No Man’s Sky’s original release on August 6, 2016, who would have thought that we would be standing here a decade later, celebrating it? While the game was highly anticipated before launch, it quickly became a story of broken promises, some would say outright lies, to build hype for the game. That said, all the credit goes to Hello Games for putting in a lot of work to not only mend those hard feelings but make the game almost unrecognizable from its original iteration to become something that many people still love to play for many reasons.
As of this writing, we have not heard of any big celebrations in store yet, but we would be rather surprised if Hello Games didn’t have yet another free update coming this year. Additionally, the development team is also working on another open-world survival game called Light No Fire.
Honorable Mentions: Other Recognizable Video Game Anniversaries in 2026
- Castlevania – 40 Years
- Dragon Quest – 40 Years
- Metroid – 40 Years
- Sonic the Hedgehog – 35 years
- Persona – 30 Years
- Dead or Alive – 30 Years
- Animal Crossing – 25 Years
- Pikmin – 25 Years
- Gears of War – 20 Years
- Okami – 20 Years
- Saints Row – 20 Years
- Stardew Valley – 10 Years