Ranking the Top Games Still Coming in 2018 With the Greatest Potential to Become Hits
Sequels will continue to rule for the rest of this year
2018 is only over four months old, and it's already featured its fair share of high profile game releases, including "Monster Hunter: World," "Dragon Ball FighterZ" and "Far Cry 5," among a few others.
With still a little under eight months remaining in the year, there are more big-time games currently in development, and they have a chance to rule the charts for weeks and months to come.
Listed below are those games, ranked in descending order in terms of how much potential they have to sell well and leave a lasting mark on the minds of gamers everywhere.
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It should be noted, however, that only games that have been officially announced for this year are eligible for the list. Sports games with annual releases have been excluded.
10. "Mega Man 11" – multi-platform, release date: late 2018
It seemed for a while there that Capcom's familiar Blue Bomber was retired for good, and fans had no other choice than to gorge themselves on earlier entries in the series or so-called spiritual successors.
The good news for fans is that, as it turns out, the folks at Capcom have not completely forgotten about them, and they are now primed to release a new entry for the series later this year.
With "Mega Man 11," developers are looking to use modern gaming technology to improve upon the classic look and feel of the series. They're also looking to introduce new features. One such addition will lead to Mega Man's appearance completely changing when he uses a Robot Master's weapon.
In all likelihood, there are plenty of other new features that will be introduced.
9. "Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age" – multi-platform, release date: Sept. 4, 2018
"Dragon Quest XI" was a hit when it was released in Japan last year, but that wasn't really any kind of surprise. What will be worth seeing, though, is if the RPG can maintain its forward momentum as it heads west later this year.
Developers opted not to go full open-world for this installment of the series, but they are still set to feature a more gorgeous and content-filled setting this time around.
"Final Fantasy 15" and "Persona 5" showed that there is still a place for JRPGs in the west, but it will be worth seeing if a turn-based offering that follows such a classic formula will still be able to thrive.
8. "Soul Calibur VI" – multi-platform, release date: 2018
Fighting games are enjoying a bit of a renaissance period with the aforementioned "Dragon Ball FighterZ" turning out to be a hit, "Street Fighter V" finally featuring the form it was always meant to have, and a slew of other high-profile sequels having been released over the past few months and years.
"Soul Calibur VI" will attempt to be the next fighting game that capitalizes on this trend.
The challenge for the new "Soul Calibur" game is that the series itself is not quite as well-established as others like "Tekken" or "Street Fighter," so it's unclear how many players will be willing to give it a chance.
That's why the decision to reboot the series makes plenty of sense, as that could entice those who have never played any game in the series before to check out "Soul Calibur VI."
7. "Nintendo Switch Super Smash Bros" (working title) – Nintendo Switch, release date: 2018
To say that fans were excited to learn that a "Super Smash Bros" game is coming to the Nintendo Switch would be quite the understatement.
Fans went crazy as soon as they learned about this game, leading to the creation of all kinds of memes and breathless speculation about which characters would end up as members of the roster.
Thus far, only Mario, Link and "Splatoon's" Inklings have been confirmed for the game, although, even at this early point, fans already have plenty of ideas for which other characters should be included.
6. "World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth" – PC, release date: Aug. 14
Though technically not an entirely new game, "Battle for Azeroth" is still a substantial enough expansion for "World of Warcraft" that it warrants a spot on this list.
Once released, "Battle for Azeroth" will introduce new locations such as Kul Tiras and Zandalar, while also allowing players to recruit members of Allied Races. More bosses and dungeons are also set to be added and the level cap will be raised to 120.
5. "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" – multi-platform, release date: Oct. 12
After months of speculation, the folks at Activision and Treyarch finally made it official last month — "Black Ops 4" will be the "Call of Duty" game released for this year.
"Black Ops 4" will have the enormous task of trying to breathe new life into the sub-series after the most recent installment was perceived by some to be somewhat lacking.
A community reveal event is scheduled for next month, and more details about what features this game will have should be made available by then.
4. "God of War" – PS4, release date: April 20
Developers are taking some risks with the new "God of War" PS4 game. Norse mythology-inspired locations are now set to be featured, protagonist Kratos will have a son, and even his primary weapon has changed.
It will be interesting to see how all of those new elements work together and if the upcoming game will still feel enough like the earlier installments to keep fans invested.
Fans only have to wait a few more days to see if this current-gen installment of the series will be a good follow-up.
3. "Marvel's Spider-Man" – PS4, release date: Sept. 7
Superheroes are still super-popular these days, and anything with a connection to a famous champion of justice has a decent chance to be a hit, which is why the new "Spider-Man" game coming to the PS4 is looking like a lock to be a money-maker.
It doesn't hurt that the game itself looks truly spectacular and that fans have long been waiting for the chance to play as the web-slinger in an open-world setting.
Unless superhero fatigue sets in overnight, this new title from Insomniac Games will likely rocket up the sales charts as soon as it is released.
2. "Kingdom Hearts 3" – multi-platform, release date: 2018
Perhaps no other game on this list is as hotly anticipated as "Kingdom Hearts 3."
Fans have been longing for this game ever since it was first confirmed to be in development nearly five years ago, and their level of excitement for it has only increased now that they know that it is coming this year.
Developers have talked recently about how the worlds are going to be bigger this time around and how combat has changed as well.
Fans don't really need to be hyped any further for "Kingdom Hearts 3," and that ensures that this game is going to be a big hit once it hits stores.
1. "Red Dead Redemption 2" – multi-platform, release date: Oct. 26
It's hard to project any game to even come close to reaching the level of success that "Grand Theft Auto V" currently enjoys, but if any title has a shot at that, it has to be "Red Dead Redemption 2."
The upcoming Rockstar Games offering was already a popular topic of discussion among gamers even before it was officially announced, and the level of excitement for it has only gone up in the wake of developers releasing a trailer and some screenshots.
"Red Dead Redemption 2" is guaranteed to be a hit. It's only a matter of determining how big of a success it will be.
