The Game Developers Conference (GDC) in North America is one of the video game industry’s premier events for developers, publishers and media alike. But 2026 has marked the most significant change to the conference in quite some time, bringing a more festival-like experience to the long-running event.
Dubbed the Festival of Gaming, GDC 2026 has injected a more dynamic and spectacle-experience for attendees, who had greater access to the show’s many panels and lectures focusing on Donkey Kong Bananza, Death Stranding 2 and other pertinent topics in the video game industry, such as finding new work and ways to help with organising.
Along with that, GDC 2026 has also featured many new games to check out on the showfloor, as well as events such as The Day of the Devs and the Media Indie Exchange.
Here are our favourite games of GDC 2026.
GDC 2026 – quick links
Mixtape
Developer: Beethoven & Dinosaur
Release date: 7 May 2026
What impressed me most about Beethoven & Dinosaur’s upcoming narrative adventure game Mixtape is how it totally captured the tone of a good hangout movie.
Much like Wayne’s World or Dazed and Confused, Mixtape is all about living out the heightened reality of young adults trying to have a good time, and what troubles may follow.
This plays out across several episodes as the trio of music-loving friends takes on the world with style and occasional heartbreak. It’s a loving ode to the boredom of suburban life and finding a bond with those longing for a more exciting life.
Mixtape is shaping up to be one of the year’s most exciting and original adventure games.
Ballgame
Developer: Human Computer
Release date: TBD 2026
As the debut game from developer and publisher Human Computer, Ballgame is a very unusual take on a puzzle platformer, in that you’re playing as a living golf ball.
As a mix between golf and a 2D platformer, you’ll need to guide this living golf ball named Dolf through several stages by carefully tapping or hammering the ball through the many twists and turns of each course.
The kicker is that, much like golf, you’ll need to reach the goal in as few hits as you can. It’s an incredibly charming game to get into; it features some devious level designs that progressively get more wacky, and I’m very much into this bizarre take on mashing up golf and some clever platforming action.
Bubsy 4D
Developer: Fabraz
Release date: 22 May 2026
Hot off the release of Demon Tides, developer Fabraz has already got another 3D platformer primed up and ready to go. This time, it’s all about giving the classic and often misunderstood 90s video game mascot Bubsy another shot in the spotlight.
With Bubsy 4D, the titular character is getting a new adventure that pokes fun at his spotty history while also giving him a more than worthy comeback story.
As with Fabraz’s Demon Tides, Bubsy 4D is another retro-3D-inspired platformer that leans into systems-heavy platforming, rewarding players for figuring out how to efficiently tear through stages.
It was a blast getting reacquainted with Bubsy in a more refined and fun 3D game, and it’s shaping up to be a cool comeback story that could give the classic character a well-deserved follow-up.
Pro Jank Footy
Developer: Powerbomb Games, Tinker Town
Release date: TBD 2026
Pro Jank Footy is what you get when you decide to mash up the chaos of Australian Rules Football and a couch competitive arcade game with a roguelite twist.
It’s a bizarre mix on paper, but in practice, it’s one of the most laugh-out-loud arcade-style sports games I’ve played in some time – seriously, picking a perk to spawn in a DVD Video screensaver to mess with my opponent was more amusing than I expected.
Pro Jank Footy taps into the same kind of energy that made NBA Jam or NFL Blitz a hit among sports fans and even turned the most skeptical non-sports gamers into fans, which was all about bending the rules and upping the spectacle of a traditional sports game.
I can’t wait to see more Pro Jank Footy‘s devious energy in the full release
Mina the Hollower
Developer: Yacht Club Games
Release date: TBD 2026
Developer Yacht Club Games has spent more than a decade building its Shovel Knight franchise, and now Mina the Hollower marks the developer’s big step towards a new game that will be its largest to date.
Aiming to recapture the style and visual splendor of classic Game Boy Color games, Mina the Hollower goes for a Legend of Zelda-style adventure in a large open world, tasking players to explore a dangerous overworld and burrow into dungeons filled with bosses and lost treasure to uncover.
As something of a gothic spin on a plucky adventure story, Mina the Hollower taps into some Bloodborne-style action and spectacle, which is wild to see within its GBC-inspired visuals.
I really dug the mix of classic 2D action and vibrant visuals, and I’m very excited to see what’s next for the game’s action.
Aether & Iron
Developer: Seismic Squirrel
Release date: 31 March 2026
What makes Aether & Iron such a cool spin on an RPG is its dedication to crafting its setting. Described as a Decopunk narrative RPG, Aether & Iron is set in an alternate 1930s where advanced technology has turned New York City into a floating metropolis.
Taking on the role of a down-on-their-luck gun-for-hire and investigator, you’ll navigate the seedy underbelly of this floating city, getting into tactical on-the-skyrails shootouts, and making some crucial choices on forging or deep-sixing bonds.
This Disco Elysium-inspired CRPG makes a killer first impression and, so far, makes good on its promise to showcase its captivating, alluring setting.
Kiln
Developer: DoubleFine Productions
Release date: TBD 2026
Developer DoubleFine Productions has always had a knack for finding compelling concepts for its games, and it’s already got another lined up for Kiln.
In this competitive party-brawler that centres on sentient pottery duking it out in a competition, you and your team of vases will have to fill up on water and dunk it into the opposing team’s furnaces.
It’s a weird enough concept, but Kiln ups the creativity even further by allowing players to build up their own pottery from the clay mould, and how you shape it will determine what stats it brings into the fight.
I had a blast playing Kiln, and it’s been especially great to see DoubleFine Productions and its creative spark still going strong.
Screenbound
Developer: Crescent Moon Games
Release date: TBD 2026
Screenbound is one of the most inventive puzzle platformers I’ve played in quite some time. After discovering a mysterious handheld video game, you’re thrust into the world of a video game, with the Qboy device being your only guide.
Blending the realms of 2D and 3D video games into a single adventure, you’re tasked with navigating both perspectives simultaneously across a variety of levels, and that means having to pay attention to the 2D game device in your hands and the 3D space in front of you.
It taps into those moments as a kid, walking around the house or after school with your gaming device in hand, while trying to avoid bumping into walls or tripping over laundry.
It’s a clever take on a puzzle-platformer, and I really liked seeing just how much it commits to its concept.
Retail Hell
Developer: Leap Game Studios
Release date: TBD 2026
Retail Hell really leans into the idea of being stuck in a sketchy job, feeling like you’re trapped in hell.
Tasked with running a mysterious, tiny shop in a bunker, you’ll need to satisfy the needs of some seriously unhinged patrons. While some are mostly harmless, others will trigger madness and dread by the very sight of them – and you’ll still need to give them what they want in order to survive the shift.
Playing Retail Hell was like accomplishing a variety of mundane tasks in unsettling circumstances. It’s a very inventive take on a Job Simulator-type experience, but doing it while trapped in a total nightmare.
This is one horror game to watch when it releases later this year.
Zero Parades (for Dead Spies)
Developer: ZA/UM
Release date: TBD 2026
There’s an unfortunate spectre surrounding developer ZA/UM and its follow-up to the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium. Given the circumstances surrounding the conflicts and departures of key talent from the original game, many fans are skeptical and outright keep the follow-up Zero Parades: For Dead Spies at arm’s length.
But many developers from Disco Elysium at ZA/UM are continuing on with their next game, which, from what I played, feels like a worthy and compelling successor to the groundbreaking CRPG.
As something of a companion game to Disco Elysium with an original story, focusing on a spy story with an even more unreliable protagonist, you’ll need to piece together an assignment that’s gone awry and try to rebuild your network of contacts who are either indisposed or not particularly trusting of the protagonist, given that they were responsible for a botched mission years back.
Much like Disco Elysium, Zero Parades focuses on the internal battle the protagonist faces with clashing moral and mental conflicts.
It’s a CRPG where the lead character builds themselves up and comes crashing down during a single conversation.
Zero Parades carries on many of Disco Elysium‘s core tenets of fantastic writing and compelling characters, and seeing that within the context of a spy story is compelling. I feel its concepts carry weight, and hopefully players will give it a fair shake when it releases.
Dosa Divas
Developer: Outerloop Games
Release date: 14 April 2026
Developer Outerloop Games has a history of creating relatable, humorous games that showcase the complexities of South Asian culture.
Its upcoming game Dosa Divas aims to showcase that even further by focusing on the joys of cooking great food and battling colonial rule.
As the follow-up to Thirsty Suitors, Dosa Divas is another turn-based action-RPG that blends the power of cooking and how it brings people together, and the thrill of taking down evil corporations looking to spread their fast-food slop across the land.
Sisters Amani and Samara will work with a mysterious mecha suit to battle corporate suits and other lackeys in turn-based combat, which taps into the time-based actions of Super Mario RPG to deliver critical hits.
It also puts a keen spotlight on putting together compelling recipes for dishes that help boost the party’s fighting power. I was blown away by Dosa Divas and its cool hook on a special type of action-RPG, and I can’t wait to see more of it when it releases soon.
