10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2023

MOAR SOFTWARE? GAMES?

While most of the world slowly recovered from COVID-19 in 2022, this still caused delays to some releases. Four games that featured on our previous list did manage to make it through though (Chinatown Detective Agency being one of them). Anyway, since there's only a few days left of 2022 and The Game Awards is well and truly over, it's time to take a look at the 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2023 (according to Choicest Games, of course)!

As it's been with previous years, I've again managed to recruit the help of my wife as a judge and I've also decided to use the third judge that I created in 2020 which is based on the popularity of a game, at least according to Google Trends. Ultimately, this resulted in more weight being given to AAA titles (otherwise, the entire list would probably be dominated by indie games - not that there's anything wrong with that but I'm trying to strike a balance here).

The Judges

Mark G

Mark founded the blog Choicest Games in 2008 and has been playing PC games since the 1980s. He has an eclectic taste in games but his favourite genres include point 'n' click adventures, First Person Shooters and almost anything to do with sci-fi. He is also leader of the social guild/clan Gamers of Choice.

Lanna

Lanna is Mark G's wife and being the supportive wife that she is has contributed reviews and her input on the running of the blog. Lanna enjoys puzzle games, FPSs and Civilization. She was also at one stage world champion at Everyday Genius Squarelogic.

Google Trends

A website launched by Google in 2006 that analyses the popularity of top search queries in Google Search. The website uses graphs to compare the search volume of different queries over time.

How the list was made

An arbitrary list of 177 games was compiled (much more than last year's 140 which was again more than the previous year's 97) through a combination of me scouring the Internet for exciting PC titles coming out next year as well as any the contributors could find as well. I used the same scoring as previous years where contributors were given a choice of three potential scores:

0 = Not interested in the game at all
1 = Slightly interested. Keeping my eyes on it and/or will buy it if there's nothing better to get
2 = Must-buy. I will buy it on release or I've already pre-ordered it.

Contributors were asked to assign a 0, 1 or 2 to each of the games on the list. I would then count up the total score and then sort the list by score in descending order.

Unlike previous years, there was no clear winner this year. In fact, there were no games awarded with five points this year but there were two that stood out from the rest with four points. Eight games were awarded a score of three points and a whopping 30 were awarded a score of two. Games that were awarded a score of two (and where one of those votes was by a Human judge) were added to the Honourable Mentions list (16 in total). Games that were awarded points by both human judges were given priority but the raw Google Trends scores were used to assist ranking the games where only one human judge voted for them.

This year, two games on the list appeared in last year's list and there are no crowdfunded projects (which hasn't happened in a very long time).

So I present to you the 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2023 as voted by Choicest Games!

Honourable Mentions:

Aliens: Dark Descent
Arctic Awakening
Blanc
Chants of Sennaar
Colossal Cave Adventure
Company of Heroes 3
Cook Serve Forever
Crime Boss: Rockay City
Matcho
RoboCop: Rogue City
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
Terra Nil
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
The Expanse: A Telltale Series
Transformers Reactivate

10. Minecraft Legends

Yet another game set in the Minecraft universe

The Minecraft universe has already expanded into different genres such as Telltale's graphic adventure version of the game as well as 2020's Diablo-clone, Minecraft Dungeons. It seems like Microsoft are not content to rest on their laurels and now wants Minecraft to receive the "action strategy game" treatment.

Judging by the trailer, it seems that you control a hero character that can recruit armies to vanquish your enemies. There also appears to be some fort or base building involved as well as resource collection, like you'd normally expect in Minecraft. The game looks like a mix of RTS, MOBA and playing a Necromancer in Diablo. Since Blackbird Interactive seems to be collaborating with Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios, you can be assured they have the RTS credentials to pull this off as they were behind such titles like 2016's critically acclaimed Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak.

I live in a household of Minecraft fans and since Minecraft is such a huge franchise, it's no surprise this game is trending on Google, which is why the game has 3 votes out of 6. While I personally am not a Minecraft fan, a strategy game version of it might tip the scales for me, especially if I can play it with my daughters. I suspect many others are in the same boat as me too.

The game is scheduled for release in Q2 2023.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark and Google Trends

Release Date:
Q2 2023

[ LINK: Minecraft Legends Official Website ]

9. Skull and Bones

Definitely getting an Assassin's Creed IV vibe from this game

Skull and Bones has been in development for quite some time now. In fact, it's been in development ever since Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was released in 2013, as its heavily inspired by the naval combat in the game. I do enjoy games to do with the Golden Age of Piracy and naval combat but if there was a spectrum with arcade style combat on one end and realistic on the other, I'm probably leaning towards arcade style for my fun. As the primary developer is Ubisoft Singapore it makes sense that the game is actually set in the Indian Ocean instead of the Caribbean although initially the game was going to be set there, and even the mythical setting of Hyperborea was considered at some point. They eventually settled on the Indian Ocean which i think is a good fit but unfortunately, you can see that the game has been in development hell as it's been almost a decade since they started.

The game looks promising so far. It looks like a modern, multiplayer-only take on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and if they can pull that off, they might be on to a winner. However, as mentioned, it's been in development for a long time so let's just hope it doesn't end up as a jumbled mess of ideas with no clear direction. I've been keeping my eye on this one for a while and keen to see how it turns out. It also looks like there's a lot of interest in the game according to Google too.

Skull and Bones is set for release on 9 March 2023 on Epic Games and Ubisoft Connect (formerly UPlay) for PC. It's currently not scheduled for release on Steam.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark and Google Trends

Release Date:
9 March 2023

[ LINK: Skull and Bones Official Website ]

8. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Cal Kestis returns for the Star Wars Jedi sequel

I'm embarrassed to say this but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is still on my Pile of Shame! I bought it full price from EB Games if I recall correctly and yet I still haven't played it. To make matters worse you can find the game heavily discounted nowadays too! Anyway, I've only heard really good things about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and there's a good chance its sequel will be more of the same.

The game promises to add some new lightsaber styles and Force abilities to those already experienced in the first game and is set five years after it (around the same time as the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" TV series on Disney+). Having watched the excellent "Andor" TV series, I'm hoping there will be some crossovers, especially considering Saw Gerrera made an appearance in Fallen Order. The Sith Inquisitor, Fifth Brother, a character from the TV shows "Star Wars: Rebels" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is already confirmed to make an appearance. I'm looking forward to it and so are a lot of the public according to Google.

The game is scheduled for release on 17th March 2023.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark and Google Trends

Release Date:
17 Mar 2023

[ LINK: Official Star Wars Jedi: Survivor website ]

7. Diablo IV

No, this is not Tyrael

It goes without saying that this is a highly anticipated game. The Diablo series is a long running one and one of the main franchises that Blizzard Entertainment is remembered by (along with Warcraft and Starcraft). The original came out in 1997 followed by a sequel shortly after in 2000 but then it would be another 12 years before a sequel, Diablo III was released. While I couldn't find much to fault with Diablo III, the game seemed even more grindy than previous Diablo games thanks to the addition of the Auction House, although I've heard that since several updates, the game experience has improved (and they removed the Auction House altogether). So almost over a decade since the release of Diablo III we're finally getting another Diablo game in the main series.

Diablo IV follows the events of the expansion pack to Diablo III called Reaper of Souls. Cultists have summoned Lilith, daughter of the demon Mephisto and there is an opportunity for her to take control of the world of Sanctuary as there are hardly any demons or angels left after the events of the previous Diablo games.

In terms of gameplay, it's going to be very similar to previous games although all areas of the world can apparently be explored right from the start (i.e. you don't have different biomes unlocked as you level up). Critical story missions will be triggered when your character reaches a certain level. The game will start with five classes which should be familiar to veterans of the franchise: the Barbarian, Sorceress, Druid and Necromancer return from Diablo II and the Rogue returns from the original Diablo (OG Diablo players represent)!

I'm cautiously optimistic about this one and it looks like there are still a lot of Diablo fans out there according to Google.

The game is scheduled for release on the 6th June 2023.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark and Google Trends

Release Date:
6 June 2023

[ LINK: Diablo IV Official Website ]

6. Starfield

Ground Control to Major Tom

Starfield featured on the Most Anticipated PC Games of 2022 list at the number 4 spot but didn't make its original 11 November 2022 release date which has been pushed to sometime next year. On the surface, the game looks like Fallout 4 in space but that's not necessarily a bad thing for some (unless there's a space Preston Garvey telling me another outpost needs my help - argh!). I am a big fan of sci-fi though and the epic soundtrack plus an organisation focused on exploration of the galaxy screams "Star Trek", which is one of my favourite TV franchises. And best of all, the spaceship you fly in is not just for cosmetic purposes: you can actually customise it and fly it in space and engage other ships in combat. So it's doing a lot that Star Citizen promised but hasn't achieved yet (although to be fair, Starfield is a strictly single-player experience).

I like sci-fi RPGs so I'm looking forward to this and Google suggests a lot of other people are too (probably all the Skyrim, Fallout and sci-fi RPG fans out there).

The game is set for release in 2023.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark and Google Trends

Release Date:
2023

[ LINK: Official Starfield Website ]

5. Party Animals

Nothing to see here, just cute animals fighting on a nuclear sub...

Okay. Some of you might be wondering what a game like this is doing on the list since it's obviously not in the same league as some of the AAA titles already mentioned. Well, physics based games have become quite popular in the past few years and while I'm not always that enamoured with them there are a lot of people that differ in my opinion considering games like Human: Fall Flat have an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam not to mention the anecdotal evidence I have where my daughters and sister-in-law, love the game to bits.

I do however think that when it's not something as frustrating as a puzzle game, physics based games might actually be a lot more fun so I'm willing to give this a try and it looks like Lanna thought the same. While the game isn't generating quite as much buzz on Google as AAA titles there are still a few out there that are interested.

The game is due for release in 2023.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark, Lanna and Google Trends

Release Date:
2023

[ LINK: Official Party Animals Website ]

4. Horizon Chase 2

Oh PC version of Horizon Chase 2, where art thou?

Again, another indie game on the list, and its a sequel to one of the few games that scored a 9 out of 10 on this blog: Horizon Chase Turbo. I already loved the original game as it scratched that nostalgic itch I had for retro arcade racers and as an added bonus, it had veteran composer Barry Leitch scoring the music. Well, next year, the developer has promised more Horizon Chase on PC, but if you have an iPhone or iPad, the game is already available through the Apple store.

The sequel looks like an incremental update over the original, with slightly improved graphics, and more multiplayer and customisation options. The big question is when exactly is it going to be released on PC? And will it be on Steam? They say it's coming out in 2023 but there's been little news since the game released in September. The game is still a popular game to play in our household, especially with friends and family, so I say it can't come soon enough.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark and Lanna

Release Date:
2023

[ LINK: Official Horizon Chase 2 Website ]

3. Ara: History Untold

It's like a historical version of SimCity (2013) from this angle

Published by Xbox Studios and developed by Oxide Studios this game looks like it could be yet another contender for those who enjoy turn-based strategy games like Sid Meier's Civilization. It's probably no surprise then that some of the employees at Oxide Studios are ex-Firaxis developers so I'm hoping that means this will translate into a solid gameplay experience.

There isn't actually much information about the game but the trailer seems to be heavily promoting its alternate history angle which I approve of and the graphics of the game are giving me a SimCity (2013) vibe. I'm definitely curious to see how this one turns out and so does Lanna and the public in general.

The game is set to release in Q2 2023.

Score:
3 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark, Lanna and Google Trends

Release Date:
Q2 2023

[ LINK: Ara: History Untold Official Website ]

2. Hogwarts Legacy

I still haven't read the books

Now we move on to the two games on our list that received 4 votes from the judges and Hogwarts Legacy has featured on both the 2021 list and 2022 list. It goes without saying that J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World (regardless of how you feel about her transphobic views) is a pretty big franchise and has a legion of fans, young and old. While both Lanna and I are interested to see how the game pans out, it has pretty strong interest according to Google. What the trailers have shown so far makes it look promising for any "Harry Potter" fans and those who like fantasy RPGs in general. The game looks like it will have a lot of customisation options, places to visit and spells to use.

The game is set for release on the 10th February 2023

Score:
4 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark, Lanna and Google Trends

Release Date:
10 Feb 2023

[ LINK: Hogwarts Legacy Official Page ]

1. The Wolf Among Us 2

Is that the Tin Man?

The Wolf Among Us 2 has actually featured previously on our blog on the Most Anticipated PC Games of 2018 list but as you can see, it's been four years since then and still no sign of the game. This was because shortly after the announcement of The Wolf Among Us 2, the original Telltale Studios went bankrupt and all of its projects were put into limbo. In 2019 though, a company named LCG Entertainment revived the brand and the game is now in development again. The game is set six months after the events in the first game and looks like it's going to capture the same gritty, neo-noir feel of the original.

There's moderate interest for this game from Lanna as well as the public, but I'm really looking forward to this one as I remember the era of Telltale adventure games fondly and The Wolf Among Us 2 in particular.

The game is set for release sometime in 2023.

Score:
4 out of 6 votes

Voted by:
Mark, Lanna and Google Trends

Release Date:
2023

[ LINK: The Wolf Among Us 2 Official Website ]