Gaming in 2026 is a renaissance of the 2013 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era

Gaming in 2026 is a tricky subject. It’s riddled with controversy at the moment, and what was once a hobby about escapism is now something many want to escape from.

Companies like PlayStation and Xbox claim to have the best interests of gamers in mind, but between the heralded end of physical media and layoffs sweeping through the industry, you’d be forgiven for not buying what they’re selling.

Hope still remains, though. Whether it was done by design or happened purely by chance, the good old days of gaming have returned in 2026 in more ways than one.

PC is the last bastion of game preservation

Preservation is at the front of many people’s minds right now, especially with the impending closure of the PlayStation 3 digital store and the end of PlayStation disc production in 2028.

GOG has been making great efforts on this front by bringing back loads of classic games for new audiences, and it even has a feature that’ll let you transfer your digital game to a disc if you want to keep your collection physical.

There have also been several technological breakthroughs when it comes to emulation. Decompilations are all the rage nowadays, and not only do they provide working, stable PC ports of classic games, but they can also be enhanced by the latest hardware to become the best version of themselves.

Success has already been achieved on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 decompilations, which is great news for the latter in light of the store closure.

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Remakes, remasters, and other blasts from the past

Down to the meat and potatoes, some of the best games from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 eras have been making a comeback in various ways.

In 2013, we were playing Grand Theft Auto V, Rayman Legends, Pokemon X & Y, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and many of us were still playing the Call of Duty Black Ops games (Call of Duty Ghosts released in 2013 and was dire).

Compare that to 2026 and we’ll soon be playing Grand Theft Auto VI and Rayman Legends Retold. We got Pokemon Legends Z-A late last year, and we’re currently playing Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, Call of Duty Black Ops, and Call of Duty Black Ops II thanks to new ports on PlayStation 5. It’s not exactly how we remember it, but the feeling is still there.

Remakes, remasters, and re-releases often get a lot of flak for being lazy, but during the gaming industry’s darkest days, we welcome them with open arms, flaws and all.

It feels like just the beginning, too. We’ve got Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day on the way, bringing two critically-acclaimed series back to where it all started.

Gaming icons like Spyro the Dragon are also returning next year, and hopefully, he’ll be joined by plenty of other familiar faces we’d love to see again.

All of this isn’t meant to discredit the brand-new games coming out either. Plenty of upcoming AAAs look excellent, but with so many studios being culled at the moment, it’s hard to get excited for the next big thing knowing what sacrifices were made to deliver it.

It’s all very doom-and-gloom at the minute, unfortunately, and we’re not likely to climb out of the pit anytime soon. However, that’s not to say that there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, and if throwbacks to simpler times are what it takes to pull us out of the dark, keep them coming.