Overwatch reboots; Marathon comes for ARC Raiders' crown; and Bond, James Bond.

If there’s one thing 2026 is shaping up to prove, it’s that the shooter—and action—space is very much alive. Between a revitalized hero shooter, a pair of extraction-heavy contenders, and a slick new take on the world’s most famous spy, this could be the rare year where just about everyone finds something worth sinking time into.

When 2025 wrapped, the long-running FPS arms race between Call of Duty and Battlefield fizzled into an uneasy draw. Neither Battlefield 6 nor Black Ops 7 managed to leave much of a footprint beyond the usual pre-launch internet skirmishes, and both seemed to fade faster than expected. For a genre that thrives on momentum, it felt like a lull.

That lull didn’t last long.

In a move that feels equal parts bold and overdue, Blizzard Entertainment has finally untangled the mess surrounding Overwatch’s troubled sequel era. What was once Overwatch 2—a rushed, half-baked follow-up that seemed to stall a once-beloved franchise—has now been fully rebranded. As of last week, it’s simply Overwatch again: an evergreen platform built to grow, with renewed emphasis on story-driven events, meaningful quality-of-life improvements, and a steadier content cadence.

I dipped back into the game last summer after nearly five years away, and the turnaround is undeniable. It’s colorful, fast, rewarding, and arguably the tightest multiplayer FPS on the market right now. Best of all, it’s free-to-play and enjoying what feels like its biggest moment since 2016. With more than 40 heroes covering every imaginable playstyle, Overwatch once again earns its old reputation as something anyone can enjoy.

March brings another major swing with Bungie’s first new release since Destiny 2: Marathon. A PvPvE extraction shooter reboot of the studio’s influential 1990s series, Marathon returns to the genre Bungie helped define long before Halo changed the industry.

Like the buzzworthy ARC Raiders, Marathon drops players onto a hostile, ruined world—in this case, Tau Ceti—where you play as cybernetic “Runners” navigating a failed colonization effort overseen by warring, godlike A.I. systems. A free-to-play weekend runs February 26 through March 3, ahead of its $40 launch on March 6.

Not everyone wants multiplayer chaos, though, and 2026 has that covered too. May sees the arrival of 007: First Light, a third-person action-adventure from IO Interactive, the studio behind Hitman. The game serves as a fresh reboot of the Bond saga, starring a younger-than-ever James Bond on his very first high-stakes mission.

007: First Light launches May 27, and if IO Interactive brings even half of its trademark precision and style to the license, it could be something special.

Between a reborn Overwatch, two promising extraction shooters, and Bond stepping back into the spotlight, 2026 is already shaping up as a year where the question isn’t what to play—it’s when you’ll find the time.