July 2026 has seen the release of not one, but two major video game remakes with Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced and Halo: Campaign Evolved bookending the month. This comes on the heels of several other high-profile remakes released throughout the year, with several more set for release later in 2026 that already have the wider video game industry buzzing. Simply put, if you thought movies and television were remaking established properties too often, they have nothing on the video game industry these days, with the biggest publishers and platforms all embracing the modern remake trend.

One of the first major remakes of the year was a modern revamp of the classic survival horror game Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly this past March, which retained the overall story of the original, but offered a modern technical presentation and some quality of life improvements. This was followed by a remake of Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo Switch 2 this past June, simply titled Star Fox, which also retained the story and level layouts, but with refined gameplay and additional story beats and features to flesh out the experience. This latter release was something of a surprising one for Nintendo, which historically stays away from remaking its past titles, preferring to remaster them or make official emulations available digitally through its premium subscription service.

More than just remaking Star Fox 64, Nintendo has quietly been busy working on remakes for the Switch 2, including what is shaping up to be one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of 2026. Shortly before the release of Star Fox for the Switch 2, Nintendo confirmed it was working on a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for release at a currently undisclosed date this year. True to form, Nintendo is keeping details about this remake tightly under wraps, including no reveals of its gameplay at this time. Even Ubisoft has another remake cooking this year after Black Flag, with Rayman Legends getting remade for modern platforms as Rayman Legends Retold.

To reiterate and clarify, we’re talking about remakes not remasters; with remakes completely building a game from the ground-up, rather than taking the original assets and source code and updating them for modern platforms. Remasters have been a steady presence in the gaming industry for decades, with companies like Capcom and Digital Eclipse constantly remastering past titles each generation for well-received collections, taking advantage of newer hardware. What we’re focusing on here are games that were wholly rebuilt, sometimes incredibly faithfully to the look and feel of the original title and sometimes diverging from it in radical ways.

Speaking of Capcom, this trend of gaming remakes really can be attributed to them, dating as far back as the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil on the GameCube. Critically acclaimed as an all-around improvement over the 1996 title, Capcom went on to remake other Resident Evil titles to critical and commercial success over the past several years. Other companies have since followed suit, with Konami remaking Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, with a remake of the original Silent Hill on the way. These remakes have also been successful for Konami, though the Snake Eater retread may have played it a bit too safe in updating the 2004 title.

The rationale behind these remakes make perfect logistical sense: Take a title with a built-in fanbase, a narrative and general level design that’s already broadly laid out, and redo it for modern platforms with the benefit of hindsight. But as much as we love the Resident Evil remakes, what we loved about Resident Evil Requiem is that it honored the past while presenting players with something that was wholly new and original within the franchise. Something like Halo: Campaign Evolved comes with nothing new on the horizon for the venerable Xbox series, more positioned as a glorified excuse to bring Halo to PlayStation for the first time.

To be sure, there are plenty of new experiences coming to gaming platforms throughout the year, both within established franchises and as completely original properties. Mixtape was an indie hit that felt refreshingly unique and a surefire shoe-in for accolades during awards season at the end of the year. The year has seen new titles like Crimson Desert and Pragmata thrill millions of gamers since their respective launches. But as far as returning franchises, it does feel like remakes are playing an increasing prominence in the industry, highlighting a growing need for more original ideas.

— Sam Stone, Den of Geek contributor

This trend of video game remakes is already poised to continue beyond 2026, of course. Among the biggest announcements at Summer Game Fest 2026 last month were the announcements for a remake of Resident Evil - Code: Veronica and the official reveal of the third and final installment of Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Revelation. Another major release in 2027 is Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, itself a remake of the original 1996 Tomb Raider.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re excited about each of these titles. But remakes are very much here to stay for the foreseeable future. And with Nintendo finally getting in on the remake trend, maybe we can expect to see a handful of familiar titles get reintroduced for the Switch 2.

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