Upcoming RPGs That Could Be The New Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Summary

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's unexpected success was propelled by its multi-platform launch, including on Xbox Game Pass.
• The Blood of Dawnwalker offers a unique vampire theme with day/night gameplay mechanics, set for a 2026 release on various platforms.
• Clockwork Revolution combines BioShock and Fallout elements in a steampunk setting from InXile Entertainment, set to release on PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was announced in 2024 by Sandfall Interactive, a new studio established in France by, among others, ex-Ubisoft devs. A turn-based game from France sounded strange, but looked promising, yet no one could have predicted how good it would turn out a year later. Thanks to its launch on multiple platforms, including Xbox Game Pass, Expedition 33 catapulted into the stratosphere of popularity, and no other RPG in 2025 has hit this hard.

Are there RPGs like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that could beat it? They don’t have to be turn-based necessarily. The atmosphere, art design, story, and nostalgic factors all helped Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stand out. If any of these games hit those similar notes, they could become just as popular, if not more so.

The Blood Of Dawnwalker

A Vampiric Witcher

The Blood of Dawnwalker is an action RPG from a brand-new developer called Rebel Wolves, a studio formed by one of the three directors of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. It takes place in 14th-century Europe and follows the protagonist, Coen, who can walk as a human by day and a vampire at night, with powers and traversal options differing between the two settings.

The Blood of Dawnwalker was announced earlier in 2025 and is set to release sometime in 2026, thanks to Bandai Namco helping publish it on several platforms, including PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. A recent gameplay showcase has fans buzzing, as it appears to feature much of what players loved about The Witcher 3, but with an exciting vampire twist.

Clockwork Revolution

Control Your Destiny

Clockwork Revolution resembles BioShock meets Fallout with its inventive city, Avalon, and being set in 1895. It’s being developed by InXile Entertainment, which is a legendary RPG developer that worked on classics like The Bard's Tale and modern marvels like the Wasteland series.

Clockwork Revolution was announced in 2023 and recently got a long breakdown trailer during the June 2025 Xbox Showcase (which was also where Expedition 33 was revealed a year earlier). There is character customization, dialogue options, weapon upgrades, and time manipulation, all of which look fantastic Clockwork Revolution has no set release date, but it has been loosely confirmed for 2026 and should be launching on platforms like PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Octopath Traveler 0

A Mobile Game Reborn

Octopath Traveler 0 is a prequel to the Octopath Traveler series, and it’s based on a mobile game from 2020 called Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. It looks like most entries in the Square Enix series, but with a few exciting twists.

Players can create their own character, they can use eight characters in turn-based combat instead of the previous four, and there are base-building mechanics. Fans of the Octopath Traveler series and turn-based RPGs in general won’t have to wait long, as Octopath Traveler 0 is set to debut on December 4, 2025, on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S. Fans of the HD-2D style may also want to keep an eye on Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake.

The Outer Worlds 2

The Next Xbox Game Pass Hit?

The Outer Worlds 2 was announced in 2021, two years after the first game debuted, and the sequel is finally set to release on October 29, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It’s the last game coming out of Obsidian Entertainment this year, which already fully launched Avowed back in February, and Grounded 2 just went into Early Access in July.

The Outer Worlds 2 looks more or less like the first game, with first-person combat, wacky weapons, diverse companions, lots of upgrade paths, humor, and more, but all of it has been given a current-gen polish that suggests this sequel will be a step up in every way. Can The Outer Worlds 2 outdo the original and become the next big Xbox Game Pass hit?

Persona 4 Revival

A Classic Returns

Persona 4 has had a long history of ports, including the 2008 original version on the PS2. Persona, as a turn-based RPG series, and Persona 4 specifically, didn’t pop off with a larger crowd until the PS Vita version was released in 2012. Since then, the popularity of the franchise has grown beyond a niche crowd, leading to many Persona sequels, spinoffs, and remakes, like Persona 3 Reload in 2024.

Persona 4 Revival, a wholesale remake of the original game, has no set release date and barely showed any gameplay during the Xbox June event in 2025 when it was announced. Still, it was enough to pump up Persona fans, who are hoping to see it in 2026 for platforms like PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

SacriFire

An Indie HD-2D Game

• Developer: Pixelated Milk
• Publisher: Pixelated Milk
• Planned Release Date: Q1 2026
• Upcoming Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

SacriFire is an indie RPG first announced in 2021 by the relatively unknown developer Pixelated Milk. The planned release dates and platforms have changed between updates on the Kickstarter campaign page, but the game is expected to come to PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

It’s a bit worrying whenever an indie game takes this long to release, but it looks promising every time a new trailer drops, as it is borrowing the HD-2D style from Square Enix, which has only become more popular in the years since its announcement. According to Steam, SacriFire is set to be released in the first quarter of 2026, meaning by April at the latest.

Stranger Than Heaven

The Yakuza Team’s Next Big RPG

This game was first announced as Project Century in 2024 and touted as the Yakuza team at Sega’s next big project. The release date is still TBA, but the full name, Stranger Than Heaven, was announced at Summer Game Fest 2025 for unspecified platforms.

While details about the game are vague, it does show a mysterious protagonist going through different time periods, like 1915 and 1943, seemingly without aging. This is something completely new to the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, unless fans count Like a Dragon: Isshin!'s foray into Japanese history. Yakuza fans can expect plenty of spectacular brawling and RPG elements to creep in whenever Stranger Than Heaven launches.

Sea Of Remnants

Sea Of Thieves Meets Persona

Sea of Remnants made its presence known quietly online in May 2025 before getting its big debut during Sony’s June 2025 State of Play. The trailer was all over the place, featuring pirate characters with puppet-like designs exploring towns, sailing, fighting in turn-based combat, and more.

Beyond the puppetry, the aesthetic overall is stunning, like a watercolor work of art. It’s being made by a first-time developer, Joker Studio, and Sea of Remnants is set to release sometime in 2026 for mobile platforms, PC, and PS5. Those interested can pre-register now, as it looks like it will be a free-to-play RPG, which shouldn’t detract from the hype factor, given the stellar showing it's had to this point.