A dedicated gamer has raised a significant concern for the industry as 2026's release calendar takes shape: the apparent abandonment of the big budget, skill-based action game by major Western publishers.
The Vanishing Act of AAA Action
While some players lament a shortage of Soulslike titles, the reader, writing for GameCentral, identifies a broader and more troubling trend. They argue that for decades, mainstream publishers have systematically tried to remove the need for skill or thought from video games, viewing difficulty as a barrier to sales. This philosophy, prevalent since the Xbox 360 era, has led to a stark decline in traditional action titles.
The evidence is compelling. An analysis of GameCentral's Top 20 games of 2025 reveals that every non-indie action title was Japanese, with the sole exception of EA-published Split Fiction. The pattern is mirrored on Metacritic, where the highest-ranked Western action game was Ghost Of Yōtei at number 37. The reader points out that Doom: The Dark Ages at number 77 stands as the only straightforward, non-indie, Western-made action game in the entire top 100.
Why Are Western Publishers Holding Back?
The reader proposes two key factors behind this shift. Firstly, they suggest that action mechanics have historically been a weak point for many flagship Western franchises, including Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls, and The Witcher. More critically, they believe publishers are now actively averse to difficulty or complexity in single-player experiences.
"Online multiplayer is different, in their eyes, because that’s what you’re turning up for," the feature states. "But anything that might put people off of buying a game (or spending money on DLC, as is more important nowadays) is, to them, a problem that needs to be solved." The reader also singles out Sony, once a nurturer of action-adventure series, for now contributing to the genre's rarity.
A Sparse 2026 Horizon
Looking ahead, the outlook for 2026 seems limited. The reader's list of known big-budget, Western-made action games is short: Saros, Wolverine, 007 First Light, and Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight. While a new Gears of War is confirmed, the lack of recent news is noted as "not very encouraging."
Despite the monumental success of Elden Ring, which offered a beacon of hope, the reader concludes that Western companies have largely failed to learn its lessons. With development costs soaring, publishers appear increasingly unwilling to demand effort from players, leading to a landscape where the core concept of a challenging, skill-based video game is being cautiously sidestepped.
