2020 was a fantastic year for gaming. As well as all of the great games that it brought with it, there were plenty of pleasant surprises as well. Numerous long dormant franchises returned from the dead and a brand new generation of consoles also entered the fray. As a result, 2021 has a lot to live up.

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Things have already gotten off to a pretty decent start, with the first few months of the year ushering in some pretty big news. That said, there remain plenty of titles that fans would love to see announced before the year is out. Even if only a few of them are, 2021 will still have been an incredible year.

10 Resident Evil 4 Remake

Resident Evil 4 RE2 RE3

Following the fantastic remakes of the second and third Resident Evil games, RE:M4KE seems like something of a certainty. Even so, with the team currently focusing much of their attention on the upcoming Resident Evil Village, an announcement is still to be made. That doesn't mean that it's not happening though.

There have been numerous leaks about Resident Evil 4 Remake already, with the latest suggesting that it could be arriving in 2023. Of course, until Capcom provides the world with anything official or the leakers can obtain some irrefutable proof of their claims, it's all just hearsay for now.

9 Silent Hills

silent hill entry fog

At this point, whether it comes in the form of a new entry or simply a remake of the original game doesn't really matter. Fans just want more Silent Hill. Despite regular rumors claiming that at least one new game is already in development, however, the lack of any official announcement perhaps suggests otherwise.

P.T. gave fans an idea of what a modern Silent Hill game might look like and they couldn't get enough of it. Although the project was ultimately scrapped, the positive response that the demo received should have been more than enough to convince Konami to make it happen. Perhaps it was, but until something concrete is announced, fans can only wait.

8 Shenmue IV

Ryo seeking revenge in Shenmue 3

Waiting is something that Shenmue fans know all too well, with almost two decades having separated the releases of the series' second and third installments. While the latter may not have quite lived up to everybody's expectations though, the fanbase remains desperate to see where Ryo's journey will take him next and will be hoping that the wait to find out is a little bit shorter this time around.

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Despite Shenmue 3's lukewarm reception, the series has arguably never been in a better place. There's a Shenmue anime on the horizon and a renewed sense of hope amongst the community. Better still, Shenmue 3's producer, Cedric Biscay, recently announced that he and Yu Suzuki are currently pitching a fourth game to developers and so, with any luck, there'll be an announcement sooner rather than later.

7 Yakuza 8

Sega PlayStation 5

It might seem like only yesterday that Yakuza: Like A Dragon released, but the game has actually been available in Japan for well over a year now. Given that the team at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has typically released a new Yakuza-related title every 12 to 18 months, the next one could be just around the corner.

During a recent livestream celebrating the franchize's 15th anniversary, series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi mentioned that a new Yakuza game is already in the works. He didn't elaborate on whether it would be another spinoff title or the next mainline entry, but due to how much of the environments and assets are recycled across entries, the latter is a strong possibility.

6 Street Fighter 6

STREET FIGHTER V gameplay screenshot

The fifth Street Fighter game released more than five years ago now and, despite a rocky release period, it has gone on to become one of the series' better installments. Although Capcom has done a fairly decent job of keeping the game fresh with regular updates though, it's definitely starting to show its age.

A new Street Fighter game is inevitable at some point, but when exactly it will arrive remains something of a mystery. There have been several leaks though, with one of the latest suggesting that Capcom has three versions of Street Fighter VI already planned out. With any luck, an announcement to confirm this will arrive sometime soon.

5 Mortal Kombat 12

Mortal Kombat In Game Art Scorpion Versus Sub Zero

One of the franchises that benefited the most from Street Fighter V's early teething problems is Mortal Kombat, with the series seizing on the opportunity to cement its place as one of the very best in the fighting genre. With that in mind, it would make sense for the team over at NetherRealm Studios to strike while the iron is hot rather than waiting for the competition to make up ground.

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New installments in the series have typically released around three or four years apart, so 2022 is probably the earliest fans can expect a new Mortal Kombat game to arrive. The last two have been announced within ten months of their eventual releases though and so a 2021 announcement could definitely be on the cards.

4 Chrono Break

Chrono Break

To many people, Chrono Trigger is the greatest JRPG of all time. It features an incredible story, a wonderful cast of characters and one of the best combat systems to ever grace the genre. With the recent success of Final Fantasy VII Remake, now seems like the perfect time for Square Enix to finally dust off the Chrono series.

This could come in the form of a remake, although a true continuation of the series seems to be a much safer bet. Chrono Break was once planned to be that game and was briefly in development around the turn of the century. Things didn't quite work out, but many of the team behind the original game remain eager to continue Crono's story, as too do fans of the series.

3 Grand Theft Auto VI

GTA 6 Fake Leak

Sadly, it's not looking too likely that Rockstar will be announcing a new Grand Theft Auto game anytime soon, especially with the next gen ports of GTA V still to arrive. Once they're out of the way though, the company might start to open up a bit more about the game's long awaited sequel.

This year will mark the eighth anniversary of GTA V's release, which is by far the longest Rockstar has ever gone without releasing a new GTA title. In fact, the four mainline titles that preceded GTA V released over a span of just seven years, which really does go to show how overdue Grand Theft Auto VI really is.

2 Half-Life 3

Gordon Freeman (Half-Life)

A list of most wanted games just wouldn't be complete without Half-Life 3 and, for once, fans of the series can at least be a little optimistic that this might finally be the year. At least if recent events are anything to go by, anyway.

After more than a decade of dormancy, the release of Half-Life: Alyx last year shows that the series is still very much in the minds of those at Valve. What's more, its critical and commercial success may be enough to convince them that now is finally the right time to bring Freeman back into the fray.

1 Super Mario Odyssey 2

Super Mario March 2021 Sad

Although the recently released Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury should be enough to hold fans over for a little while longer, what they really want is a brand new Mario game. The last one came in 2017, making the period since the longest without a new Mario title since the window between 64 and Sunshine more than two decades ago.

Despite constant speculation that a direct sequel to Super Mario Odyssey is in the works, however, Nintendo remains tight-lipped regarding the future of everybody's favorite plumber. That he'll return at some point is all but guaranteed, but when exactly that will be, only the decision makers at Nintendo really know.

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