6 Upcoming Steam Games That Should Be on Your Wishlist
Published Sep 11, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT
There are some bit sci-fi games on the horizon
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Wishlister is a weekly newsletter bringing you a curated list of upcoming Steam games worth adding to your wishlist, sent on Tuesdays and published on the site on Fridays. You can subscribe here.
Gamescom may be far in the rearview mirror, but it’s still at the front of our minds. We demoed so many games at the massive expo that we were still picking through the highlights a full week later. Last week’s edition of Wishlister put a spotlight on some neat games we saw during Opening Night Live, but this week, we’re rounding up some of the best games that we actually went hands-on with at the show. We can confidently say that all six of these games are worth wishlisting on Steam this week.
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1 Exterminauts
We’re far enough away from Helldivers 2’s breakout success that we’re starting to see some great co-op shooters inspired by it. Case in point: Exterminauts. Behaviour Interactive’s team-based shooter riffs on Helldivers’ formula for a chaotic PvE game that makes great use of its alien sci-fi setting. After playing one round, Polygon’s Ford James was instantly in.
2 Wilderings: The Lost Spring
Herobeat Studios, the team behind the emotional Endling: Extinction is Forever, is going in a very different direction with its next game. Wilderings: The Lost Spring is an action roguelike meets creature collector — a fusion between Hades and Pokémon. It’s a fun premise, and it still plays to Herobeat’s strengths by putting an emphasis on environmental restoration as much as roguelike action.
3 No Law
In 2021, developer Neon Giant impressed with its debut sci-fi game, The Ascent. For its follow-up, the Swedish studio is going much bigger. No Law is an immersive sim set in a cyberpunk city overrun by greenery and sleazy NPCs. Its approach to player choice goes very deep; one misthrown grenade that lands in a bodega owner’s window could mean that his shop will close down for the rest of the game.
4 Guns of Eschaton
You’ve surely played your fair share of Soulslikes at this point in life, but have you ever played a first-person shooter Soulslike set in a post-apocalyptic wild west? Yeah, I didn’t think so! Guns of Eschaton is the brainchild of the late Viktor Antonov, a developer who helped create FPS greats like Half-Life 2. His studio, Eschatology Entertainment, is carrying on his legacy with a strange, intense shooter set to launch in December.
5 The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader developer Owlcat Games will tackle another sci-fi juggernaut next year with The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Set in the same universe as the Expanse book series, Osiris Reborn is an action RPG that makes great use of its source material’s rich worldbuilding. We tried it at Gamescom and walked away impressed by the story’s rich political turmoil, something that will be very familiar for fans of the series.
6 Alien Deathstorm
Sniper Elite developer Rebellion branched out in 2025 with its Fallout-like Atomfall, and it’s set to do that again next year with Alien Deathstorm. You probably don’t need much of an explanation beyond that title, but the first-person shooter sends you into an alien-infested colony and lets you play exterminator with guns. It plays remarkably well so far thanks to smart alien foes that can react to your gung-ho playstyle.
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