Splatoon Raiders proved salmon-run-style co-op still lands, but Nintendo keeps it locked to Switch. Seven co-op shooter games on desktop that scratch the four-player-team itch.
Ubisoft teased the next Ghost Recon for August. Seven tactical shooter alternatives for PC when Wildlands and Breakpoint have run their course.
Hot Bat Summer just landed in Fortnite. Seven Fortnite alternatives for Windows and macOS if you want a different battle royale in 2026.
DEEPWARD's mix of Doom-style speed, BioShock atmosphere, and hero-shooter roster is a 2027 release. Seven boomer shooters that hit the same nerve on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is not on Android. Eight wild west games for Android we tested in 2026, from Wild West Cowboy Redemption to Westland Survival, ranked.
Duncan Jones is making a Rogue Trooper movie and Rebellion's 2000AD shooter is back on the radar. Seven Rogue Trooper Redux alternatives worth firing up on PC.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2 is coming and the appetite for anime-styled cyberpunk action is back. Seven desktop games for Windows that scratch the Edgerunners itch.
Battlefield 6 pulled Criterion off Burnout to focus on Battlefield. If BF6 is not for you, here are 7 large-scale military FPS alternatives on Steam.
id Software layoffs put a question mark next to future Quake work. Seven Quake alternatives that keep the fast-movement single-player shooter alive on desktop.
The GTX 1070 turned ten and it still runs modern games at 1080p. Eight games that look and play well on a budget or aging GPU, ranked by frame stability.
Evil Dead Burn brought the franchise back into the conversation, but Evil Dead: The Game's servers are shrinking. Seven co-op survival horror alternatives that fill the gap.
Doom's source is 29 years old and the ports are stronger than ever. Seven classic Doom source port apps for desktop that cover purism, mods, and multiplayer.
GTA Online's Kortz Center art heist is drawing players back, but Payday 3 still splits the room. Seven of the best heist games on desktop for a full evening or a career.
Warframe finally landed on Google Play, but not everyone will squeeze it onto their phone. These 7 Warframe alternatives on Android hit the same free-to-play action loop.
Playing Free Fire on PC through an emulator adds input lag and matchmaking friction that native battle royales avoid. Seven Free Fire alternatives for PC we tested.
EVE Vanguard's Operation Avalon alpha is live but on a clock. Seven EVE Vanguard alternatives on PC for hardcore shooters, extraction FPS, and persistent-world combat.
Arc Raiders 1.36 landed with the trio and solo tracking split. Seven desktop extraction shooters, from Hunt: Showdown to Escape from Tarkov, ranked for solo runs and squad nights.
H3VR finally left Early Access after 10 years. Seven Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades alternatives for VR shooters on Windows PC we tested.
Wolfenstein 3 is reportedly in development with an Amazon TV series to follow. Seven boomer shooters for PC that keep the movement and mood of the 90s originals alive.
Marvel Rivals' new Captain America swimsuit skin pulled the genre back into headlines. Seven hero shooter games for PC that go beyond Overwatch and Marvel Rivals.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a hard game to follow. Here are 7 alternatives on PC that hit different pieces of what made Night City special.
CS2 is Steam's top shooter again in 2026, but the meta grind burns out players fast. Seven Counter-Strike 2 alternatives on PC for tactical, hero, and arena shooter fans.
With Mega Man: Dual Override still on the horizon, these seven Mega Man-style action platformers on desktop scratch the same run-and-gun itch right now.
The soulslike western niche keeps growing. Seven desktop picks that pair frontier and weird-west settings with the punishing combat we tested for months.
The best superhero games on PC in 2026: Marvel Rivals, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, Marvel's Midnight Suns, Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman: Arkham Knight, Injustice 2, DC Universe Online, Suicide Squad.
Guns of Eschaton is Viktor Antonov's supernatural Western soulslike FPS. Seven Guns of Eschaton alternatives on PC to play while you wait for release.
Modern Warfare 4 skips Xbox Game Pass at launch and lands October 23, 2026. Seven MW4 alternatives on PC for players who want military shooters without the season pass.
Payday 2's Diesel 3.0 open beta starts June 30 with 64-bit and DX11, but the long-term shape is uncertain. Seven heist-shooter alternatives for Windows that play right now.
Wildgate's active development is ending, but the spaceship co-op crew shooter shape is alive on PC. Here are 7 Wildgate alternatives for desktop that keep the crew of friends, the engine room, and the laser cannons.
Wardogs promises hardcore gunplay with progression that sticks. We rounded up 7 desktop FPS alternatives that respect your time the same way.
Riot announced League of Legends Classic to bring the game back to its 2010 roots, but if you want a real LoL alternative on PC these 7 desktop MOBAs and MOBA-shooters cover the genre's full range.
Modern Warfare III splits its own community every season. Seven Modern Warfare 3 alternatives for PC across military shooters, free-to-play arena FPS, and hardcore tactical games.
Lara Croft turns 30 this year. We tested 7 PC alternatives to the Tomb Raider series that hold up — action-adventure for fans of the franchise.
GTA 6 ships first on console and PC is months out. We picked 7 open-world crime games on PC that scratch the same itch while you wait for the port.
Star Wars Galactic Racer has the original-trilogy spirit. Eight Star Wars games for Windows, macOS, and Linux that already deliver, from the Jedi saga to the KOTOR catalogue.
Valorant's Act 4 dropped a new map and a new mode, but if you've already burned out on the queue, these 7 Valorant alternatives on PC keep the tactical-shooter itch scratched.
Star Fox got a refresh, and Polygon's quick guide rekindled the on-rails cockpit itch. These 7 space shooter games on PC give modern pilots a real ship and a real galaxy.
GTA 6 is still on the horizon, and the Rockstar legal dispute keeps surfacing. We ranked 7 Rockstar-style open-world games on PC worth playing while you wait.
Polygon's weekend-free Steam list is fun, but the real value is the always-free titles. We tested 8 of the best free-to-play multiplayer PC games in 2026.
Dead Space dropped to $6 on Steam. If you've finished the remake and want what's next, these 7 Dead Space alternatives keep the sci-fi survival horror going.
Bobby Prince's death sent a generation back to the original DOOM. Seven DOOM alternatives for Windows, Mac, and Linux, covering boomer shooters old and new.
Pragmata's training simulation 30 nerf shifted the difficulty curve, but the puzzle-shooter itch is real. Seven Pragmata alternatives on PC for the same sci-fi action loop.
No Law's 2026 reveal pulled cyberpunk shooters back to the top of PC wishlists. Seven games ranked on combat depth, world design, and value.
Polygon's coverage of the Black Ops 1 and 2 re-releases reignited the series. Seven Call of Duty: Black Ops alternatives for PC with the same military FPS pace.
Jade Shadow's constellations gave Warframe a heat spike again. We tested 7 Warframe alternatives on Windows that scratch the same free-to-play looter shooter itch.
Hellraiser Revival's October launch and the Summer Game Fest preview reignited the survival-horror conversation. Seven Hellraiser: Revival alternatives on Windows, macOS, and Linux for the wait and the appetite after.
Titanfall 3 isn't coming. Empulse is the closest substitute, but it's not the only one. Seven Titanfall 2 alternatives that capture the wall-running, parkour-FPS feel on PC.
Dead by Daylight is ten years old and the meta has calcified. These seven asymmetric horror alternatives on PC offer fresh killer-vs-survivor dynamics.
Battlefield Hardline's servers shut down on PS4 and Xbox One this month. These seven multiplayer FPS alternatives on PC keep the cops-and-robbers itch alive.
Team Fortress 2 turns 19 this year. Seven Team Fortress 2 alternatives for Windows that capture the class-shooter feel, from Overwatch 2 to Deadlock and Deep Rock Galactic.
IGI 2: Covert Strike is a stealth-shooter classic, but 2003 design choices age unevenly. We tested 7 IGI 2: Covert Strike alternatives for desktop in 2026.
Speed Freeks is free on Epic this week. We ranked the 8 best Warhammer 40K games for PC in 2026, from $9 Boltgun to $59.99 Space Marine 2.
Seven asymmetric multiplayer horror games for PC, compared by killer design, survivor pacing, queue health, and how each handles the four-versus-one tension.
Turok: Origins lands fall 2026. We tested 7 dinosaur-and-jungle action alternatives on PC right now that already deliver the bow-and-shotgun rush.
Hero 52 Shion just dropped and Overwatch 2's PC base is restless. Seven Overwatch alternatives on Windows that compete on hero design, team synergy, or pace.
Halo: Campaign Evolved isn't out yet, but the itch is. We tested 7 alternatives that scratch the same arena shooter spot on PC right now.
Gundam Rogue Orbit lands in 2027. We tested 7 mech-action alternatives on PC right now that scratch the cockpit-and-thruster itch.
Gears of War: E-Day is still ahead on the calendar. We tested 7 third-person cover shooters that scratch the same chunky-gunplay itch right now on PC.
Cyclops just dropped and Season 4 is incoming, but if you want a hero shooter break from Marvel Rivals, seven solid alternatives on PC are worth a run.
Star Fox returns on Switch 2, but PC players want space combat now. Seven Star Fox alternatives for desktop across dogfighting, on-rails shooters, and roguelikes.
Destiny 2's Monument of Triumph closes the live-service era. Seven Destiny 2 alternatives for PC that respect your loot, your time, and your wallet.
The Halo: Combat Evolved remake lands this summer. Until it ships, we ranked 7 PC shooters that capture the same sandbox-vs-Covenant rhythm.
Gears of War: E-Day arrives this fall, PC included. While we wait, we ranked 7 PC games that hit the same cover-shooting, chainsaw-bayonet weight.
Xbox just showed Clockwork Revolution, the BioShock-like RPG. While we wait, we ranked 7 PC immersive sims that hit the same plasmid-and-narrative weight.
Gundam Rogue Orbit just got revealed, with action-game director Hidetaka Miyazaki acknowledged. Here are 7 Armored Core alternatives worth playing on PC right now.
ARC Raiders reset what an extraction shooter can feel like, and now Modern Warfare 4's DMZ is chasing it. Here are seven ARC Raiders alternatives worth your evenings.
Crossfire is getting a fresh cover-shooter reboot from ex-Modern Warfare devs. Seven Crossfire alternatives for Windows for tactical FPS players right now.
Control Resonant got a bold sequel reveal but the wait is real. Seven Control alternatives for Windows for fans of Remedy's paranormal third-person action.
Alien Isolation 2 was announced at Summer Game Fest 2026. Seven Alien Isolation alternatives for Windows for survival-horror fans waiting for the sequel.
The galactic war is shifting again. We ranked 7 co-op PvE shooters on Steam that scratch the same teamwork, friendly-fire, and big-bug itch as Helldivers 2.
Marathon's season 2 launch has been bumpy and the extraction-shooter audience is already shopping around. Seven Marathon alternatives for Windows, ranked by what they do better.
Call of Duty Warzone is winding down on PC, and the battle royale crowd is moving. We ranked 7 free and paid Warzone alternatives on Steam.
007 First Light is IO Interactive's prestige Bond origin, but the wait is real and the post-launch content thin. Seven 007 First Light alternatives for Windows that fill the gap.
Modern Warfare 4 signaled a return to grounded, round-based shooters. These seven tactical shooter games for Android nail the low-TTK, recoil-driven CS feel on a phone.
GTA V is over a decade old and GTA Online keeps drifting toward monetization. We tested 7 GTA V alternatives for desktop that scratch the open-world itch in 2026.
Snipers Duel is the tactical 1v1 PvP draw, but matchmaking and weapon balance stall fast. Here are 7 Snipers Duel alternatives across sniper, puzzle-shot, and assassin games.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is back and the genre is busy. These seven Android FPS games deliver realistic loadouts, tactical maps and competitive multiplayer in 2026.
With Modern Warfare 4 on the way and CoD Mobile feeling stale to many players, these seven mobile shooters fill the gap on Android.
007 First Light made the tutorial more fun than most full games. These 8 spy and secret agent games on Android keep that energy on a phone.
PUBG on PC keeps losing players to cheaters and rough performance. We tested 7 PUBG alternatives for desktop that hold up better in 2026.
Destiny 2 is winding down and there is no true Borderlands on phones, but these 8 loot-driven shooter games for Android come the closest.
Serious Sam never made it to phones. These seven Android arena FPS and horde shooter games come closest, with notes on touch controls and online stability.
Arc Raiders pushed extraction shooters into the mainstream, but the genre has been growing on mobile for years. Seven Android picks that nail the loot-and-extract loop on a phone.
From Soul Knight's pixel dungeons to Vampire Survivors on a phone, these seven twin-stick shooter games for Android cover roguelikes, neon arcades, and the survivors-like wave that took over 2025.
Star Wars Outlaws on PlayStation Plus has revived interest in the franchise. These seven Star Wars games on Android cover hero collection, classic RPG, real-time shooter, pinball, and free-to-play picks.
Marvel Rivals is on PC and console only. These seven hero shooter games for Android are the closest mobile picks, with unique characters and team-based combat.
With Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 announced and the squad-shooter genre back on console, here are seven co-op shooter games on Android worth playing with friends, from CoD Mobile Zombies to Arena Breakout.
The Star Fox redesign sent everyone back to a genre that never really left mobile. These seven space shooter games for Android cover bullet hells, vertical scrollers, and 3D dogfights.
