First-person shooters are a dime a dozen

First-person shooters are an incredibly common genre in 2025, and numerous have been released throughout the year to widespread praise. However, not all shooters are created equal, and there are several new FPS games that have completely missed the mark.

With so many options on the FPS market, we’d like to shed some light on why some shooters fail and how new titles can stand out in a sea of similarity, especially as we move into 2026.

First-person shooters remain one of the leading genres in video games today, with dozens of FPS games releasing in 2025 alone. New options on the market, like FragPunk and Delta Force, offer free-to-play gameplay with a few fun twists, while sequels such as Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 are more familiar to longtime gamers.

Though there are tons of new shooters released nearly every month, most multiplayer PvP games struggle to stand out. Despite Black Ops 7’s new Endgame mode and unique mechanics in games like FragPunk, shooters by and large feel very similar to how they functioned 15 years ago.

Sequels like Rainbow Six Siege X, Overwatch 2, Black Ops 7, and even Battlefield 6 often don’t offer enough to pull players in, leaving most of the innovation to never-before-seen franchises. To stand out, developers will need to find new ways to make gameplay interesting and surprising. Here are a few ways this could be accomplished.

New first-person shooters can stand out by offering interesting settings, unique gameplay mechanics, or even a story that evolves over time.

An interesting setting can be a great way to get players interested in a new video game, especially if it’s free-to-play from the start. One of the most popular details of Halo is its setting, as fighting on vibrant alien worlds is more interesting than modern combat for many gamers. There’s nothing wrong with games like Call of Duty or Battlefield, but a unique setting can truly bring a game to life, whether it’s set in the distant future or outer space.

Battlefield’s destruction, Call of Duty’s scorestreaks, and FragPunk’s shard cards are all perfect examples of mechanics that make each game special. Most competitive shooters have a unique hook, but it needs to feel completely fresh to be successful.

The lore in games like Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege is rich with detail, so we believe that promoting the stories of characters and using that information to further develop their abilities over time could help shake FPS games up in each new season. For games that feature an original roster of characters, lore is crucial in attracting a large demographic of gamers, and developing their stories or equipment over time can help keep players engaged.

As we move into 2026, FPS fans should be excited for Rainbow Six Mobile and new updates to popular shooters like Battlefield 6 and Delta Force. First-person shooters have largely morphed into a live service genre, so games are typically worked on for a few years or even longer after release, as opposed to developers releasing a new title each year.

Activision recently acknowledged that back-to-back Call of Duty releases in the same franchise won’t happen again, and other publishers are likely taking note of the shaky fan response to Black Ops 7’s launch last November. Therefore, expect to see fewer first-person shooters released in 2026, as developers instead start focusing on the same games for longer.

Though the PvP shooter genre may be beginning to feel stale, most games are free-to-play, so you can at least try a plethora of options before settling down into your favourite title.

First-person shooters felt like a fresh genre in the 2000s, but that quickly transformed into dozens of copycat franchises lacking originality. Features that were once unique to a single game are now implemented across the board in most modern titles, like the battle pass.

FPS gamers have more options than ever as 2026 begins, but many newer titles simply aren’t that interesting. To stand out, developers will need to brainstorm original ideas, and that starts with the setting and mechanics that are unique to their game.