A new year means a ton of new video games to get hyped for, and 2023 is packed with some exciting titles – with some years in the making.

Say what you will about 2022, but it sure was an exciting year for gaming.

We saw titles like God of War Ragnarök and Elden Ring, along with some indie heavy-hitters like Stray and High On Life.

Cyberpunk 2077 showed that even with a horrible launch haunting a game, it's never too late to pull yourself out of the depths of hell and rise anew.

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Meanwhile, the console wars have been heating up, with Sony actively fighting to keep Microsoft from acquiring Activision-Blizzard.

Even with Xbox bringing its best to the table with Game Pass, it still hasn't managed to beat out the PS5 or the Nintendo Switch in terms of sales.

So the biggest gaming companies will have to bring their A-game in 2023, and the most anticipated releases ahead surely reflect that.

Let's look at the hottest releases in store for this year.

There have been a handful of efforts at making video game adaptations of Harry Potter, but nothing has ever looked quite as promising as the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy does.

Legacy will provide an open world dive into the wizarding world that's like no other. According to the game's Amazon page, players will get to roam "Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area."

Above everything, players may also get to be a witch or wizard of their choice. While very little has been revealed about the game so far, it seems as though you'll get to make your own character that will get sorted into a Hogwarts house.

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Hogwarts Legacy looks like it will become an essential to any Harry Potter fan's collection, and any gamer's.

Facts:

• Game: Hogwarts Legacy
  
• Date: February 10
• Genre: Action/Adventure
• Platform: PlayStation 5/4, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
• ESRB: Mature
• Price: $69.99

The Diablo franchise has had its ups and downs since the original Diablo was released on PC back in 1997.

Diablo II took the series to new heights in the year 2000, further expanding on the unforgettably evil, demon infested hellscape that the first game introduced.

Diablo III, on the other hand, was met with more mixed reviews, but still manages to be a fun dungeon crawler that's even better with friends.

That's what makes the series truly special - each game takes the franchise to a new place, for better or for worse. Yet it always manages to deliver a monster-slaying adventure like no other.

As a player, you can take on a character of a particular class, such as a Barbarian or a necromancer, and work your way through by killing off anything evil that moves, as you wander the darkest planes of existence and beyond.

The maps, equipment, and other game mechanics are mostly randomized, creating a unique experience each time you play. The game series also offers customization options that are addicting as hell, to say the least.

Fans have been clamoring for another title for years, and now that Diablo's fourth installment is set to be released, it's shaping up to being a dark and twisted experience you won't want to miss.

Facts:

• Game: Diablo IV
  
• Date: June 6
• Genre: Role-playing, Action/Adventure
• Platform: PlayStation 5/4, Xbox Series X/S, PC
• ESRB: Mature
• Price: $69.99

Just like The Legend of Zelda games, Final Fantasy has been around pretty much forever, eternally cementing its name as a series of RPG classics.

To this day, Final Fantasy 7 is regarded by many to be one of the greatest games ever made for the role-playing genre, and while the series has never given fans quite an experience like it, it isn't without effort.

The series has had tons of spin-offs, remakes, and remasters over the years, but its newest title in 2023 will be the follow-up to and the first mainline game since 2016's ambitious Final Fantasy XV.

The game follows protagonist Clive Rosfield, who is given the task of being a bodyguard for his little brother Joshua as turmoil breaks out in their homeland of Valisthea.

As with every game in the series, players can expect an adventure of epic proportions. And as one of PlayStation's biggest exclusive releases coming this year, Square Enix definitely will be going in full force. This will be a game RPG fans will definitely not want to miss.

Facts:

• Game: Final Fantasy XVI
  
• Date: June 22
• Genre: Role-playing, Action/Adventure
• Platform: PlayStation 5
• ESRB: Mature
• Price: $69.99

The first Dead Island game dropped in 2011, followed by a continuation of the story in an add-on called Riptide in 2013.

It's an unforgettable survival horror game that drops players into a beautiful coastal landscape full of fancy beach resorts alongside hordes of the undead.

While being far from perfect, Dead Island still stands as a highly ambitious title with enough fast-paced and blood-caked action to keep you on the edge of your seat.

This time around, the game takes place in a Los Angeles which has been placed under quarantine, only a few months after the events of the first game.

Dead Island 2 has been pushed back and delayed a few times now, so it will be exciting to see what developers Deep Silver Dambuster Studios have been cooking up for the past 12 years.

Facts:

• Game: Dead Island 2
  
• Date: April 28
• Genre: FPS, Survival Horror, Action/Adventure, RPG
• Platform: PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S, PC
• ESRB: Mature
• Price: $69.99

Starfield is the highly anticipated game from Bethesda, the same developers that have brought us such great games as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.

The title has been delayed a few times now, but as the company's first release since being acquired by Microsoft, they will absolutely go all out.

Director Todd Howard has described the game as "Skyrim in Space," which is reason enough to get excited for it.

Players take on the role of a customizable character that is a part of an elite organization of space explorers.

With the exact 2023 release date still up in the air, the only things that could go wrong are that Bethesda delays the drop even further or over fires on the release, underwhelming fans' expectations. But if it's anything like what's promised, it should be one hell of a game.

Facts:

• Game: Starfield
  
• Date: To be announced (TBA)
• Genre: FPS, Action/Adventure, RPG
• Platform: Xbox X/S
• ESRB: Mature
• Price: $69.99

While there are even more titles than just these coming out this year, this list of games will keep you busy well into 2024 and beyond.