PC Gaming Show 2026 : The LittleBigCampus Selection of the Best PC Games

The massive Summer Game Fest 2026 marathon is officially in full swing! Keep in mind that this coverage follows right after our very first major recap of the season. If you completely missed the explosive announcements on the console side, make sure to dive straight into our LittleBigCampus selection of the most impactful PS5 games from the June State of Play. It is the perfect way to stack up your hype across all your favorite gaming platforms!

The PC Gaming Show delivered : here is our selection

The Summer Game Fest is always the same incredibly chaotic story every single year : you are constantly juggling between the Xbox Showcase, the main SGF event, and the dedicated PC Gaming Show just to make sure you do not miss a single massive announcement. This 2026 edition, held brilliantly on June 7, proved to be absolutely no exception to the relentless rule. Over two hours of high-octane trailers, deep-dive interviews, and significant world premieres, all dropping at an hour when your last remaining brain cells are already starting to wave the white flag. As always, we have done the heavy lifting for you, sorting through the noise to find the actual signal. Here is the official Little Big Campus selection, featuring the PC games that truly caught our eye, and more importantly, exactly why they are worth your precious time. No empty marketing hype, no meaningless CG trailers : only games that genuinely deserve your attention.

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The licenses that know exactly how to deliver

Stronghold 4 : you simply do not touch a winning formula

This is a license that consistently knows how to get the job done, which already received its HD remasters, and which honestly has never made a false step. The underlying principle remains elegantly simple : you carefully construct your complex castle and then you resolutely face massive waves of attacks. And quite frankly, it is incredibly addictive precisely because it is so fundamentally straightforward. You can take your time, you can plan every single rampart exactly as you wish, and you truly feel 100% immersed in that good old medieval era of the actual great video games. There are no battle passes, absolutely no seasons. Just a good old, well-built castle, solid as a rock.

Looking closely at the trailer for Stronghold 4, it is immediately obvious that the game will be making a true massive leap forward graphically, and I am already absolutely certain there will be some significant new mechanics added. The narrative campaign follows the unexpected rise of Penryn, a humble shepherd who is reluctantly turned into a major leader, featuring massive new siege options and a level of customization for your châteaux that we have not seen before. For the rest of it, as I was saying, they really seem to have kept the exact formula that works so incredibly well and that remains so refreshingly honest. Perso, I am completely validating this approach. There is absolutely no need to sell me on empty marketing, I am automatically hyped by a piece of work that is done proprement, and I truly hope it achieves massive success.

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The original bets that clearly deserve a chance

Star Trek: Outposts Unknown : finally, a base management game set in the Trek universe !

Honestly, I just have to say : "finally a base management game !" With this license, there is truly an incredible amount to do, and here they really seem to want to innovate completely. Star Trek has already tried its hand at point and click adventures, obviously space simulations, first-person shooters, real-time strategy, and even massive MMOs, but you cannot honestly say that the license has ever truly pierced through in the video game world. I am noting this specific game because I have a genuine desire to see them try an entirely new concept.

The principle : you construct complex outposts on entirely unexplored worlds, meticulously manage your crew during dangerous encounters, and desperately attempt to survive face to face with a mysterious cosmic force that is threatening an entire star system. The story unfolds directly in the 23rd century, set specifically within the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds era, featuring an entire system for you to explore, the X'Lehari system, and officers that you must carefully develop to ensure their vital survival. If I have to be completely honest, the trailer seems a little bit mou, with perhaps a surge of colors that might be just slightly too much for this specific universe. But, let's see, let's absolutely give it a fair chance. And what is really cool is that there is already a demo you can download on Steam right now, so go ahead and make up your own mind !

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Wardens of Avalon : rebuilding Camelot, and that is not something to be refused

We don't have that much to sink our teeth into for now, apart from this single trailer and what the official Steam page has to say. But the core principle of rebuilding Camelot, which what is more is completely playable in a 4-player coop experience, in a kind of game that seems to be half-RPG and half-hack and slash, that has the potential to be genuinely cool.

The trailer itself makes you want to see more. I see the game as being somewhat in the style of Return to Moria, where you can create your complex base with others, unlock massive new stuff, and advance towards entirely new zones, in a world that is perhaps slightly more linear than something like Valheim can be, for example. You are personally intronized as a twilight Knight by Morgane Pendragon herself, you reconstruct the ruins of Camelot from the ground up, and you set out to explore a corrupted island of Avalon with up to 3 friends. The combat system is totally classless, offering you absolute freedom in your build, and it is possible to change your orientation on the fly depending on the situation. Worth testing, let's clearly keep an eye on this one, it is absolutely free to hope for the best !

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Vampire: The Masquerade, Eternal Whispers : a title that smells like a shady underground club

Let me say it straight away : I have never been incredibly into vampire games. However, I absolutely love stories that are slightly out there, dark immersive worlds, bizarre underground settings with plenty of creatures in them, and universes that are genuinely "underground". This specific game has small airs of Disco Elysium, and the music in the trailer sticks incredibly well to the entire universe that they are trying to install.

You incarnate Gabe, a vampire who wakes up after decades of torpor with heavily fractured memories, thrust directly into a Montréal that has been transformed by new powers of the shadow. What is interesting here is that it is a pure narrative CRPG : there is absolutely no traditional combat, but rather choices, deep investigations, permanent consequences, and a "fail-forward" system that transforms your failures into massive new narrative branches rather than blocking your progression. I truly believe you need to take a close look at this game, and at least wait for a few gameplay trailers to properly judge, but based on what I have seen, I feel this one is going to be incredibly solid. This game seems to have that something that will be able to surprise us very positively.

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The massive machines that we are watching closely

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 : the world will be sale, the world will be brutal

Right, on this one, there is absolutely not that much to say. If you are a fan of Total War, this will please you incredibly probably. If you are a fan of W40K, this will please you absolutely inevitably. The trailer just sends out serious wood, for once there is absolutely nothing to say against it. It reminded me of the truly banger Zerg trailers on StarCraft II, that exact kind of colossal strategic dimension. The world will be sale, the world will be brutal, it is going to hit incredibly hard, it is going to bleed immensely, and there will be absolutely no mercy between the factions.

They have confirmed four factions at launch : the Space Marines, the Orks, the Aeldari, and the Astra Militarum. We see a map of an entire galaxy with battles happening directly on the planets, a galactic sandbox campaign, dynamic terrain destruction in real-time, and even the terrifying possibility to completely erase entire planets from existence via an apocalyptic arsenal. Perso, I have an incredible hunger to see more. I am not enough of a W40K fan, while however it is something that is finally getting more and more known, but whatever, I sort of missed that boat. I am absolutely sure that when the game releases, it will have its full effect. Creative Assembly has announced a closed beta for late 2026, which makes a full official release possibly point its nose sometime in 2027.

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The big release and the feel-good moment of this edition

Serious Sam: Shatterverse : two brain cells and a massive shotgun

I am putting this one in the list because it marks the return of an ancient and beloved license. Let's be completely clear right from the start : this is an old school license, a bit in the unique style of Quake or Unreal Tournament, where you are going to be constantly running, jumping everywhere, and above all, emptying weapons that are all more completely abused than the others. So there you have it, if you are looking for a good big défouloir where you can play at night when you only have two brain cells remaining that are having a belote together, this is exactly the game you will need.

The big novelty this time around is that Shatterverse is officially departing on a major roguelite mechanic : procedural runs, modifiers that entirely change everything for every single game, and multi-dimensional bosses to absolutely atomize in arenas that are more and more chaotic. Sam Stone is not alone, he finds entire alternative versions of himself that have come from other universes to completely counter-attack the evil machinations of Uber Mental. Always incredibly serious. You can put it on your wishlist and take a look when it releases.

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Planet Zoo 2 : because sometimes, we just have a genuine need for a panda

One last one for the road, another entirely separate genre. In the extended Tycoon family, here is Planet Zoo 2, which has already established itself perfectly after the incredible success of the first one. It is a game that, like Planet Coaster or the original RollerCoaster Tycoon, is genuinely cool to play during the summer. Do not ask me why.

Be incredibly careful : this is for extremely calm players, who do not have a pressing need to have a massive shotgun in their hand or to crush old people in their car. Here you create your park completely tranquilly, carefully placing every single enclosure, installing your animals, and making tourists come in to properly pay your bills. The great massive novelty of this second opus : the aquatic and flying species are finally making their entrance, featuring entirely customizable aquariums, dynamic aviaries, and natural reserves to build in the four corners of the globe. And right in the middle of horreur games, shooter games, battle royales, well... it genuinely feels so good from time to time. Really, really good.

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Our final verdict of this 2026 edition

An incredibly solid PC Gaming Show, without any major "announcement of the decade", but featuring a selection that is honest and immensely eclectic. What strikes me in this list is that we find exactly what I appreciate so immensely in our hobby : licenses that respect their heritage deeply without constantly recycling ad infinitum (Stronghold, Serious Sam), creative bets that genuinely deserve for us to place our immense confidence in them (Star Trek, Vampire), and colossal strategic machines that are announcing themselves as truly épiques (Total War WH40K). And all this without a single FIFA or Call of Duty in sight. No empty hype, no massive shattering promises : just the actual concrete game, real demos, and trailers that show you genuine gameplay. That is everything we are asking for.

And if you are more of the type to construct outposts in deep space or to manage complex medieval castles, make sure to also take a close look at our article on Valheim 1.0, because the Viking that is sleeping deep inside you also deserves its vital place in your library.

And what about you, what is it that most immensly hooked you in this PC Gaming Show 2026 ? Tell us in the comments just down below !

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FAQ : PC Gaming Show 2026

When will Stronghold 4 be released ?

Stronghold 4 is planned for a 2026 release window on PC. A free playable demo has been live on Steam since June 23, 2026. No precise launch date has been revealed for the retail version during the event.

Is Planet Zoo 2 coming to consoles ?

Yes. Planet Zoo 2 launches directly on October 13, 2026 simultaneously across PC (Steam and Epic), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, a huge shift from the original game which required five full years to make its console debut.

Does Total War: Warhammer 40,000 have an official release date ?

Not yet. A closed beta is locked in for late 2026, which naturally sets the target release window for 2027. The project is handled by Creative Assembly and will launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Registrations are live on the official site.

What kind of game is Vampire: The Masquerade Eternal Whispers exactly ?

It is a pure narrative CRPG with zero traditional combat, engineered by the team behind Vampire: The Masquerade Chapters. Setting up shop in Montréal, it leverages heavy investigations and a "fail-forward" narrative design framework where unexpected failures shape the script instead of giving you a game over. Release date is TBD.

Can Wardens of Avalon be experienced solo ?

Yes, the game is fully playable solo or via 4-player online co-op. Your core loop centers on rebuilding Camelot, exploring a heavily corrupted Avalon island, and dealing with massive bosses within a neat hybrid of action-RPG and realm management. Release date is unconfirmed.

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