Our 10 Most Anticipated Shooters Of 2016

Last year was an interesting year for the shooter genre, as many titles like Rainbow Six Siege, Star Wars Battlefront, and Evolve left single-player campaigns behind in favor of focusing all the attention on multiplayer.

Last year was an interesting year for the shooter genre, as many titles like Rainbow Six Siege, Star Wars Battlefront, and Evolve left single-player campaigns behind in favor of focusing all the attention on multiplayer. Even though some of the future shooters we're most excited for, like Titanfall 2 and Ghost Recon Wildlands, currently don't have projected release years yet, genre fans still have plenty to look forward to in 2016 when many fan-favorite series return to the fray. I polled the Game Informer staff to see which 10 shooters they are most looking forward to, and here are the results.

10. The Division
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: March 8

Longtime Tom Clancy fans like myself may be put off by the spongy shooting mechanics (why does it take 50 shots from my assault rifle to kill a sanitation worker?!), but several other elements of The Division make it a shooter worth keeping an eye on. In the aftermath of a Black Friday epidemic, New York City is quarantined and cut off from the rest of the world. As one of a few covert operatives on the ground, you must work to restore order, investigate the virus origins, and suppress the violent factions that have taken root in the shaken city. The base building, strong narrative focus, and loot system breathe life into the world, and the PvP Dark Zone is an ambitious attempt to do something new in the cooperative/competitive hybrid space. Will it work? We'll find out in March.

9. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
Platform: PC
Release: 2016

Since its debut with the popular Unreal Tournament 4 mod Red Orchestra, Tripwire Interactive has steadily expanded its military repertoire from the gritty realism of those World War II battles to mutant outbreaks in Killing Floor. The studio's next project jumps back into the time machine to bring gamers back to Vietnam. Rising Storm 2 brings 64-player, asynchronous firefights to the jungles and rice paddies of Southeast Asia. Featuring a streamlined squad system, vehicular combat, and gunplay that injects a heavy dose of realism into the second-to-second action, Tripwire hopes it can build off its award-winning last entry.

8. Superhot
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Release: 2016

This Kickstarter-funded indie game takes a unique approach to the first-person shooter genre. In Superhot, time only moves as the player moves. With a limited amount of ammo to last you through the level, and enemy bullets slowly and surely heading your direction, the game almost feels more like a strategy game taking place within a Matrix scene. The stylish aesthetic and Oculus Rift support also factor into why we're so excited for this one.

7. Homefront: The Revolution
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release: May 17

Originally a THQ-owned franchise being developed by Kaos Studios, Homefront is drastically different than it was when the first game released in 2011. With a new publisher, new developer (Dambuster), and new commitment to taking its combat into the open world, Homefront: The Revolution doesn't have a lot in common with its predecessor. Two years after the events of the last game, the Greater Korean Republic has seized control of the United States. Your band of resistance fighters must employ hit-and-fade tactics to weaken its grip on Philadelphia, securing valuable war resources along the way. It's been a long time since we last saw this game in action, but the setup still has us intrigued.

6. Gears of War 4
Platform: Xbox One
Release: Holiday

After Epic Games sold the Gears franchise to Microsoft, many wondered what the future held for the Xbox exclusive. Then Gears vet Rod Fergusson took the reins and fans all over the world heaved a sigh of relief. Our brief glimpse of Gears 4 at this past E3 hints at a return to the dark, moody setting of the original, reintroducing the horror elements lost as the brutish pack of Cogs fought off the fantastical Locust over the course of four games. It also appears to have a new set of heroes and enemies.