Opinion · Published August 22, 2026

Stop Looking Ahead. Look at What We Have to Play.

Most of us already own more good games than we have time to finish. Maybe the next big game can wait.

Cloud and Tifa fighting monsters in the open world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — Nintendo / Square Enix · official Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Nintendo Switch 2 imagery

The short version

There is nothing wrong with looking forward to a game, but the next announcement should not make last week’s release feel old.
Players on Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC already have more strong games than most working adults can possibly finish.
Playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth—even with its real problems—is more fun than watching another leak or rumor about a game that is not here yet.

There is always another game coming

Almost every gaming article I see lately is about something coming soon. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. GTA VI. Final Fantasy VII Revelation. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The list never ends.

Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with looking forward to a game. I personally cannot wait for the Ocarina of Time remake. But with all the attention on what comes next, maybe we should stop for a minute, look at what we already have, and actually play it.

A new game comes out, people talk about it for a week, and then the conversation moves to the next release, the next showcase, the next leak, and the next rumor. The game we just got is treated like old news before most normal people have reached the halfway point.

My year is already full

This has been an extremely good year for me as a gamer. I am a big Nintendo and RPG fan, and I am also the father of two young boys. I do not have unlimited time, but I have had more than enough to play.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, the Nintendo Switch 2 editions of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles X, plus Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have kept me very busy and very happy. Go back through the last year and add Star Fox, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Donkey Kong Bananza, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Hades II, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Mario Kart World, and the Switch 2 editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Those are only the games I have played or own—not everything else I want to try.

That is not a list I raced through so I could post a ranking. It is a stack of games that can keep me playing for a long time. That should be the story: we have a lot to play.

It is not only Nintendo

Players on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC are not short on games either. Over roughly the last year, the released list has included Pragmata, Ghost of Yotei, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Borderlands 4, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Gears of War: Reloaded, Battlefield 6, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Resident Evil Requiem, and Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Not every game on that list is for every person, and I am not pretending I have played all of them. That is the point. No one needs to play all of them. There is already enough available that almost anyone should be able to find something worth playing now.

There are still big releases ahead, including Modern Warfare 4, GTA VI, and Final Fantasy VII Revelation in 2027. Looking forward to them is fine. Treating everything already on the shelf as a waiting room is not.

Who is finishing all of this in a week?

So what happened? Why are we always looking at what is coming? A game releases, people play it for a week, and the entire internet moves on. Who is beating all these games in a week?

I have a secret: if you are reading this, it probably is not you. Most people with a family and a full-time job do not have time to clear a hundred-hour game between news cycles. I am still playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and I probably will not finish it for at least another month. When Ocarina of Time arrives, I expect it to take me one or two months. Add Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and Final Fantasy VII Revelation, and my game time is basically booked through the end of 2027.

The people most likely to keep pace are the people whose job is gaming. Imagine getting paid to play games. The rest of us do not live like a release calendar, and coverage should stop acting as if we do.

Rebirth is better than watching leaks

I am still working through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Its story can be a mess. I do not appreciate being forced into side-quest-style activities as part of the main story, and too many interactions slow the pace when I want the story to move.

But when Rebirth is moving, it is great. I have enjoyed watching Cloud and the rest of the group develop, chasing Sephiroth, and exploring mountains, beaches, forests, towns, and ruins. The combat is complicated, but once the stagger system starts making sense, it feels very good.

My biggest story question is still the same: why is a group being hunted after two reactor attacks and the Sector 7 disaster casually checking into hotels, hanging out at the beach, and playing games? That would make sense near the beginning of an adventure. Coming directly after Final Fantasy VII Remake, where the conflict was already moving, it sometimes feels completely out of place.

That criticism does not change the main point. I am having a great time. Actually playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is much more fun than watching leaked GTA VI clips or another person guess what Nintendo might do next.

Play what is already here

That is the point of this rant. The gaming media—and the rest of us—need to spend less time obsessing over what is coming and more time talking about what we are playing now.

News still matters. Announcements are fun. Looking forward to a game is part of being a fan. But a release should not become old news in seven days, and our backlogs should not feel worthless because a newer trailer appeared this morning.

I have more good games than time. You probably do too. Pick one, turn off the rumors, and play it. What are you actually playing right now?