The gaming industry has never been kind to studious, broke college students. It seems that every autumn — especially come November, as we hit that peak time between midterms and finals — we’re hit with an onslaught of incredible video games, back-to-back. It’s overwhelming and there’s never enough time for each game, even after one gives up on schoolwork and that GPA entirely. Then the machine that is the game industry cools off for a bit, just long enough to prepare for another wave of titles that hit right as college students prepare for spring semester finals.

It’s a cruel system, but that’s not the point. This next year holds an impressive assortment of games, including some of the most highly anticipated titles to date. It’ll be a difficult semester as we necessarily neglect these games in order to fully dedicate ourselves to education, but sacrifices must be made. These are just a handful of the upcoming games that have people across campus excited.

Gears 5

“Gears 5”, from The Coalition, follows as the next installment in the “Gears of War” series. These third-person shooter games take place on the Earth-like world of Sera, as weak human civilizations face off against monsters from the underground. So far, “Gears 5” has received favorable reviews from critics, although the game seems to mostly follow the same vein as past games from the series. It was released on Sept. 6.

Borderlands 3

Here in the Gaming Corner, we’re especially excited to see “Borderlands 3” hit the shelves. I myself am a longtime fan of 2K Games’ “Borderlands” series for co-op gameplay, ridiculous and hilarious alien worlds and fascinating characters. It’s been seven years since “Borderlands 2,” and the fanbase has been chomping at the bits ever since the “threequel” was officially announced in March. The game comes out on Sept. 13.

The Outer Worlds

For all those fans let down by the latest “Fallout” games, “The Outer Worlds” will be arriving soon from Obsidian Entertainment — the team behind the beloved “Fallout: New Vegas.” The game takes place in an alternate future, set in remote colonies on alien worlds. Many fans are looking forward to this first-person RPG, including EAE professor Gabe Olson, although controversy over an exclusivity deal with the Epic Games store dampened some of the enthusiasm from the fanbase. “The Outer Worlds” will be released Oct. 25.

Death Stranding

The highly anticipated “Death Stranding” has gamers both excited and perplexed. Hideo Kojima, the renowned designer behind the “Metal Gear” games, announced this title back in 2016. Even now — two months before release — there’s much about this game that we still don’t know or fully understand — and that’s after we’ve seen the trailers and gameplay. Kojima has said that his team hopes to take the genre of action games in a new direction with “Death Stranding,” and judging by everything we’ve seen so far, a new direction is all we know for certain. “Death Stranding” comes out Nov. 8.

Animal Crossing New Horizons

“Animal Crossing” won the hearts of countless gamers back in 2001 with its unique social simulation gameplay. Players fell in love with the diverse cast of villagers and delightful social scene of the game. “New Horizons” comes as the fifth installment in Nintendo‘s series, eight years since the last full game, and the hype has been palpable online. We’ll be waiting a little while longer, as “New Horizons” releases on March 20.

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt has earned a massive fanbase over the years with games like “Baldur’s Gate” and the “Witcher” series. Their next game, “Cyberpunk 2077,” tops this list as the most highly anticipated game for the near future. The game will be a first-person open-world RPG set in the dystopian metropolis Night City, and the trailers look damn incredible. Our own EAE faculty members Corrinne Lewis, A.J. Dimick and José Zagal are all excited for this game — although Lewis admitted she wishes it were “Witcher 4” instead. Zagal said, “I’ve been a fan of the tabletop game on which [“Cyberpunk”] is based, and current events seem to conspire to make a dystopian future in which corporations wield more power than governments.” So not only does the game look great, but it’s shaping up to be topical too. Expect “Cyberpunk 2077” on April 16.

There are far more upcoming games than I can write out in this short article, but here are some last few honorable mentions from our University of Utah community:

“League of Legends” Teamfight Tactics (already released on June 25) — A.J. Dimick

“The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening“ for Nintendo Switch (Sep. 20) — Gabe Olson and Chris Payne

“Watch Dogs: Legion“ (March 6) — José Zagal

“Biomutant“ (TBA) — José Zagal

“The Last of Us 2“ (TBA) – Chris Payne

And, of course, stay up to date with the U’s EAE Program as students showcase their own games during EAE Play at the end of every semester!

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@PaynefullyChris