2026’s Most Exciting Soulslike Officially Announces Release Date

Mortal Shell 2 is a godsend because, without it, 2026 would’ve been a massive letdown for Soulslike games overall. Soulslike games in general have not had nearly the same hype or ubiquitousness that they did around the release of Elden Ring in 2022, which is ironic, as it felt like Soulslikes were going to dominate every other subgenre in the industry.

A glance back at 2026 thus far will be sobering for anyone who adores traditional, FromSoftware-esque Soulslike games and realizes that it’s been a torturously dry year. Thankfully, Mortal Shell II is almost single-handedly preserving the action-RPG subgenre’s good name and refusing to let 2026 pass by without at least one honest-to-God Soulslike.

It was announced on Twitter/X recently that Mortal Shell 2 will officially be released on August 20, 2026. Mortal Shell 2’s open beta/demo was a huge success, with hands-on playtime demonstrating to new and old Soulslike fans alike that it is basically superior in every way imaginable to its predecessor.

The first Mortal Shell was a great Soulslike, but it had training wheels on and was quite truncated. Now, with the training wheels removed, the beta was instrumental in showing fans how far the IP has come already (and fans can still download it if they want to try a taste of it themselves, with the ability to skip the prologue and earn a Harbinger skin for playing, as well).

Aside from this official release date announcement being great in and of itself, the date is celebratory for a couple of reasons: firstly, Mortal Shell II’s release window of 2026 was withheld and honored without delay; and secondly, Mortal Shell II launching at the end of August allows it to narrowly evade a September where a ton of games will be brushing shoulders and gasping for air. That said, if a bit more legroom is desired, preordering Mortal Shell 2’s Devout edition grants 72 hours of advanced access.

Mortal Shell 2 already has a decent shot at the coveted title of ‘best Soulslike of 2026’ with so little competition. Nonetheless, it truly is a Soulslike game that fans should keep an eye on if they consider themselves a fan of the classic Soulslike experience, with its gameplay, level design, and atmosphere striking notes that are far more harmonious with FromSoftware’s own Soulslike games than many other comparable action-RPGs.

Systems

Released

2026

Developer(s)

Cold Symmetry

Publisher(s)

Playstack

Franchise

Mortal Shell