Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox continue to release high-quality new titles, vying for dominance in the console market as the console war rages on. However, throughout 2026, Nintendo outperformed its competitors in one key metric.
In the 2026 comparison of first-party new releases, Nintendo leads the three manufacturers with nine games and an average score of 80.33. This comparison is based on Metacritic scores and includes first-party games from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox that had been released and met the selection criteria at the time of analysis.
The statistics exclude ports, DLC, and remasters, but include fully remade games. By this metric, PlayStation and Xbox each have six titles, with average scores of 77.5 and 78.33 respectively. Nintendo has the highest number of included games and the highest average score; the difference in average scores among the three is not significant.
Nintendo has six new titles with average review scores above 80, while PlayStation and Xbox each have three. Among individual games, Xbox's Forza Horizon 6 scored 90, making it the only title to reach that mark in this comparison; Nintendo's two highest-rated games both scored 89. Marvel's Wolverine received a score of 75.