The 21 Biggest PC Game Exclusives Confirmed For 2018: Quake Champions, Pillars Of Eternity 2

PC is one of the best platforms to play games. Not only does it allow access to an immense library of games across multiple generations, but it also offers the potential to play them at their best. But if you're looking for some new games, there's an abundance of great-looking ones coming exclusively to PC this year alone.

On consumer platforms like Steam and GOG, there are hundreds of exclusive PC games released every day. Since rounding them up would prove unwieldy, we've narrowed the field down to this list of some of the most high-profile exclusives.

Below you can get a glance at some of the biggest PC exclusives releasing in 2018. We'll be updating this list throughout the year as more games get announced, as well as tinker our placeholder entries with confirmed release dates and additional information when new announcements are made.

PC Exclusive Games Of 2018

• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II: Kai
• Rust
• Long Gone Days
• Anno 1800
• Dauntless
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker
• BattleTech
• Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
• Hunt: Showdown
• Quake Champions
• Artifact
• Griftlands
• MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
• Total War Saga: Thrones of Brittania
• Chuchel
• Aquanox: Deep Descent
• Xenonauts 2
• The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep
• Underworld Ascendant
• Frostpunk
• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

If you're curious about other platforms, you can check out our features on PS4 exclusives, Switch exclusives, and Xbox One exclusives. In the meantime, which PC games are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments below.

Facepunch Studios' Rust is a multiplayer survival game where players are tasked with satiating their in-game needs, such as hunger, thirst, and warmth, with items and materials that can be scavenged from the expansive world or stolen from other players.

We gave the game a 3/10. Read our Rust review.

Developer: Facepunch Studios | Release Date: February 8

Although this remaster is available for PS4 in Japan, the rest of the world can only play The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II: Kai on PC. Like the original game, Trails of Cold Steel II is a traditional JRPG with turn-based battles. Unlike the original, this sequel is focused on traveling across a fantastical world as opposed to attending a magical combat school.

Developer: Nihon Falcom | Release Date: February 14

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is a remaster of the iconic history-based real-time strategy game from 1997.

We gave the game a 6/10. Read our Age of Empires: Definitive Edition review.

Developer: Forgotten Empires | Release Date: February 20

Hunt: Showdown is a competitive first-person PvP bounty hunting game with heavy PvE elements. It takes the thrill that comes with survival games and combines it with the action heavy combat of a match-based shooter.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Crytek | Release Date: February 22 (Early Access), Winter 2018 (Official Release)

Chuchel is a puzzle game developed by Jaromir Plachy & Amanita Design, the creators of Botanicula, Machinarium, and the Samorost games.

Developer: Amanita Design | Release Date: March 7

Long Gone Days is a 2D RPG that follows the adventures of Rourke, a soldier who decides to abandon his post, which leads him on a journey where he'll collaborate with allies from different parts of the world to overcome the peril of an inescapable war. While a traditional RPG at its core, the game also features elements from visual novels, puzzlers, and shooters.

Developer: BURA | Release Date: March 28 (Early Access)

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is the successor to the critically acclaimed 2015 original. It features an expansive multiclassing system, which allows players to build unique characters that tie both into personal playstyles and stories. It also gives you access to a ship that you can use to sail across the game's world. You'll need to continually upgrade it to better survive perilous encounters.

We gave the game an 8/10. Check out our Pillars of Eternity II review.

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment | Release Date: April 3

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is the latest spin-off game in the popular Total War franchise. In contrast to the mainline games, Thrones of Britannia is a turn-based strategy game that takes place in the aftermath of the Viking invasion of Britain.

We gave the game an 8/10. Read our Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia review.

Developer: Creative Assembly | Release Date: April 19

Frostpunk puts players in charge of a city that's trying to survive a volcanic winter. This city-building survival game comes with three different scenarios. Each has its own story and will test the morals and decision making skills of the player in different ways.

We gave the game a 9/10. Read our Frostpunk review.

Developer: 11 bit studios | Release Date: April 24

BattleTech is a turn-based strategy game based in the universe of the popular tabletop and science-fiction franchise of the same name. You assume the role of a mercenary commander leading a team of powerful giant robots called battlemechs.

We gave the game a 9/10. Read our Battletech review.

Developer: Harebrained Schemes | Release Date: April 24

Dauntless is a free-to-play action-RPG that plays similarly to Capcom's popular Monster Hunter series. It takes place in a world where a cataclysmic event has torn the world apart, releasing monster-like Behemoths that prey on the surviving humans. You play as a Slayer, a special warrior tasked with taking down the Behemoths.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Phoenix Labs | Release Date: May 24 (Open Beta)

Underworld Ascendant is an action-RPG made by developers that worked on the Ultima Underworld series. Like those games, it focuses on player choice while taking you on a journey across a fantasy realm packed with danger and intrigue.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Otherside Entertainment | Release Date: September 2018

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is the first numbered mainline entry in the once popular mech-sim series to be released in nearly 16 years. In keeping with MechWarrior tradition, you customize and pilot your own personal BattleMech across a new conflict set within the universe of the popular BattleTech franchise.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Piranha Games | Release Date: Winter 2018

Anno 1800 is the latest entry in the long-running real-time strategy Anno series. It takes the series back to the past, allowing you to build and manage metropolises during the industrial revolution.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Ubisoft Blue Byte | Release Date: Winter 2018

Griftlands is the latest game by developer Klei Entertainment, the studio behind Don't Starve and Mark of the Ninja. Unlike its previous efforts, Griftlands is an action-RPG that emphasizes player choice and charting your own journey through an in-depth negotiation system.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Klei Entertainment | Release Date: TBA 2018

Aquanox: Deep Descent is a first-person shooter where you control a submarine through undersea caverns in the dystopian world of Aqua.

Developer: Digital Arrow | Release Date: TBA 2018

Quake Champions revives the classic Quake style of arena shooter gameplay but with a new character/class system. While not a major factor, these characters do feature their own distinct movement speeds, health pools, and a special ability.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: id Software | Release Date: TBA 2018

Xenonauts 2 is a strategy game where you command a multinational organization defending Cold War-era Earth from an alien invasion.

Developer: Goldhawk Interactive | Release Date: TBA 2018

Valve's DOTA 2 card game, Artifact, incorporates most of the mechanics of MOBA-based digital collective card games like Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The game differs from most traditional card games by incorporating three "lanes" for possible attack.

Watch some gameplay.

Developer: Valve | Release Date: TBA 2018

An isometric RPG, Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a spinoff to the original Pathfinder franchise. The game takes place in the Stolen Lands, which is a part of Golarion, the default setting of 2009's Pathfinder.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: Owlcat Games | Release Date: TBA 2018

The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a party-based dungeon crawler with traditional RPG elements.

Watch a trailer.

Developer: inXile Entertainment | Release Date: TBA 2018