When Nintendo created Mario, they probably didn’t think he would become an icon for forty years and then some. When a character struck in the 80s and 90s, companies tried to make them a thing even if they weren’t as big as Mario. Mascots were all over video games, and then that fad died out.
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Still, there are iconic heroes that come out of games and have a lasting legacy within their series and out of it. In 2026, are there any upcoming games that could have heroes come out of their games and become icons in the gaming sphere equivalent to Mario, Master Chief, or Pikachu? Let’s predict who will become a star.
Grace Ashcroft
Resident Evil Requiem’s Scared Femme Fatale
Resident Evil Requiem
- Released
- February 27, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
Grace Ashcroft is the lead protagonist of Resident Evil Requiem, which will be the ninth main Resident Evil game in the franchise. Like many characters in the series, Grace is not fully original as she is tied to a character that many fans forgot about. Alyssa Ashcroft is her mother, who was a reporter in Resident Evil Outbreak on the PS2. She was playable in both of those games, which functioned as early multiplayer entries wherein a group of random survivors had to escape the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City.
Decades later, Resident Evil Requiem is set in the ruins of Raccoon City, wherein Grace is sent in to investigate a series of murders. In trailers, she comes across as timid and jumpy, even though she is an FBI agent. Ethan Winters, who was the lead in the seventh and eighth games, was also not fit for battle but eventually became iconic in the franchise. Can Grace overcome her fears and face whatever evils are crawling out of Resident Evil Requiem to become just as iconic a hero as Jill Valentine or Claire Redfield?
Jack Pepper
Mouse: P.I. For Hire’s Hard-Boiled Detective
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
- Released
- March 19, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
Jack Peppers is the lead in Mouse: P.I. For Hire, which is an upcoming first-person shooter for almost every current system out there. Like Cuphead, it’s going back to 1930s cartoons to tell its tale, except in this case, it’s all in black and white. As the name suggests, Jack is a detective, and the game will go through cases around town. Confident, sly, and witty, Jack will be armed to the teeth with guns, explosives, his fists, and his words.
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Jack has a chance of standing out as a character partly because the hand-drawn aesthetic looks great so far. Also, Jack will be voiced by Troy Baker, a veteran in the voice-over realm who has voiced a litany of notable characters like Joel Miller from The Last of Us and, most notably, Booker DeWitt from BioShock Infinite. Booker was also a P.I., so Baker should know how to bring Jack to life as a hard-boiled detective. Even indie games can become huge, so Jack certainly has a chance to become iconic with Cuphead fans at the very least.
Arjun Devraj
Saros Is The Roguelike Follow-up To Returnal
Saros
- Released
- April 30, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- RP - Rating Pending
- Genre(s)
- Action
Arjun Devraj is the lead in Saros, which is a spiritual successor to Returnal, also made by Housemarque. Returnal was a third-person shooter with horror vibes and a roguelike design. In Saros, Arjun has to investigate a colony on a planet called Carcosa, wherein he is met with resistance. Unlike Returnal, Saros will have more upgrade paths for players, so that they can become stronger each time they die.
Arjun is hard set on keeping someone safe, so even if death is meant to claim him again and again, he will keep coming back. Saros has an advantage that other games don’t, because Arjun is being portrayed by actor Rahul Kohli. Fans may recognize him from his roles in shows like iZombie and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Hopefully, Kohli can bring just as much gravitas to Arjun as he does in his Hollywood roles.
James Bond
007 First Light Is An Origin Story For Bond
007 First Light
- Released
- May 27, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
James Bond, of course, is not a new character in the video game space or in general. The character was created in 1953 for the novel Casino Royale, with the first major movie, Dr. No, debuting in 1962. The first Bond game adaptation was Shaken but Not Stirred in 1982. That said, Bond has been missing from original games since 2012’s 007 Legends, which was not well-received. Over a decade later, IO Interactive is going to try its hand with the iconic character in 2026 for the first time via 007 First Light.
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The game will be set in contemporary times, but Bond will be wet behind the ears. He’s not a full agent yet, and perhaps a bit more brash. He’s impatient and not as cunning as his older portrayals, which will be interesting to see play out. This younger version of Bond looks more adventurous and scrappy in 007 First Light too, like a cross between the Bond versions that Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan played in the films.
Jason Duval/Lucia Caminos
Grand Theft Auto 6 Dual Protagonists
Grand Theft Auto 6
- Released
- November 19, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
Even though there have been two trailers, tons of screenshots, and two delays, Rockstar has not been clear on who the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 6 will be. It seems that Jason Duval will be playable, as seen in footage, but his girlfriend, Lucia Caminos, could also be playable. GTA 5 had three playable protagonists, each with just as much sway as the other. So, whether Jason and Lucia are both playable or not doesn’t matter, as both have the potential to at least become gaming icons in 2026.
Whether Grand Theft Auto 6 makes it into 2026 is another question. The game seems to open with Jason working for a landlord doing odd jobs around Vice City before Lucia gets released from prison. The two quickly fall back into criminal activity, and the whole saga could become tragic like Bonnie and Clyde. Rockstar is well-versed in heroes having a downfall from a rise to power, so anything is possible.
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