2017 wasn't the best year ever for shooter games, but it was strong nonetheless. It is now time to look ahead in any case and the release schedule suggests that 2018 might just succeed in raising the bar for the genre while diversifying the offering available to gamers.

　　Check out all the titles we've picked for you below.

　　Previous entries in 2018's Most Anticipated at Wccftech: Adventure Games, Fighting Games, Action/Adventure Games, Strategy Games, Horror Games, Indie Games, Platform Games

　　

Far Cry 5 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Ubisoft's open world shooter is trying to stick relatively close to its trademark gameplay values, though the developers are adding the possibility to play the entire campaign in coop mode for the first time in the franchise. Far Cry 5's big bet is all about the fresh Montana setting and the plot based on Joseph Seed's doomsday cult, with all its ramifications on contemporary social and political issues. We'll know whether the arrow hits the mark on March 27th, though in the meantime you can check our recent hands-on preview.

　　

Metro Exodus (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

This is the shooter single player fans have been waiting for. After the outstanding Metro 2033 and Last Light, Metro Exodus attempts to raise the bar even further by retaining its strong narrative foundation while allowing players to explore the post-apocalyptic world much more freely. Artyom's journey will bring him across the continent via the Aurora train and he will experience different environments, seasons and weather along the way.

　　 

　　

Left Alive (PC, PlayStation 4)

Admittedly we don't know much about this one, but what little details we have are certainly captivating. Set in the Front Mission universe, this single player survival shooter sports artwork that's eerily reminiscent (in a good way) of Metal Gear thanks to character designer Yoji Shinkawa.

　　Players will move between three main characters, all of them trapped in a Russian city due to a war incident and all of them trying to survive and ultimately escape. Left Alive is due on PC and PlayStation 4 later this year.

　　

The Next Battlefield and Call of Duty Games

As surely as the Sun rising each and every day from the East, Activision and Electronic Arts will publish new Call of Duty and Battlefield first person shooter games in the Fall. While in 2016 Battlefield 1 got EA closer than ever to catching Call of Duty with Infinite Warfare being relatively underwhelming in sales, 2017's Star Wars Battlefront II and Call of Duty WWII reestablished Activision's lead.

　　EA and DICE will now have more pressure than ever with the next Battlefield installment, rumored to be set in World War II this time around. On the other hand, 2018 will be Treyarch's year to release Call of Duty and there's no telling where they might bring the fight. Are they going to stick to the future (unlikely) or go back to the past and if so, where? To Vietnam? It's too early to say, but even without any official announcement fans of first person shooter games are already anticipating 2018's Battlefield and Call of Duty inevitable releases.

　　

Overkill's The Walking Dead (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

This is another game that's fairly shrouded in mystery to this day. Still, it will be the first proper shooter to be set in Robert Kirkman's popular The Walking Dead universe and that's already enough to peak the interest of many gamers.

　　With the developers of Payday involved, the focus on cooperative action comes as no surprise. Each character will have different skills and special abilities, which should increase the importance of teamwork as your group desperately tries to survive in zombie-infested Washington D.C.

　　Overkill promised to reveal a lot more information in the coming months ahead of the expected launch window of Fall 2018 and we'll make sure to bring you all the updates on this one.

　　

Honorable Mentions

Following up on the last title mentioned above, World War Z is also a cooperative zombie-themed shooter in development at Saber Interactive. As you probably guessed by the name, it should be a tie-in and therefore we can expect it to release alongside the upcoming World War Z 2 (working title) movie.

　　Then there's GTFO, another cooperative FPS with a horror vibe due to be available for PC at some point in 2018. id Software's Quake Champions, now available via Steam Early Access, is expected to fully launch this year as well. PlayStation VR gamers may want to write down Bravo Team's release date (March 6th), while MechWarrior fans will be eagerly expecting the launch of Mercenaries, scheduled for December 2018.

　　Last but not least we have Genesis: Alpha One, a sci-fi FPS that adds roguelike and base building to the mix. Chris raved about it after playing it at EGX 2017; find out why in his preview. Of course, in case you know of any promising shooter games we have missed in this list, feel free to let us know in the comments!