1) No Playing New Games In 2026
Simple enough, right? I'm sure you may have some questions, such as
Q: Can I buy new games this year?
A: You can, but you aren't allowed to play them. If you see something you want to pick up on sale, go for it. But it will have to wait until next year for you to play it (so it's probably better to just save your money, it might even be cheaper in 2027!)
Q: I'm a collector, can I buy and play used retro games?
A: Once again, feel free to buy games (especially if you see something rare at the thrift store), but you aren't allowed to play it this year. This is specifically to get through games in our backlog, not adding to the pile.
Q: What about games on Gamepass/Virtual Console/PS Plus?
A: You are allowed to go back and replay some older games, but you aren't allowed to play something you haven't played before.
Q: Can I borrow games from a friend? Or the library? Or rent them assuming I live somewhere where game rentals still exist?
A: No, you may not. You are trying to clear out your backlog here, not find new games to play.
Q: Isn't this impossible?
A: Maybe if you are a little girl. However, we do have some flexibility/different challenges that can be done.
Challenge 1) No New Games Period
You will not play any new games whatsoever this year. You focus entirely on your backlog and will not buy any new games to play within 2026. If you manage to complete this, congratulations, you are part of a very select few who have managed to complete this challenge. You are the personification of perfection
Challenge 2) 10:1 Ratio
You play a few new games this year. Based on the Game Completion Tournament, you may be able to play 2-5 new games this year. I'm basing this off most people (or at least those in the thread) seem to be able to clear out 20-50 games in a year. Depending on how much you game, this would be a good way to get through your backlog while not missing out on some of the big titles released in 2026. If you do this, you are most certainly a bad guy who oozes machismo
Challenge 3) 5:1 Ratio
For every new game you play this year, you play 5 from your backlog. This is easily obtainable, it's just a question if you have willpower or not. It's a participation trophy.
"BUT THIS IS A GTA YEAR!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T DO THE CHALLENGE"
I heard that excuse last year. If you used this one last year, there's zero reason why you can't partake. GTA6 has been dated for November 2026 now (assuming it doesn't get pushed back once again). You could spend the first 11 months of the year playing backlog and then play GTA6 when it launches. You'd easily get either the 5:1 or 10:1 ratio depending on how much you play. Or you could just wait an extra 6 weeks and play the game in 2027. Break your FOMO mentality. The game is going to suck anyway.
New For 2026, D-Pad Game Club?
This was an idea I toyed with earlier in the year and I know we've had similar events in the past, but this could be a great time to get the ball rolling on this thing if there's a lot of interest in doing this challenge. We could play games that most likely everyone owns in their backlogs (Resident Evil, Doom, Castlevania etc...) I would like to stay away from console exclusives (Nintendo, Sony 1st party) and find multiplat games that are available everywhere (older titles as well, as most of us most likely own a copy somewhere). As for choosing what games to play, I am open to suggestions. I think an easy way to pick something is based upon anniversaries of certain games (example, Duke Nukem 3D turns 30 this year in January, that would be a good one to start with). Doom 2016 turns 10 this May (gross thought, I know), that would be another strong candidate. I'm open to suggestions on this and if there's enough interest, we could try this out as well. It might be a good way to keep people on track too, joining in a community event would discourage people from buying and playing other things. It's almost like an AA meeting.
And that wraps it up! Given the state of the industry (high prices on bad games) and the amount of grumbling I see around these parts, I would hope a lot of people join in this year. There's never been a better time to dip into your backlog as far as I'm concerned and it's never been easier to not spend money on new games.
Once again thanks to @DonDonDonPata for the original inspiration for this challenge!
Good luck everyone!
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