New Artbook Predictions for 2026
- Jan 2
- 6 min read
January 2nd 2026
The start of the new year is a good time to look back at the great releases that came in 2025, but it's also a good time to look forward too. With that being said, here is a list of 11 artbook announcements and releases I think (and hope) we could see coming in 2026, including the more obvious titles and a couple that I have my fingers crossed for!
Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Brand New Day - The Art of the Movie
An artbook for Spider-Man: Brand New Day is certainly a guarantee to arrive at some point, given that Marvel Studios has been releasing artbooks for their movies since the very first Iron Man in 2008 (excluding the Universal made The Incredible Hulk). The only thing I'm curious to see with this release is what the format will be. Will it be a very expensive $150 slipcase with a booklet like The Fantastic Four: First Steps - The Art of the Movie, or will they go back to just including the prints?
If you read my review of the First Steps artbook, you'll know I found it incredibly overpriced, so I'm hoping Marvel see the light and make this as affordable as possible for their millions of fans. Perhaps it will also hit its initial release date too, with an arrival later in the year. I'll always be excited to see concept art for the Punisher and Hulk, so this will certainly join the collection if they get the pricing right.
The Art of Ghost of Yōtei
Video game artbooks were often released shortly after the game itself, however, now that it's a time where that is much less common, there is still a very good chance a Ghost of Yōtei book is yet to be revealed.
The Art of Ghost of Tsushima was published by Dark Horse and is a fantastic look at the Sucker Punch's open-world hit, presented in a open-stitched book to match the theme of the game. Dark Horse have also long been the artbook partner of PlayStation, releasing the artbooks for series and games including God of War, Horizon, Returnal, Spider-Man 2, Uncharted, The Last of Us, and Ratchet & Clank. A reveal in the first half of the year would not be surprising, with a release later in 2026.
The Art of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Originally released in December 2024 on Xbox and PC, but also coming the PS5 last year, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that a delayed artbook would be coming for the game. Not only have previous artbooks from publisher Bethesda come up to a couple of years after a game launch, as seen with Starfield Visual Compendium for example, but developer Machine Games are no stranger to artbooks either.
The studio has three published books for the Wolfenstein series through Dark Horse, so another for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has certainly been at least considered. The only thing that may hold it back is licensing, which is always a risk when using existing IP, but far from impossible as seen with Marvel and Star Wars video game artbooks.
Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again - The Art of the Series
This is a bit of a cheat as we technically know it is coming as reported here last year after being noted in a Instagram post from artist Jackson Sze. There is a big 'but' to this though, because plans change and Marvel's handling of the books has been odd at times. There was also no artbook for Echo or Iron Heart, so they may pull out of letting fans see the art behind the show altogether.
I'm optimistic for this one though as Daredevil is incredibly popular, although I do consider the chance that they wait and cover two season of the show, as Born Again Season 2 is expected March of this year. This will be the first MCU artbook for Daredevil, following one that was listed and then removed many years ago for its original season on Netflix.
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
Oh Valve, your following and high bar of quality is only matched by your ability to make fans wait...
The re-release of this artbook was announced as part of Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary in 2024 and was set for release in 2025, as noted on their website. It will not only feature the original content, but it will add concept art for the two episodes as well. Sadly, not only did the book not arrive, but they never mentioned it again, causing it to miss its 21st anniversary as well. I still have my fingers crossed for this one though, there is a space reserved for it in the collection!
The Art of Stranger Things
Not as likely, but there is such a big audience for this that it would be odd if Netflix hadn't considered an artbook for Stranger Things. Now that the show has ended, it's the perfect time to reveal a look at the art behind The Upside Down and its creatures. It would likely be an 'Art and Making of' book if it does come to fruition to appeal to more people, not that it would be lacking buyers either way.
The Art of High on Life 2
Squanch Games teamed with Titan Books to release a look at the previous game with The Art of High on Life, so this would be far from unexpected. It's hard to know if a book is successful, as there is really no way to find sales data, but assuming that they did well on the last publication, I imagine this will appear sometime this year.
High on Life 2 is coming February 13th, giving plenty of time for an announcement in 2026 and I'm sure there are a lot of players wanting to see more of the insanity through artwork for the shooter.
Nioh 3: Official Artworks
While I predict a book is coming, it's likely only going to be in Japan from publisher Kadokawa. This is often the case for many JRPG's, as it was for Nioh & Nioh 2: Official Artworks, which was then later translated into English by Udon Entertainment.
English versions can take a couple of years to arrive, but if a Japanese version is confirmed, then it's safe to assume Udon will pick up the book for release in 2027/ 2028.
The Art of Saros
Again based on previous releases and PlayStation's relationship with Dark Horse, a look at the art behind the upcoming game Saros from Housemarque is very likely. When it will be released is up for debate though, as The Art of Returnal took over 3 years to arrive after the game was launched by the developer. That was their first book though, so the next could come a lot quicker.
Check out a preview of their last book below.
Resistance: 20th Anniversary Retrospective
This is the least likely and bordering on never going to happen, but a dream release as a huge fan of the first-person shooter series from Insomniac Games. There is a precedent for the this though, God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective from Dark Horse. This two-volume set looked back at the series with in-depth details and interviews for the series, while including a huge amount of early concept art.
The Resistance games never received an artbook, so there is likely a lot to see, making the idea of a release to celebrate its 20th birthday very interesting. Sadly though, the series has lost its relevancy, which is what takes it from no-brainer, to more of a dream book. Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, and Resistance 3 are all fantastic PS3 games though, so who knows, perhaps they will be ported to modern hardware in the future!
Gears of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective
With the same thinking as above, Gears of War is also hitting the big 20 this year, so an artbook isn't out of the question. Would it be a 'Retrospective' style book set? Perhaps not, that may have been a PlayStation deal, but previous artbooks for the series have also come by way of Dark Horse.
Being one of the biggest IP's from Xbox does mean that a fuss should be made in November, bringing the chance that products and books may be revealed to celebrate. I know another peak at the concept art behind the series would be most welcome here, especially for the first two games that didn't get a book.
There are many movies, shows, and games that could get an artbook, but these are some that stood out and are worth highlighting. Many have already been announced or appeared on retailer listings too, including books for Avatar: Fire and Ash, Toy Story 5, and The Mandalorian and Grogu. To see what has already been revealed, check out the Upcoming page!
