We’ve gotten under way for the 2026 league, but nothing has shipped yet.  That first title to land is still more than a week away, so the scoreboard stands empty.

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some action.

First thing on Monday, we got this update from the bot:

• Halo: Campaign Evolved
  • [Picked by TAGN HQ (Wilhelm)]
  • Release date changed from ‘Sunday, November 15, 2026’ to ‘2026’.

Well that kind of sucks.  Going soft on a date that was already so late in the year makes you think there might be a slip in play, that this might be headed for a 2027 release.

I actually queued this up with a pick as a conditional drop… and I might still do that later… but then a friend over in the House of XBox suggested that if it did slip out to 2027 certain people might have their heads lopped off.  Not that Microsoft isn’t already salivating at the idea of sacrificing more staff at the altar of their new AI god… there is a 2026 prediction of mine that looks to be coming to pass sooner rather than later… but actual execs with bonuses in play might be impacted if a promised title slips.  Individual contributors can be sacrificed, but Phil’s bonus is sacrosanct, so I am holding onto it for now.

Then there was an update around the Unannounced Mainline Half-Life Game, which was one of my 2025 picks that failed to pan out.  It is back under discussion and early Wednesday morning the league sent out this update:

• Unannounced Mainline Half-Life Game
  • [Picked by Crash and Burn Games (Shawn)]
  • Note added: ‘If a non VR game starring Gordon is announced, this is the entry that will count.’

Somebody was clearly asking questions as to what might or might not count for this title.  That left open the question whether this was a good counter pick or not?  What would count as the right game from Valve?

Late that same evening, another update landed:

• Unannounced Mainline Half-Life Game
  • [Picked by Crash and Burn Games (Shawn)]
  • Note removed: ‘If a non VR game starring Gordon is announced, this is the entry that will count.’.
  • Note added: ‘If it feels like Half-Life 3, this is the entry that will count. Being an FPS, not being VR, starring Gordon Freeman, taking place after Half Life 2 Episode 2 are all points in favor, but it doesn’t NEED to be all of that.’.

There seemed to be something going on with the league, and I went over to their Discord and dug out the thread surrounding this update and found this message:

Look so here’s the deal. Someone wanted to counter pick Unannounced Mainline Half Life Game, believing that the game that was coming would be an Alyx sequel. I said “that would not count”. Perhaps we should have discussed that first. But, I’ll stand by this: I don’t think that’s what most people mean by this entry. People are not looking for another VR game here.

In order to be judged as Mainline, it does not HAVE TO star Gordon Freeman. But if it does, and it’s not VR, it absolutely counts. I’ll also add that if it’s call Half Life 3, it counts, no matter what. Even if it’s Half Life 3 and it’s actually a always online games as a service. If it has the name, it counts.

There is no answer here that is going to satisfy everyone. I, along with the community, are going to do what is reasonable here.

So that is the current line from the league on the matter.  Will this come into play at all?  Will Half-Life 3 really be a launch title for the “Gabe Cube” later this year?  Nobody knows.  But people want some guidelines as to what would count I guess.

I didn’t pick it and I’m staying away from it as a counter pick.  But you’re welcome to give it a go.

Meanwhile, when Thursday evening rolled around the the bidding window closed, we ended up having eleven titles in play.

Nobody was racing to grab Half-Life 3 as a counter pick yet.  Also, not a lot of bids on titles with solid launch dates.

A reminder: During the time between Thursday evening and Saturday evening, when bidding is closed and you can see what people picked, you can jump in and place your own bid on anything currently in play.  If somebody is trying to grab something you know you want, you can try to out bid them.

But come Saturday evening, the bids were resolved and this is what we ended up with.

• Bids
  • EA Sports College Football 27
    • Won by Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane) with a bid of $10
    • TAGN HQ (Wilhelm)’s bid of $1 did not succeed: Publisher was outbid.
  • The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
    • Won by Green River Gaming (Nimgimli) with a bid of $10
  • Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
    • Won by Frabjous Day Enterprises (Archey) with a bid of $5
  • Sunkissed City
    • Won by Corr’s Creative Collective (Corr) with a bid of $3
  • Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra
    • Won by Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod) with a bid of $10
  • Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic
    • Won by Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane) with a bid of $10
  • Highguard
    • Won by TAGN HQ (Wilhelm) with a bid of $1
  • Ghost of Yōtei: Legends
    • Won by Frabjous Day Enterprises (Archey) with a bid of $15
  • The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
    • Won by Corr’s Creative Collective (Corr) with a bid of $6
  • Romeo is a Dead Man
    • Won by Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane) with a bid of $10
    • TAGN HQ (Wilhelm)’s bid of $1 did not succeed: Publisher was outbid.
  • Professor Layton and the New World of Steam
    • Won by Corr’s Creative Collective (Corr) with a bid of $4

Shilgrod, Nimgimli, and I each picked up one title, though I threw out some cheap bids there just to test the water.

I also kept my powder dry when it came to Halo.  I’ll let that one stew for a bit.

Archey, who missed the draft, picked up a pair of titles.

And Corr and Cyanbane both picked up three picks, with Cyanbane out bidding me on both EA Sports College Football 27 and Romeo is a Dead Man.

No counter picks have gone in yet.  I am waiting to see who is keen to test Half-Life 3 again this year.  I mean, it is a long shot… but we all want to believe I guess.

I also heard that, in addition to Halo pulling back on the November ship date, Grand Theft Auto VI has gone soft on their November date as well, though not enough to change it yet.  We shall see.

That leaves the next ten releases expected for the league as follows:

Technically, there is really nothing set to go until week 4, but that is my labeling pattern.

Also, with no releases yet there is no point in putting up the scoreboard for the week.  Nobody has a score yet and the league predictions aren’t all that interesting.

We have one more week where there will likely only be bids before we get some scores on the board.

Related:

• TAGN Fantasy Critic League
• TAGN Discord Server
• Fantasy Critic Site
• Fantasy Critic How to Play
• Fantasy Critic FAQ
• Open Critic Review Site