Your wallet needs warning. March 5, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most crowded single-day game launches in recent memory — with Sony’s long-awaited live-service shooter Marathon, the massive Pokémon Pokopia, a sci-fi RPG, a puzzle-platformer, and several others all dropping on the exact same day across PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, and PC.
Table of Contents
Every Game Releasing on March 5, 2026
The sheer number of releases means some genuinely good games are going to get buried — especially anything that isn’t Marathon or Pokémon Pokopia.
| Game | Genre | Platforms | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon | Extraction Shooter | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Sony / Bungie |
| Pokémon Pokopia | Open-world RPG | Switch 2 (exclusive) | Nintendo / Game Freak |
| Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf | Puzzle-Platformer | PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, Switch, PC | Thunderful |
| Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse | Action-Roguelite | PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC | Phoenixx |
| Nothing Phone (4a) Launch | — | — | — |
Planet of Lana 2 is also a day-one Xbox Game Pass Ultimate release.
Why March 5 Is Make or Break for Marathon
Pokémon Pokopia seems likely to be the big winner given the ongoing popularity of Pokémon, while Marathon has a good chance of getting a huge sampling of players — but the real test will be its ability to hold fans and continuously add new ones.
That tension is exactly right. Marathon is Bungie’s biggest bet since Destiny — a premium extraction shooter entering a genre dominated by free-to-play titles like DMZ and Hunt: Showdown. Day-one player numbers will look strong regardless, but retention at 30 and 90 days is what will determine whether Sony’s multi-year development investment pays off.
Pokémon Pokopia has no such problem. As a Switch 2 exclusive in arguably Pokémon’s biggest-ever spin-off format, it has a captive audience of tens of millions of Switch 2 owners with nowhere else to go. It will sell — the question is only by how much.
The real casualties of March 5 are the games below the marquee. Planet of Lana 2 is a critically anticipated sequel to a beloved puzzle-platformer, but arriving in the same day as Marathon and Pokémon Pokopia on the same platforms means it will struggle for press coverage and algorithmic visibility — despite being a day-one Game Pass release which should give it a floor of exposure.
March as a whole is stacked: Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake, GreedFall 2, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, WWE 2K26, Crimson Desert, and Mouse: P.I. for Hire all follow in the weeks after — making it one of the heaviest release months in years.
Check our gaming news and reviews on TechnoSports and our best PS5 and Switch 2 games of 2026.
FAQs
What big games release on March 5, 2026?
Marathon (PS5/Xbox/PC), Pokémon Pokopia (Switch 2 exclusive), Planet of Lana 2 (multiplatform/Game Pass day one), and Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse all launch on the same day.
Is Marathon coming to PC on March 5, 2026?
Yes — Marathon from Bungie launches simultaneously on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on March 5, 2026, making it one of Sony’s rare day-one multiplatform releases.
