Wishlister is a weekly newsletter bringing you a curated list of upcoming Steam games worth adding to your wishlist, sent on Tuesdays and published on the site on Fridays. You can subscribe here.
As we move into October and more big game releases finally launch, it might feel like we’re soon approaching a slowdown for new game releases. That’s never really the case in the modern game world. So many promising indies are released on Steam every day, so there’s never a dull moment if you dig games that think outside of the box.
This week for Wishlister, our weekly newsletter rounding up upcoming Steam games worth adding to your wishlist, we’re highlighting the eclectic indies that we’re excited about just as much as 2026’s remaining heavy hitters. From a record store rhythm game to a co-op clown game, these six games deserve a spot on your Steam wishlist.
Get Polygon’s Wishlister newsletter
A weekly cheat sheet to what you’ll eventually love to play. No buying, no
commitment — just saving for later.
Sign up free
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
6
Mr. Records
If you loved this year’s Rhythm Heaven Groove and are looking for something else in that vein, keep an eye on Mr. Records. In addition to running a record store in this indie, you’ll jump and slide on beat along to the game’s original, genre-spanning soundtrack. We’ve been in love with it ever since we first tried it, and you can try its Steam demo for yourself to see why.
Wishlist here
5
Battle Vision
Developer Capybara Games made a splash in 2019 with its Apple Arcade debut, Grindstone. Its next game, Battle Vision, looks to be building on that casual strategy game with a puzzling roguelike. You’ll recruit critters and arrange them on a board to take down your opponents’ team. It certainly looks like the kind of game that will be easy to obsess over.
Wishlist here
4
Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School
After releasing Escape Academy in 2022 and tinkering with it post-launch, developer Coin Crew Games is ready to put all it learned into a bigger sequel. Like its predecessor, Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School is a co-op escape room game, but this time with a more fleshed out world and story. It’s also one of the few games currently scheduled to launch in November aside from Grand Theft Auto 6 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Wishlist here
3
Tanuki: Pon’s Summer
Last week, we shouted out the upcomingTruckful for anyone looking for something likeCrazy Taxi. Let us one-up that this week withTanuki: Pon’s Summer, another delivery game about a biking Tanuki. It has just enough Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater DNA to make for a clever indie that looks like a total delight.
Wishlist here
2
Clowntown
There are so many multiplayer games these days that it’s easy for some to fall through the cracks. Don’t let Clowntown fall off your radar, though. The co-op party game looks like a chaotically enjoyable puzzle platformer (in the vein of Pico Park) with just a dash of Mario Party thrown in.
Wishlist here
1
Australia Did It
Steam Next Fest is right around the corner, which has us thinking about some of the best demos we tried during February’s edition. Australia Did It is still very much on our brains after that. The strategy game has players defending a train in both turn-based battles built around merging troops to create more powerful ones, and also playing Vampire Survivors-like survival interludes.
Wishlist here