Let’s be honest — working out isn’t that fun. Most people aren’t thrilled to run on a treadmill or lift weights for multiple hours each week, let alone sign up for a gym membership. Game developers have taken notice, and over the past few years, we’ve seen the launch of several excellent fitness-based games.
Gym rats and fitness newcomers alike will be able to work up a sweat with these pulse-quickening titles. Here are the best fitness games to make your next workout session a little more enjoyable.
On paper, Ring Fit Adventure sounds like a bizarre idea. Merging the adventure genre with the fitness genre seems like a recipe for disaster, yet Nintendo pulled it off with flying colors. Players use a new peripheral — called the Ring-Con — to perform various workout routines that also double as a way to attack enemies and bosses. It’s by far the most innovative fitness game on the market and one that will have you working up a sweat within 15 minutes of playing. There are also several mini-games available for when you get tired of all the adventuring.
Not only is Beat Saber a great introduction to the world of VR, but it’ll also get your heart pumping on the higher difficulties. Wielding a lightsaber in each hand, players swing at multicolored blocks as they come flying toward them — all to the beat of the music. Dozens of energetic songs are featured on the soundtrack, making it easy to find something to your liking. Whether you’re playing on the lowest difficulty or the highest, Beat Saber makes working out the highlight of your day.
If you’re looking for something to get you out of the house, nothing beats Pokémon Go. You won’t need to run around and raise your heart rate, but for anyone looking to make their evening strolls more enjoyable, it’s the perfect companion. Pokémon Go does an excellent job of introducing players to its core mechanics and rewards Trainers for every step they take. Anyone who needs a bit of motivation for their workouts will love incorporating this mobile game into their walking routine.
Want to get out of the house, but need more action than is offered by Pokémon Go? In Zombies, Run!, you’re going to need a nice pair of shoes if you hope to escape the zombie horde breathing down your neck. You can also tackle 200 missions if you’d rather have a tangible goal beyond surviving the apocalypse. The popular game continues to see updates in 2020 and is the perfect way to add a bit of excitement to your next run.
Dancing is one of the more enjoyable forms of exercise, and Just Dance 2020 is perfectly able to capture that feeling. Mechanics vary by system, but you’ll essentially be mimicking real dance moves while listening to more than 40 of today’s hits, including Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy and Old Town Road by Lil Nas X. Up to six people can play at the same time, making it great for parties or group workout sessions.
This is the title that put movement-based games on the map. Often included with the purchase of a Wii, Wii Sports let players participate in various sports such as tennis, baseball, bowling, and golf. They all utilize the motion sensor technology inside the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, meaning gamers have to get up and put in some effort if they want to be crowned champion. Local co-op is a blast, and the friendly competition almost always results in a better workout.
Given the success of Wii Sports, Nintendo went ahead and created a game with the sole purpose was helping people get into shape. Wii Fit uses its own peripheral, called the Balance Board, that helps improve gamers’ posture, track their weight, and increase their strength. Yoga and strength training are the bread and butter of Wii Fit, but there’s also a bunch of mini-games you can play whenever you need a break.
Get all the benefits of boxing without the threat of getting knocked out! Knockout League is a VR game that takes a light-hearted approach to the brutal world of boxing. Fighters will challenge a wild assortment of enemies in fast-paced rounds as they get a rigorous aerobic workout. The game uses 1:1 tracking for your head and hands, meaning expect to do a lot of ducking and dodging if you hope to make it past the first round.
If you’d rather not hit a virtual opponent, but still want a boxing-themed workout, BoxVR might be the perfect fit. As a cross between Knockout League and Beat Saber, this VR game has you throwing uppercuts and jabs to the beat of the music. You’ll also have to bob and weave as obstacles come your way — remaining stationary isn’t an option. BoxVR also tracks your progress, allowing you to look back on your journey and see how much you’ve improved.
Anyone with downstairs neighbors might want to pass on this title, as Dance Dance Revolution will have you moving your feet in an absolute frenzy. Players will “dance” to the beat by using a specialized dance pad and stomping on directional arrows as they appear on the screen. Several versions of the game are available, and you can also find it in arcades around the world. You’ll have a variety of techno, pop, and EDM songs to choose from, but they’re all upbeat and sure to make you break a sweat.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.