Best Cosplay of Summer 2026

June and July treated us to major news, long-awaited releases, and fresh cosplay. We've rounded up the standout work in this article. On the menu today: the woman from the GTA 6 cover, Jessie from Toy Story, Malevola from Dispatch, Vi from Arcane, plus heroines from classic series that are still going strong — Ada Wong and Lara Croft. These photo sets have already taken social media by storm and delighted fans of the original projects.

Amid rumors swirling around a story DLC for Resident Evil Requiem, the first concept art of Ada's new look surfaced online. That art became the basis for a cosplay by Oichi. The outfit ended up resembling her look from the sixth game in the series, which is generally considered a low point for the franchise — though, to be fair, it did have a full campaign playable as Miss Wong and a co-op mode. You'll find more projects like that in our list of the best co-op horror games — scary games to play with a friend.

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In our Dispatch review, we praised the game's voice acting. Besides Aaron Paul, the cast included actors from the web series Critical Role. That's the same team behind The Legend of Vox Machina, based on their own Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. A video game based on that show is now in development at AdHoc, the team behind Dispatch. Which means season two is likely going to be a long wait. The cosplay of the red-skinned half-demon Malevola was created by Asami Gate.

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Arcane is fairly regarded as one of the best video game adaptations ever made. Its creators kept it to just two seasons, telling the story of Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn. But based on statements from Riot Games representatives, that's only the beginning — more animated series about other League of Legends characters are reportedly on the way. Andrasta brought Vi's look to life for this cosplay.

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Toy Story 5 hit theaters on June 19. This animated franchise has been an enormous success and has picked up a number of prestigious awards, including several Oscars. Disney is currently placing heavy bets on direct sequels to its own hits, rather than remakes of its classics — and that strategy is already paying off, with the sequels to Inside Out and Zootopia landing among the top three highest-grossing animated films of all time. Only Ne Zha 2 has earned more. Lada Lumos created this cosplay of Jessie.

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Back at the end of 2006, a remake was planned to mark the first Tomb Raider's 10th anniversary. But developer Crystal Dynamics didn't finish in time, so the re-release didn't hit store shelves until 2007. Years later, history repeated itself. Work on a new remake was originally set to wrap up in 2026, but it ultimately got pushed to February 12, 2027. Though releasing it on the 14th — Lara Croft's birthday — would have seemed like the obvious move, given that's the date the earlier remaster collections came out. If you're into games in the spirit of the Tomb Raider series, check out our list of the best action-adventure games on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch. Shirogane-sama brought the Tomb Raider to life for this cosplay.

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On the cover of GTA 6, you can spot a woman in a tank top and a thong. It's still unknown whether she'll actually appear in the game itself. But fans have tracked down a real-life model who might have served as the inspiration for the character — DJ Gabriela Chiquin, who hasn't exactly denied the rumors either. Nikawuw created this cosplay of the woman from the GTA 6 cover. She previously brought to life the blonde woman and the racer from the game's first trailer as well.

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Elden Ring turned out to be FromSoftware's most successful creation to date, having sold more than 30 million copies of the original game. Its co-op spin-off, Nightreign, has more modest numbers by comparison — 5 million. Plenty of fans are hoping for a Bloodborne remake from the studio, but right now Hidetaka Miyazaki is busy with The Duskbloods, a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. And if you're into hardcore games, check out our list of the 35 hardest games of all time — you'll definitely feel the pain. Narga created this cosplay of Queen Marika. Photographer: Rozzy Lis.

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In terms of monthly revenue, Zenless Zone Zero noticeably trails behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. As a reminder, all three games are made by the Chinese studio miHoYo, known internationally as HoYoverse. You could conclude from this that 90s retro-futurism just hasn't caught on the way more familiar fantasy and space sci-fi have. Xenon brought Ye Shunguang's look to life for this cosplay. Photographer: Aku.

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KPop Demon Hunters turned out to be the most-watched animated film on Netflix. Its story blends the world of modern k-pop music with Korean culture and mythology. Viewers especially praised the soundtrack, which landed on the top-10 of several prestigious charts. A sequel is already in the works, though it won't arrive until 2029. Zefirka Natsuki created the Mira cosplay. Oichi took on the role of Rumi.

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Netflix's Devil May Cry animated series drew a mixed reaction from fans. Even so, it managed to catch the attention of casual viewers and pull them toward the fifth game in the series, whose sales rose noticeably as a result, reaching 12.9 million copies. Capcom itself, meanwhile, isn't in a hurry to release new games starring Dante, Nero, or Vergil. Worth noting: Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the very first Devil May Cry, has recently returned to the company. He seems like the ideal candidate to lead a remake of the original 2001 game. Tniwe brought the demon hunter Trish to life for this cosplay.

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Work on a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel is already underway, though CD Projekt RED's main focus right now is on The Witcher 4. In the meantime, interest in the world of Cyberpunk is being kept alive by its anime adaptation. Season two of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set to arrive this fall, but back in early July, anyone at Anime Expo in Los Angeles got to watch the first episode early — and the audience was thrilled. Shproton created the cosplay of Judy Alvarez. Lizzie Whistle took on the role of Panam Palmer. Photographer: Ekaterina Morfeeva.

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The first three Streets of Rage games came out on the Sega Mega Drive back in the first half of the '90s, and it took years before they were ported to other platforms. The fourth entry in the series didn't arrive until 2020. It still stands as one of the best examples of the beat 'em up genre, and you can play through it with friends if you'd like. You'll find more games like this in our list of the best co-op games — 290+ co-op titles for PC and consoles (2026). Valeria Himera created this cosplay of Blaze Fielding from Streets of Rage.

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Game of Thrones wrapped up its story all the way back in 2019. House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are prequels also based on George R. R. Martin's books. That said, cosplayers still gravitate more often toward heroines from the main series — Melisandre, Sansa Stark, and Daenerys Targaryen. Irina Meyer brought the Mother of Dragons to life for this cosplay (also on topic: House of the Dragon Season 3 Review — The King of Fantasy Shows Has Returned).

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Detective mysteries solved with the help of a talking dog named Scooby probably bring back memories of childhood cartoons for a lot of us. Attempts to reinvent the franchise for a modern audience haven't gone well — that goes for the buzzy Velma show and every "Mystery Inc." movie without exception. That said, 2027 will bring us yet another spin on the franchise: Netflix's Scooby-Doo: Origins. It's also clearly drawing inspiration from Stranger Things, which is, at the very least, an interesting choice. LilitCos created this cosplay of Miss Dinkley.

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Cloak and Dagger are a superhero duo who made their debut in 1982 in the Spider-Man comics. They are a young man and woman with superpowers who fight crime together. Tandy Bowen, better known as Dagger, has the ability to manipulate light. With this power, she can heal allies and injure enemies. A TV series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also dedicated to her and Tyrone Johnson. Both characters appear in Marvel Rivals, and players can switch between them at any time. The Dagger cosplay was created by Adele Lave.

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The film Mortal Kombat 2 is a direct sequel to the 2021 movie. Once again, we got to see iconic heroes and heroines from the original game series, including Liu Kang, Raiden, Kano, and Sonya. In the sequel, they're joined by Kitana, Jade, Shao Kahn, and Johnny Cage. The film turned out fairly divisive — some viewers are actively praising it, others are criticizing it. If you're still on the fence about whether to watch it, check out our Mortal Kombat 2 review. Tniwe created this cosplay of Miss Blade.

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There are rumors that Resident Evil Requiem will get a story DLC featuring Ada. There's already precedent for this — the DLC called Separate Ways for the fourth game's remake. In that case, though, the developers just ported the mini-campaign from the PS2 version of the original game onto the new engine. Thanks to that mini-campaign, we found out what Miss Wong was up to while Leon was busy trying to save Ashley. Kaya Nilson brought the special-agent look of Ada to life for this cosplay.

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It sometimes feels like Konami is trying to mimic Capcom and grow Silent Hill the same way Resident Evil has been handled — alternating new mainline games with remakes of the classics. Plenty of people hoped the second game's remake would get a Born From a Wish expansion, letting players take control of Maria. That's essentially the equivalent of Separate Ways, which we mentioned in the previous section, just less crucial to the overall story. Right now, though, the odds of seeing that story DLC look slim, since Bloober Team's main efforts are focused on remastering the original 1999 game. LiltiCos created this cosplay of Maria. Worth noting: we also have a Silent Hill 2 remake review on our site. Also check out our TOP-15 psychological horror games guaranteed to break your mind.

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Mortal Kombat came out in 2011 as both a reboot of the series and a remake of the original trilogy. The initial version of the fighting game had no brand-new characters to speak of, aside from Cyber Sub-Zero, who was more of a variation on a familiar face. As for genuinely new fighters, Scarlet stands out. She was added as part of paid DLC. This character is a golem created from the blood of fallen warriors. She was meant to keep an eye on the necromancer Quan Chi and kill him if he ever tried to betray the emperor. That never ended up happening. After Shao Kahn's death, she joined Reiko's allies. Lada Lumos brought Scarlet's look to life for this cosplay. Mortal Kombat games made it into our list of the most brutal and bloody games on PC and consoles — a list not for the faint of heart.

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Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era entered early access on April 30. It's picked up positive reviews and generally went over well with players. That said, it's tough to call it particularly innovative, since it pulls together ideas from both the third and fifth Heroes games. For instance, it's worth noting the ability to develop creatures along two different upgrade paths, a mechanic first used in the "Hammers of Fate" expansion for Heroes of Might and Magic 5. That's where we first saw the orc race and their charming shaman women. Once upgraded, they can become Daughters of Earth. Oichi created this cosplay of one of them.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 is the most anticipated game of 2026. Its release has already been pushed back several times, but according to Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, that won't happen again, and the game will hit shelves on November 19. Interestingly, high-quality cosplay of Lucia and the other women from GTA 6 remains fairly rare. Murzik brought the Blonde from the first trailer to life for this cosplay.

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Fans of the Mortal Kombat series predictably had some questions about Jade from the 2026 movie. Actress Tati Gabrielle really doesn't resemble her character's in-game look. That said, her role stays pretty close to what we've seen in recent games — she's a mercenary sent to keep an eye on Kitana, who ends up becoming her friend instead. Zefirka Natsuki created this cosplay of Jade.

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The final episode of The Boys aired on May 20. The ending drew a mixed reaction from viewers — a lot of people felt like everything wrapped up a little too neatly. If you want the details, check out our review of The Boys' finale.

2027 will bring the start of a prequel series called Vought Rising, covering the earliest days of Soldier Boy and other 1950s superheroes. Among the characters is Storm Front, who back then went by the name Liberty. Nancy brought the Firecracker look from the show's most recent seasons to life for this cosplay.

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Announcing a NieR Automata sequel seems like a natural move for Square Enix, given how big a hit the 2017 game turned out to be. What's surprising is why it took 9 years after the original's release to make it happen. In that time, we got a Nier Replicant remaster and an anime adaptation of Automata. Katssby created this cosplay of the android girl 2B. If you're into complex, intricate stories, check out our list of the best games with a great story on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox.

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One Piece is a unique case for the modern entertainment industry. Most live-action adaptations of anime tend to flop. But Netflix's take on Luffy's adventures turned out surprisingly solid — it caught the attention of both manga fans and newcomers alike. Details in our One Piece season 2 review. Sai Westwood brought Nico Robin's look to life for this cosplay. Worth noting: she was played by Lera Abova in the series.

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The roster of characters in Marvel Rivals keeps growing with every update. And adding new heroines to this team shooter tends to spark a lot of excitement among women cosplayers. In May, for instance, there was a surprising number of Felicia Hardy pieces. Shproton created this cosplay of the classic comics-style Black Cat. Sadly, she still hasn't shown up in any live-action Spider-Man movies.

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Swen Vincke has said no to releasing story DLC for Baldur's Gate 3. But it's not out of the question that the publisher could hand the job to a different studio. There's precedent for this in the industry — for example, the Forsaken Gods expansion for Gothic 3 wasn't made by Piranha Bytes, but by the Indian studio Trine Games. And a DLC like this can come out many years after the original game's release. That's exactly what happened with the Songs of the Past expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is set to launch in 2027. Nova brought the tiefling Karlach to life for this cosplay. Photographer: Kira.

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We're about to see a wave of new Lara Croft projects. A remake of the original 1996 game on Unreal Engine 5 has been announced, along with the next numbered entry and a TV series starring Sophie Turner in the lead role. You might know her as Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones. Asami Gate created this cosplay of Lara from 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld. In that game, Miss Croft didn't just get wet in the water — she also got dirty in mud and sweaty after sprinting hard. In a separate article, we covered how the Tomb Raider's look has changed over time. In the meantime, while you wait for new entries in the series, check out other games in the same vein — the most interesting ones made it into our list of the best action-adventure games on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch.

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To wrap up the article, we thought we'd tell you about a new social media trend called The ButtHeart. The idea is simple: women form the shape of a heart with their backside. With cosplayers, you can easily tell which famous heroine is being portrayed just from the costume and shoes.

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For a lot of women, cosplay has stopped being just a hobby. It's grown into full-fledged creative work, where the idea, the craftsmanship, and the attention to detail all matter. That's exactly why the best pieces draw in even people who don't follow the cosplay world at all — these looks inspire, surprise, and set new standards for everyone else.

So which beauty from our roundup caught your eye the most? Let us know in the comments!