Most Anticipated Games Launching In 2025

Summary

  • Games like Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Avowed are highly anticipated in 2025.
  • The potential launch of the PlayStation 5 Pro and new Nintendo Switch successor sets the stage for an exciting gaming year.
  • Titles like Light No Fire, Ghost of Yotei, Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 are expected to redefine genres and offer new gaming experiences.

2024 is almost over, which means we’re looking ahead to what video games 2025 has to offer. 2024 had some fantastic titles, with games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth dominating the early months of the year, and a mixture of hits like Silent Hill 2’s remake and Atlus’ new RPG Metaphor: Refantazio launching in the latter half. 2025 certainly has a lot cut out for it.

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The recent launch of the PlayStation 5 Pro and the imminent announcement of the Nintendo Switch successor means there’s a lot of potential for 2025 to be a gaming year to remember, too. So, as we look forward to what this new year will bring, we’ve asked our editorial team to tell us which games they’re most looking forward to playing in 2025.

Rebecca Phillips, Executive Editor

A Keyblade wielder standing on a misty street in Kingdom Hearts Missing Link.

Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link was supposed to come out in 2024, and that clearly didn’t happen. But there’s hope for 2025 right… right? Admittedly, I’m not excited about Missing Link being a mobile game (it would be much better as a Switch game, really), but the era it’s set in and what I saw of the characters in the beta is intriguing.

Really, I’m just clamouring for anything new related to Kingdom Hearts to tide me over until 4 eventually makes an appearance.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii

Meg Pelliccio, Executive Editor

Majima in a pirate uniform in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Developer(s)

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Does this really surprise anyone? Really? It has Majima in it. Enough said.

Majima aside, I’m keen to embrace RGG Studios doing more of these Gaiden spin-offs and a game every year. It’ll be fun to go a little bonkers (more so than usual maybe) with the pirate theme. Besides, it’s the Year of the Snake next year. It’s Majima’s year!

Avowed

Jack Coleman, News Editor

Two characters in Avowed. One is using a magic wand.

Avowed

The world Obsidian Entertainment crafted in Pillars of Eternity is one of the deepest and most compelling fantasy settings I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. I’m excited to return to the world of Eora to once again ponder matters of the soul, and likely frustrate a couple of gods in the process.

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Avowed isn’t Obsidian’s Elder Scrolls, it’s a first-person Pillars of Eternity.

Light No Fire

David W. Duffy, Database Editor

TGA Trailer, Light No Fire, Adventurer walking with a torch.

Adventure

Survival

Open-World

RPG

Action

Sandbox

Fantasy

It’s looking unlikely that we’re getting Hello Games’ next title this year, barring a surprise drop at The Game Awards, but I can temper my anticipation for a little while longer. Promising a diverse, colossal super-earth to explore, Light No Fire has the potential to consume me in a way not seen since my Wrath of the Lich King days.

Everyone should be excited for this, as it could very well redefine the sandbox genre. And if the No Man’s Sky community is anything to go by, it’ll be the most wholesome MMO out there.

Ghost Of Yotei

Stacey Henley, Editor-in-Chief

Ghost of Yotei's protagonist in front of a mountain.

Action

Adventure

Open-World

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

I thought Ghost of Tsushima was only okay when I played it the first time. Then I played it a second time. Then a third time. And at that point, I had to admit that maybe it was more than ‘only okay’.

I couldn’t tell you exactly what made it great – the story was predictable aside from a few optional quests, the open world was pretty generic, and the combat had some interesting ideas that it didn’t fully take advantage of. Mostly, what I liked about Tsushima was how it looked and the potential it had. I’m betting Yotei is able to realise that potential.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7

Quinton O’Connor, Staff Writer

Man standing in front of a city in Civilization 7.

Grand Strategy

Turn-Based Strategy

4X

Developer(s)

Firaxis Games

It’s rare for my most anticipated game of the coming year not to be an RPG. But Civilization 7, the long-awaited next chapter in Sid Meier’s globe-spanning, history-making, simulated strategy series, is a tantalizing exception.

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Civilization 2 helped to ignite my lifelong obsession with anthropology, and I haven’t missed a chapter since. I’m cautiously optimistic that Civilization 7’s bold new three-era mechanic will shake things up without diluting Firaxis’ golden formula.

Atomfall

Joe Parlock, Editor

A screenshot from Atomfall, showing a soldier with a gun in a Northern England village.

Survival

Action

Adventure

Considering my most-anticipated game of 2024 was (and still is, at the time of writing) Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, there’s little surprise I’m equally eager to check out Atomfall.

The mix of retro British aesthetics, a nuclear wasteland, an alternate history of the Lake District devastated by a nuclear accident, and a hint of The Wicker Man folk horror makes Atomfall seem right up my alley.

Rebellion is already known for dense and detailed sandboxes in its recent Sniper Elite games, and I hope that level of open-endedness and detail carries through to a weirder setting like Atomfall’s.

Crimson Desert

Harry Alston, Staff Writer

A man wearing armour with fur in Crimson Desert. He is standing in a forrest setting.

Developer

Pearl Abyss

Publisher

Pearl Abyss

I’ve been following the development of Crimson Desert closely for the past year, meeting the team at Gamescom 2024 and getting my first hands-on with the game. Pearl Abyss developed one of my favourite MMOs of all time – Black Desert Online – and now the team is turning their skills to a single-player RPG experience (it might have a GTA-online style mode as well.)

It’s difficult to summarize what exactly Crimson Desert is: the gameplay demo at Gamescom was mostly focused on its Monster Hunter-style boss fights, whereas game trailers have hints of Zelda’s gliding and exploration, The Witcher’s gritty atmosphere, and multiple features ripped straight from BDO – like horse riding.

Skate

Sam Hallahan, Video Production Manager

Person skateboarding down a rail in Skate.

It’s been 15 years. Yes, I am slightly anticipating this.

Skate is such a simple game in premise, but one that I’ve been missing for so long. I can’t wait to lose countless hours just skating around with some music on, exploring new maps, playing with others online, and throwing myself off of every tall structure I can to see what bones I can break. It’s part of the game, I promise. They’ve even added parkour now, so, you know, if they didn’t want me climbing the things, they wouldn’t let me do it.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7

Matt Arnold, Staff Writer

The leaders of egypt and rome facing each other in Civilization 7.

Grand Strategy

Turn-Based Strategy

4X

Developer(s)

Firaxis Games

All eyes are on Firaxis when it comes to strategy games, and Civ 7 is going to introduce the biggest changes to the series since hex-grids and the combat overhaul that came with Civ 5 in 2010. I, for one, am fully on board with everything new that we’ve seen; games should take risks, and after hundreds upon hundreds of hours in Civ 6, I want a properly new game.

Whatever else 2025 brings, you can be sure that come February (and March, and April, and May, etc.,) I’ll be learning all the new ways to stand the Test of Time.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Hilton Webster, Staff Writer

Sam in Death Stranding 2.

Publisher(s)

Sony Online Entertainment

Death Stranding was such a divisive game when it came out because it was so different. It was stupid, and over-explained and filled with what felt more like Kojima’s best friends than carefully selected actors, but I loved it.

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I loved feeling like everything I did was genuinely helping other players. Seeing the paths I took form in other people’s world. It was so unlike anything I’d played, even if I was just walking everywhere. And I can’t wait to do it all again.

The Alters

Tessa Kaur, Features Editor

Person looking over a canyon of lava in The Alters.

Developer(s)

11 Bit Studios

Publisher(s)

11 Bit Studios

I’ve been looking forward to The Alters since I previewed it earlier this year, so you can imagine my disappointment when it was delayed into 2025. I’ve never been really hot on survival games, but The Alters melds a compelling Fallout Shelter-style base expansion system with survival mechanics in a way that scratches my brain just right.

Combine that gameplay hook with an unsettling sci-fi premise and environments almost reminiscent of Interstellar, and developer 11 bit studios has something very promising on its hands. I’m very interested in seeing what the creators of Frostpunk can do with this potential.

2XKO

Jerel Levy, Evergreen Editor

2XKOcover art of a girl with blue hair on a pink background.

2XKO

It’s been far too long since we’ve received a good tag team fighter. Whether you hate one-touch kills or how ridiculous some combos can be, the stylish flair of 2XKO (despite the bad name choice) left quite an impression on me. Lobbying up and tag teaming a friend brought me back to the days of Tekken Tag Tournament.

Predicting when your opponent will switch and learning the patterns of each partner has never been more intense. Memorable characters, stylish art, and frenetic gameplay have me waiting to get back into the arena.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii

Andrew Scariati, Staff Writer

Goro Majima dressed as a pirate in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Developer(s)

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

To be fair, most recent Like A Dragon releases have generated immense hype, but there’s something about the absurdity of this title and what we’ve seen of the game thus far that might push the boundaries, even by LaD standards.

If you love the series, then you’re familiar with the delicate balance these games strike between absurdity and sincerity – so, how will this game handle that? Questions aside, the idea of playing as Majima as he sails the seas with his pirate crew sounds too fun to pass up on.

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky 1st

Joshua Robertson, News Editor

Estelle, Joshua and Schera in Trails in the Sky Remake.

I’m not usually a person who looks forward to remakes more than new experiences, but Trails in the Sky is a game that I will absolutely make an exception for. Having played the original a couple of years ago, kicking off a love for the series that has only grown since, I’m very eager to see a reimagining of the game that started it all.

The idea of diving into Trails in the Sky again, this time in 3D with improved battle mechanics, makes me very giddy. It’ll also give everyone the chance to admit that Estelle is Bestelle, and I won’t hear otherwise.

Little Nightmares 3

Allyson Cochran, Guides Editor

Two characters looking at some rubble in Little Nightmares 3.

Need me in 2025? I’ll be solving puzzles and avoiding creepy monsters in Little Nightmares 3. With two playable characters this time, I’m expecting double the nightmares, but hey, at least I’ve got company.

I can’t wait to jump back into it. After all, the art style nails that sweet spot between ‘that’s kind of cute’ and ‘why am I freaking out over a shadow?’ If it’s anything like the first two, Little Nightmares 3 will be hours of solving puzzles, surviving weird horrors, and questioning all my life choices. Bring on the weirdness. I’m ready for round three!

Date Everything!

Zoë J. Osik, Staff Writer

Official Date Everything promo images with characters in the sky.

Dating Sim

Simulation

Comedy

Developer(s)

Sassy Chap Games

I’m a hopeless romantic despite being ace, and this is a project I’ve been waiting for. From the star-studded cast to the hilarious concept of every inanimate object in your home being datable, what’s not to love (literally)?

It’s been a while since a dating sim truly grabbed my attention, but I’ve fallen for plenty of fictional characters in the interim. A good romance is a powerful narrative tool in roleplaying games, and I can’t wait to learn about all the diverse characters within the house.

Grand Theft Auto 6

Josh Coulson, News Editor

Jason and Lucia on the hood of their car in the key art for Grand Theft Auto 6.

Platform(s)

PS5
, Xbox Series X|S

You knew someone was going to say it eventually. GTA 6, a game so big that the release schedule around it will be barren through fear of other games getting swallowed up by the mark it’s going to leave. It will feel like it’s the only thing anyone is talking about when it gets here, like it or not.

It wasn’t until recently that I got swept up by the GTA 6 hype. It’s now the most excited I’ve been for a GTA game since San Andreas, when I was technically too young to be playing them. I’m all in for GTA 6 and this time, I won’t need a grown up to buy it for me.

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