After an epic 2024, it’s already time to look ahead to the biggest games coming out in 2025 across all the major platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC—and it’s good news, many amazing-looking titles are looking to bankrupt us all.
I would argue 2024 didn’t reach the sky-high heights of 2023’s barnstorming 12 months. However, this isn’t to say it was a bad year by any means. RPGs have smashed it with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Metaphor: ReFantazio, Astro Bot brought a new lease of life to 3D platformers, and Balatro—an underdog indie title—justifiably achieved Game of the Year recognition.
There’s been plenty to enjoy in 2024, but now, we look ahead to the next year. 2025’s biggest projected games are seriously seismic, and my bank account is already worried. Providing we don’t get any delays, here is our projected list of the nine best new games releasing in 2025 across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
9 Best New Games Releasing in 2025
You can never tell what the gaming industry has up its sleeve. For now, this is our list of top titles expected to come out in 2025, but expect to be blindsided by shadow drops and shock announcements during Summer Game Fest, Gamescom, and the Tokyo Game Show, amongst others.
Grand Theft Auto 6
Let’s be honest, if Grand Theft Auto 6 does release in 2025, it’s game over for everyone else. Every subsequent launch for about a month (and beyond) has to contend with millions of players getting stuck into GTA 6. It’s probably already got Game of the Year in the bag, and it’s the biggest video game ever.
Rockstar’s track record is about as good as any, and while we’ve seen very little of GTA 6—we don’t need to—what we have seen looks like the meatiest and most engaging GTA project to date. Fingers crossed GTA 6 comes out in 2025, and if it does, we’re already in for one of the best gaming years in recent memory.
Release Date: Rumored for 2025.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
The initial Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake trailers show Konami is faithfully recreating the original story and fleshing it out with refined gameplay mechanics. The lifelike graphics are what we come to expect from a Konami production, and the fact a new generation gets to experience the thrill of where the series chronologically began, gives me a beaming smile on my face.
Metal Gear Solid is one of my two favorite franchises ever (God of War being the other) and I’m not making it up when I say MGS3 is my pick of the bunch. The fact it’s the first one to get the fully-fledged, next-gen remake treatment warms my soul more than any fire-roasted Kenyan Mangrove Crab could. Welcome back, Big Boss.
Release Date: Rumored for 2025.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A
In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, we’re in Lumiose City—set in the Kalos region. Again, not much is known about what the new adventure entails. It is another isolated journey in a fixed location, and the debut trailer suggests the game world might be slightly more crowded compared to the quieter nature of Arceus.
Pokémon Legends Arceus deviated from what is considered the norm for a Pokémon game. Its large, open-world design is still relatively new, it moves away from the familiar locales of cities, gyms, and the hustle and bustle of an active Pokémon title, and it features the game-changing attribute of having wild Mon attacking you! Between the flexible catching mechanics, epic Raid-style boss battles, and unique story, Legends Arceus was a bold and beautiful new direction for the franchise.
Release Date: Rumored for 2025.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
2024 was not a good year for Ubisoft, and its stock might metaphorically and literally might be as low as it’s ever been. Skull & Bones’ hellish development cycle costing hundreds of millions of dollars flopped, Star Wars Outlaws is more low-level rookie than it is heroic wookie, and XDefiant—Ubisoft’s much-hyped Call of Duty killer—is already shutting down in 2025. Several other Ubisoft games have been canceled, the company is facing countless layoffs, and the public perception of the once-legendary studio isn’t great.
No pressure on Assassin’s Creed Shadows then. The cut-and-dried Ubisoft open-world formula is a big concern heading into the latest AC game. Players are tired of the same routine, collect-a-thons with barebones stories, and a lack of innovation. Shadows can write these wrongs, its 16th-century Japanese setting intrigues, and gameplay footage shows you can be a true assassin once again. Ubisoft needs a big win here, and it could be a true Valentine’s love story if Assassin’s Creed Shadows captures the hearts and minds of its fan base on launch day.
Release Date: Feb. 14, 2025.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond didn’t have the “Beyond” name for a while, nor did it have any identity, or fill fans with confidence it would ever see the light of day. Metroid Prime 4 was announced at E3 2017 and went through development hell after having its progress restarted. Finally, the June 18, 2024, Nintendo Direct showed us the first-ever gameplay footage of Prime 4.
Two minutes of Morph Ball mayhem, Space Pirate scallywags, and Samus being Samus later, and Metroid Prime fans everywhere are crying—me included. I fail to see a universe where Metroid Prime 4: Beyond isn’t a GOTY contender, and even if it’s not, everyone is primed and ready for what’s coming—and Beyond.
Release Date: Rumored for 2025.
Judas
Oh, Ken Levine, where have you been in my life for the last 11 years? The Bioshock trilogy is as consistent as three games get, and Judas is the natural successor to Levine’s masterful trifecta of first-person shooters. Judas’ core mechanics are akin to System Shock and Bioshock, and short of having the word “shock” somewhere in the game title, I’m pleased to say the shooter appears to share a lot in common with those who painfully paved the way through Rapture and Columbia.
Your left hand is used for magical powers and elemental enchantments, whereas your right hand is mainly used to fire weapons. I expect another deeply woven story with an assortment of narrative strands taking us in every direction, allowing us to dictate our ending. The enemies manage to look equal parts cutesy, terrifying, and horrifying, and Judas’ biomes are sure to give Levine’s previous work a run for its money.
Release Date: Rumored for March 2025.
Call of Duty 2025
CoD titles leaking years in advance is a common occurrence. We already know the 2025 edition of Activision’s multi-billion shooter bonanza is a “semi-futuristic Black Ops 2 sequel.” It’s under the codename of “Saturn,” and Call of Duty 2025 is set well in the future. It remains to be seen if your boots remain on the ground—I hope so—but what is going to be seen is an assortment of Black Ops map remakes.
BLOPS campaigns are always a blast, so it should be fun to see where the franchise goes next. Call of Duty 2025 should have no connection to Black Ops 6, and we expect more leaks to come out of thin air like a ramp-propelled RC-XD. Stay tuned for further developments throughout 2025.
Release Date: Rumored for October / November 2025.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Oddly, we haven’t had an original Donkey Kong game in a while, but Donkey Kong Country Returns HD should suffice. In the same way, 2018’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was a port of the OG 2014 release, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a sprucing up of 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns—first debuting on the Nintendo Wii.
You know what to expect with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, and even if you’ve played it before, it might be worth swinging into the jungle one more time—you’d be bananas if you didn’t, so stop monkeying around.
Release Date: Jan. 16, 2025.
Monster Hunter Wilds
It can be argued that 2018’s Monster Hunter: World catapulted the long-running series into the marquee: Finally achieving worldwide superstardom. A metaphorical sleeping beast is now very much awake. The attention Monster Hunter: Wilds has gotten already—thanks to exposure from PlayStation Showcases and similar presentations—shows Capcom’s monster-maiming franchise is escalating at a monstrous (pun intended) rate.
Monster Hunter: Wilds incorporates more naturalism and realism, it’s catering to fans both old and new, and features a slew of new monsters waiting to be slain or saved. The first open beta alone attracted half a million players on Steam, and you can tell Capcom is chomping at the bit to make Wilds larger than life.
Release Date: Feb. 28, 2025.
Please let us know your most anticipated games of 2025 down below. It’s sure to be a great year, and also be sure to check out our favorite PlayStation games ever and see if you agree with any.
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