GTA VI tops any list of the most anticipated video games for 2025. And if Rockstar Games releases it this year (not a given, nor for all platforms), it will single-handedly cover a good portion of expectations for this year, considering that it’s one of the most popular and profitable franchises in history.
Of course, it won’t be alone in a year where we expect plenty of new releases, not just in the games themselves, but also in hardware. Here we have to talk about the Nintendo Switch 2 as the big release for this year; the new portable consoles that will continue to liven up mobile gaming (especially those that support SteamOS); and the surprises that Sony and Microsoft have in store for us. For PC gaming, the recent launch of the new generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD will mark the updates, not to mention other components such as CPUs and memory, as well as a group of peripherals that increasingly impact the gaming experience.
The 10 most anticipated video games for 2025
The world’s largest entertainment industry will release hundreds of new games across all platforms this year. Some will be exclusive, but most will be available for major desktop and PC gaming consoles, cross-playing, and/or on major services like Game Pass or GeForce Now. Fortunately, there’s a huge variety of genres and gaming tastes are like colors, so the games below are just a personal selection of some of the games we consider “must-haves” for the general public.
> 1. Grand Theft Auto 6
Let’s be clear that there’s still no official confirmation that the game will be released in 2025, let alone that it will be available on all platforms, as the PC version would arrive later, as was the case with GTA V. Furthermore, Rockstar tends to be behind on any forecasts. But it has to top this list, no matter what. Just remembering that GTA 5 is the second best-selling game of all time is enough to understand the importance of the next installment in the GTA series. There are analysts who predict that the game will exceed $3 billion in sales in its first year.
And GTA VI would arrive after a wait of twelve years, three generations of the great video game consoles and countless improvements in PC hardware. From what we have seen so far and if it wants to become a “benchmark” as its developers said, with new graphics modes that offer resolutions up to 4K, 60 frames per second, HDR options, ray tracing and improvements in texture quality, the requirements for PCs will be high and on consoles you would have to go to the PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X to get the best experience.
GTA VI will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S series and PCs. As you can see in the trailer image, the game will arrive in 2025, at least for consoles and as long as there are no delays. It is feared that its price will be so high that it will end up marking a new point for triple-A.
> 2. Civilization VII
Fans of “just one more turn” have an unmissable date this year with the new installment of one of the legendary sagas of the strategy genre, created by the genius Sid Meiers and published by the equally legendary distributor Microprose in 1991.
The pre-release reviews that have just come out are mixed. Some praise the game for its excellent quality, highlighting the significant changes it has made to the formula without abandoning everything that has made the series iconic, while others find the interface confusing or the map cluttered. Most praise the improved narrative or the changes in age to explore the exciting journey through human history, making this title a contender for the 4X strategy throne.
We’ll find out soon enough because Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is set to release on February 11, 2025, on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and of course on PC, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. The PC version will be released on Steam and the Epic Games Store and is now available for pre-order, with early access to the game 5 days early (February 6, 2025).
> 3. Doom: The Dark Ages
We continue with the great, great games, and how not to make room for them for the king of modern shooters and also the most covered saga in history. The Dark Ages is promoted as a single-player action game that claims to recall the beginnings of the original Doom, although it is actually a prequel to DOOM (the modern reboot from 2016) and its sequel, the no less spectacular DOOM Eternal.
The new Doom will be set in a dark fantasy world with a plot that will allow us to discover the origin of the Hunter’s wrath and his rise to Hell’s greatest fear. Id promises an updated version of the series’ classic demonic bestiary alongside other new threats. We’ll also have new and improved weaponry to fight them, including a skyscraper-sized robot and the use of a mechanical dragon, which will appear in the series for the first time. The visuals promise to be stunning, as you’ll see in the trailer, while the gameplay should be as magnificent as the previous ones.
Although iD Software is now a Microsoft studio, Doom: The Dark Ages will be multiplatform and available from May 15 for PCs, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. The game will be available on Steam and also, from day one, on the Game Pass service.
> 4. Avowed
Few studios have a catalogue of fantasy role-playing games as extensive as Obsidian and remembering the experience with the wonderful KOTOR 2, Neverwinter Nights 2 or Pillars of Eternity I and II, makes us include it in this selection of most anticipated games for 2025. Although it is set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, the isometric view has been replaced by a first-person similar to Skyrim or, optionally, a third-person perspective.
Like other Obsidian games, Avowed emphasizes story, choices, consequences, and character interaction, while combat will offer a combination of melee, firearms, and spells. The publisher, Xbox Game Studios, promises classic RPG elements, including a classless progression system that allows characters to develop their abilities through multiple skill trees and weapon upgrades.
Avowed is coming on February 13th, and we don’t know where we’ll get the timings because it’ll be just two days after Civilization VII. It will be available for Xbox consoles and PCs.
> 5. Elden Ring Nightreign
From Software’s original RPG was crowned ‘Game of the Year’ in 2022, a year before another RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3, replaced it. Its expansion has also been excellent, and another title is coming again, although it won’t be a sequel, but rather a standalone spin-off.
Of course, it’s still going to be a Souls-like game, but this time it’s also going to be a co-op roguelike. Players will be able to form teams of three called Nightfarers and must survive for three days on a shrunken Battle Royale-style map that will reset after players defeat a boss at the end of each game day.
While it sounds quite different from Elden Ring, From Software promises to maintain some of the features we loved in the series“in an adventure crafted to offer players a new experience by reimagining the game’s core design.” Elden Ring Nightreign will be available
sometime in 2025 for all Xbox, PS4 and PS5 systems, as well as PC.
> 6. Assassin’s Creed Shadows
We have already lost count of the number of titles published by the most popular, profitable and long-lived “killer” in the video game industry. Ubisoft’s action-adventure stealth saga has spanned all sorts of locations, most of them historical. But a region as thrilling as it is sought after by its millions of fans was missing.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes us to feudal Japan, specifically to the Sengoku period of the late 16th century, on a map roughly the same size as the one we saw in Egypt in Origins, with a revamped, less linear exploration mechanic. Another major new feature is that the game will feature a duo of protagonists, allowing players to switch between them and utilize their different combat styles.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be available on March 20 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, Windows and macOS PCs, and Steam, Amazon Luna, and the Epic Games Store. A version for iPad tablets is also in development.
> 7. Monster Hunter Wilds
After opting for closed areas in Monster Hunter Rise, Capcom is returning to the open-world environments where we believe the action role-playing franchise thrives, “by encouraging the player to interact with all of the game’s mechanics in their own way,” as the developer explained.
In addition to the usual array of new creatures to hunt to preserve the balance of nature, new features include dynamic weather systems that influence each hunt you embark on; a greater emphasis on cinematic storytelling; greater weapon and armor upgrade possibilities; and new rideable dinosaur-like companions that guide you toward your objectives using an automated navigation system.
Monster Hunter Wilds will be available on February 28 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PCs (Steam). It will be the first in the franchise to be available from day one on consoles and personal computers.
> 8. Death Stranding 2
Sam Bridges, this time with a partner, embarks on an open-world adventure to reconnect an apocalyptic landscape and save humanity from extinction. From the looks of it, it’ll be just as strange (and just as interesting) as the original. and just about like any game from mastermind Hideo Kojima.
The creator mentioned that this second installment wasn’t a typical sequel and that technological advances in recent years had allowed him to do things he couldn’t before. It’s said he wrote the entire story of the video game before COVID-19, but that he rewrote it because the ideas he had in mind no longer made sense given the pandemic humanity had experienced. Pure Kojima.
Death Stranding 2 will be available this year for PlayStation 5. It is unknown when a PC port of the game might arrive.
> 9. Ghost of Yōtei
We’re not fans of exclusive games in a gaming world so open to hardware possibilities, with many users using multiple consoles and/or PCs and wanting cross-play systems that make it easier. But if there’s one eagerly awaited for PlayStation, it’s the one we’re talking about: the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, which has established itself as one of the best open-world action titles.
“From the far north of Japan emerges a new warrior spirit.” The game features a new protagonist, Atsu, and a return to medieval Japan, set in Hokkaido some 300 years after the events of Jin’s journey to Tsushima. The map is entirely new, as are the characters and a branching narrative to explore. We’re looking forward to the elegant third-person combat that made its predecessor shine on the PS4.
Ghost of Yōtei will be available in 2025 with no set release date. It will be exclusive to PS5. Too bad.
> 10. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
We wouldn’t want to end this small selection of the most anticipated video games for 2025 without listing some of the titles that Nintendo will presumably release for the launch of the Switch 2. And if GTA VI is on everyone’s mind in games, the console will be the most sought-after hardware in the first half of 2025. And you already know the importance of games at Nintendo… Just remember that the Switch launched with the magnificent The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Nintendo hasn’t announced all the titles it will release with its new console, but it’s speculated that there will be 28 games this year. We’ll have third-party releases available for other platforms, such as the new Doom installment you saw above, Final Fantasy 7 titles, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and even the demon slayer Diablo 4. Among its own titles, a potential Mario Kart 9 is expected. is expected to break all absolute sales records for Nintendo games, accompanied for the launch of the console by Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition or Pokémon Legends ZA.
Another of the confirmed games is the one we’re bringing you as a sample, which will be the fifteenth installment in the first-person action-adventure game series, Metroid. It’s been in development for several years and will be set on an unknown, abandoned planet embroiled in an intergalactic war. Everything points to it being a return to the 3D Metroidvania formula from Retro Studios (known for their work on the modern revival of Donkey Kong Country and the first three games in the Prime series), recovering the free-roaming formula.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is expected to be one of the games released at the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 console.
Here’s a selection of what we consider to be some of the essential games of 2025. And we say “some” because you’re sure to miss a few of the ones you had in mind. Hundreds of titles of any genre and for any platform will be released this year. And to these must be added all the mobile gaming titles, whether on smartphones or handheld consoles. Certainly, there may be a lack of imagination when it comes to releasing new games, and the optimization of some of them isn’t what it should be, but in terms of variety and business model, the video game industry is still in great shape.