Most Anticipated Games of 2025

Now that the year is behind us, I feel confident in saying that 2024 was not exactly the most groundbreaking year for gaming. In fact, 2024’s biggest gaming moments can, for the most part, be summed up to announcements of games to come, rather than actual 2024 releases themselves. The good side of this, though, is that now that 2024 is in the rearview, this year has plenty of huge games coming to players.

It’s shaping up to be an amazing year for gaming, so today, we’ve decided to list our picks for the most anticipated games of 2025. For us, the below are the most essential 2025 picks for gamers, the video games that are likely to shape the industry this year, and hopefully rejuvenate an industry that felt a little stale in 2024. With that being said, let’s get into the list!

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Grand Theft Auto VI

Image by Rockstar Games

Let’s get the most obvious pick of the way first – Grand Theft Auto VI is likely the most anticipated game of the year for many, if not the most anticipated game of the decade so far. Set to be the first Grand Theft Auto release since 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto VI promises to be bigger and better than any of Rockstar Games’ past releases – and that is a huge bar to set.

Fans will be excited to know that Grand Theft Auto VI follows its protagonists into the infamous Vice City, a fictionalised Miami, and Rockstar have leaned fully into its satirical take on the United States. Based on the teaser trailer, Grand Theft Auto VI will retain the humour of the franchise’s past entries, and while we’re yet to see any official gameplay, we’re sure that the team at Rockstar will exceed expectations, especially after such a long wait. The game is set to release in late 2025, and we’re sure as many gamers as possible will make it their business to be there.

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Borderlands 4

Image by 2K

Borderlands 4 was unveiled at Gamescom 2024, and was easily one of the biggest announcements of the event. Borderlands 3 released in 2019, and opened to mixed reception from fans and critics alike, so in many ways, there’s a lot riding on this 2025 release to revitalize the Borderlands franchise. The game is set to retain the looter-shooter gameplay of previous entries in the franchise, and for fans of the series, more of the same could not be better news.

Interestingly, Gearbox, the development team behind Borderlands, actually started working on the game prior to the release of Borderlands 3 (which may explain that game’s lukewarm performance). The team had ambition to create an open-world experience that was fully seamless, and hopes to achieve this experience with Borderlands 4. Here’s hoping they can achieve these heights when Borderlands 4 releases in 2025.

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Split Fiction

Image by Electronic Arts

Split Fiction is the only entry on our list that isn’t part of a pre-existing franchise, but previous works from Hazelight Studios more than justify being hyped for this 2025 release. For those who don’t know, Hazelight Studios, under the direction of Josef Fares, is the team behind some of the most innovative co-op gaming experiences of the modern age – 2018’s A Way Out and 2021’s It Takes Two. Now, in 2025, Split Fiction promises to be yet another two-player co-op experience for the ages.

The concept behind the game also promises a new creative frontier for Hazelight Studios, following two authors who are sucked into their respective created worlds. Each stage will also come with a unique gameplay mechanic, calling back to the gameplay design of It Takes Two – and considering that game earned Hazelight a Game of the Year win, I’m sure the team are approaching Split Fiction with the logic of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Here’s hoping that Split Fiction can live up to the heights of the team’s prior releases, because if it does, it’s sure to be one of the greatest gaming releases of 2025.

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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Image by Nintendo

With the recent announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2, it was only right we included one of Nintendo’s biggest game releases on this list. Metroid 4 has been a long time coming for fans of the franchise – first announced back in 2017, when E3 was still gaming’s premiere event, this game has been on Metroid fans’ minds for eight long years, and finally, the time has come for Samus to suit up once again.

We only got a brief glimpse of Metroid 4 at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, but the title promises to be an exciting new journey into the world of this comparatively underrated Nintendo franchise. Advertisements from Retro Studios also promise a darker, more emotional side to this title, with a focus on cinematic and innovative storytelling. We can’t wait for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond to release this year, though a specific release date has not been clarified yet.

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Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Image by SEGA

The Like a Dragon franchise thrives on eccentricism, so seeing Goro Majima take to the high seas in a pirate-take on the beloved Yakuza character might be wild for fans unaccustomed to the series’ boldness, but for fans, the weirder the better. This entry in the franchise sees Majima stranded on a remote island, having experienced memory loss, as he builds his own pirate crew in pursuit of hidden treasure – a far stretch from the previous misadventures of the Yakuza franchise, but remaining in the same wild vein.

One of the strongest aspects of this title is how fans are likely given an entry point to a series bursting with releases. The zaniness of this title allows fans to jump into the Like a Dragon franchise without worrying about the story of previous entries, the weirdness being a major asset to it. If this release is anything like the previous games, it promises to be an exciting, beat ‘em up experience like no other this year. The title releases on February 21, 2025 – this one is just around the corner!

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Mafia: The Old Country

Image by 2K

2025 is set to be a big year for 2K, between the releases of Borderlands 4 and the latest entry in the beloved Mafia franchise, The Old Country. This is a new take on the Mafia franchise, set in 1900s Sicily, a prequel to the original Mafia game. Interestingly, the game is taking on the role of an origin story, detailing the origins of the Mafia, and the Torrisi crime family. For fans of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, this may be the 2025 release for you while you wait for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI.

This is not to diminish the strength of the Mafia games in their own right. The game is set to be linear and narrative-driven, a different approach to the open-world nature of the GTA franchise, but following the same style of gameplay. News surrounding Mafia: The Old Country has dominated the gaming industry throughout 2024, with announcements at both Gamescom 2024 and The Game Awards – now the release is just around the corner, and we can’t wait to see how the game turns out when it releases in mid-2025.

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Ghost of Yōtei

Image by Sony Interactive Entertainment

2020’s Ghost of Tsushima was one of the most exciting new releases of gaming in recent years. Now, in 2025, a sequel is on the way, thrilling fans across the globe. However, for those who haven’t had the chance to experience the original game yet, worry not! Ghost of Yōtei is set to be a standalone sequel, likely only tied to Ghost of Tsushima by subliminal references, if even that much. This means that players can jump into Sony’s take on the Edo period regardless of whether or not they’ve caught up on the franchise.

Like Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yōtei is set to be a third-person action-adventure game, in which the player must combine face-to-face combat with stealth to fight their way across Japan. Though we don’t have much information on the kind of story Ghost of Yōtei will tell, Sucker Punch Productions have promised that this title will give players more control over the narrative and decisions of the game’s protagonist than Ghost of Tsushima. This is undoubtedly one of our most anticipated releases of the year, and we can’t wait for it to drop for PlayStation 5 later this year.

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Fable

Image by Xbox Game Studios

Ghost of Yōtei may be a PS5-exclusive release, but Xbox gamers, fear not! Playground Games has you covered with the upcoming reboot of the beloved Fable franchise this year. There’s been a lot of talk surrounding the huge time gap between Grand Theft Auto V and VI – however, the last entry in the Fable franchise was released in 2012. This upcoming release is a huge announcement for fans, and for any gamer who enjoys action RPGs.

With that being said, fans have known about the upcoming reboot of Fable for quite a while. The game was first announced back in 2020, at an Xbox Showcase. Updates have been scarce in the interim, but in June 2024, a 2025 release date was finally announced. The game is a reboot, so it’s unlikely fans will need to play prior entries in the franchise to dive into 2025’s Fable, but it’s worth finding copies of the original games regardless – this series is a very fun time. Though we’re not sure exactly when, Fable is set to release in 2025, and if the game is as good as we hope, it’s set to be one of the biggest releases of the year for sure.

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Conclusion

2024 was somewhat of a lukewarm year for gaming, but here’s hoping that 2025 brings more thrills with its release line-up! Which of these games are you most excited to see released, and did we miss your personal most anticipated video game of the year? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

See also: Marvel Rivals Top 10 Heroes, Ranked

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