Image: Rockstar Games
Here are the games we’re most excited to get our hands on this year.
New year, new games. This year is chock-full of highly-anticipated video games for everyone to look forward to, from blockbuster open-world games like Grand Theft Auto 6 to slice-of-life indies like Mixtape. It’s not so much a matter of finding games to look forward to, as it is a matter of narrowing a very long list down to the few games you actually have time to check out.
To that end, we’ve compiled a list of our 10 most anticipated new game releases of 2025 for your perusal:
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (24 April, 2025)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been turning heads since its announcement, thanks to its classic turn-based combat, gorgeous visuals, and star-studded cast. The game takes place in a dystopian world ruled by the whims of the mysterious Paintress. The Paintress wakes up once a year and paints a number on her monolith, after which everyone who is of that age dies immediately. The story follows an expedition led to kill her once and for all.
Charlie Cox (Daredevil: Born Again), Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate 3), Ben Starr (Final Fantasy 16), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), and more star. Read more here.
The Midnight Walk (8 May, 2025)
The Midnight Walk was made using real-life clay models, and rendered to virtual life with stop-motion-like animation. The story follows the Burnt One, who befriends a lost lantern creature named Potboy. Together, the duo journey through a world of magical horror, trying to keep Potboy alive while meeting a colourful variety of characters. The game can also be played in VR.
Doom: The Dark Ages (15 May, 2025)
Id Software returns to the hellish landscape of the Doom franchise with this medieval installment, which asks players to “stand and fight.” This prequel takes place during a time of war; the Doomguy is fighting the forces of hell as part of the Sentinels’ warrior caste. Unlike previous games, which favoured a more frantic pace of rip-and-tear gameplay, this game sees the Doomguy take on melee weapons like shock gloves and flails to battle entire battlefields of demons at a time.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (28 August, 2025)
After successfully remaking Silent Hill 2, Konami is going after another classic: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. With all-new controls, refurbished graphics, and rebuilt environments, this remake is the perfect entry point for newcomers into the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The story picks up with Naked Snake attempting to infiltrate Soviet territory and rescue a defecting scientist, while also eliminating his former mentor – The Boss.
GTA 6 (TBA 2025)
Rockstar Games’ open-world crime game franchise is finally making a comeback this year. It’s an understatement to call Grand Theft Auto 6 highly-anticipated, as it follows the absolute juggernaut that was Grand Theft Auto 5 – a game that launched two console generations ago and eventually became the second-best selling game of all time. Its online component, GTA Online, is still beloved by fans today.
It’s hard to imagine any sort of follow-up coming close to GTA 5’s level of success, but after 13 years without a new installment in the franchise, the pressure is on for Rockstar to make it happen. If nothing else, we can finally look forward to laying the “We got X before GTA 6” meme to rest at long last.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (TBA 2025)
Speaking of Metal Gear Solid, series creator Hideo Kojima’s next game is set to launch sometime this year. Developer Kojima Productions’ sequel to Death Stranding is an expansive one, focusing on reconnecting the entire world in the post-apocalypse, rather than America alone. The first game’s big bad Higgs returns with a murderous guitar, Sam Porter Bridges has a talking puppet, and more weirdness is in store for fans of the “strand-type game.”
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (TBA 2025)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has been a long, long, long time coming. The game was originally announced back in 2017, a whole decade after the release of Metroid Prime 3, no less. Development on the game was then rebooted in 2019, before Nintendo finally gave fans a proper look at it last year. Thankfully, it looks great – this first-person shooter stars Samus Aran, who lands in the Galactic Federation Research Facility in the midst of an invasion.
Elden Ring Neightreign
FromSoftware’s follow-up to Elden Ring is a multiplayer PvE game that has players work together to defeat bosses from not just Elden Ring, but the entire Souls franchise. Fans have already spotted The Nameless King from Dark Souls 3, who’s sure to make short work of unsuspecting players. It’s no Elden Ring 2, but it’ll do!
Mixtape (TBA 2025)
Developer Beethoven & Dinosaur unveiled an intriguing new game called Mixtape last year, drawing inspiration from coming-of-age movies to tell a story through “a mixtape of memories.” This game follows three friends who embark on an adventure on their last night of high school. On their way to one final party, they listen to a playlist that brings up all manner of old memories.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A (Late 2025)
The Pokemon Company is finally releasing a sequel to Pokemon Legends: Arceus this year, with a few upgrades to its real-time combat system. This time, players will be able to give their Pokemon commands on the fly, and reposition themselves in order to dodge upcoming attacks. The game is set in Pokemon X and Y’s Lumiose City, which is in the midst of an ambitious urban redevelopment plan.
