A wave of blockbuster games is set to drop almost every month in 2025, with countless titles that could easily have made this list — Doom: The Dark Ages, Borderlands 4 and Gears of War: E-Day, to name just a few. But this list will focus on games with confirmed release dates or a fairly solid launch window.
In 2025 we’ll journey back to feudal Japan twice, explore a post-apocalyptic British countryside and hang out with hobbits in the Shire. And of course there’s a highly anticipated release that’s poised to be the biggest of the decade, plus a new Nintendo console potentially heralding the return of a beloved classic series.
Which games are you most excited for in 2025? Let us know in the comments below.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Following on from 2018’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance, this first-person adventure takes us back to a 15th-century Bohemia that is designed with an intense level of historical accuracy. Just like the original, this sequel is baked in gritty realism as we have to hunt, cook and fight our way to survival in gory melee combat. Again, Henry is our main protagonist and he’s out for revenge after his family is murdered. The world we will explore is much bigger this time with the addition of a medieval metropolis.
Available from February 4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7
Sticking with a busy February for games, Civilization VII has us assuming the role of a historical leader like Augustus or Machiavelli and taking charge of an empire from its prehistoric days through to the age of technology. The strategy epic’s campaign mode is now split into three chapters (Antiquity, Exploration and Modern) where we can control a different civilisation such as Rome or Egypt at each stage. It’ll make every play less predictable and more dramatic while also reflecting how different influences have shaped our contemporary world.
Available from February 11, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Shadows was originally due to be released in November last year but was delayed for some extra polishing. Now coming in February, it takes us to Japan for the first time in the Assassin’s Creed series. It’s an era of conflict and societal upheaval during the nation’s Sengoku period where we play as two characters: Naoe, a nimble shinobi assassin, and Yasuke, a brutal African warrior, considered by many historians to be the first foreign-born samurai.
Available from February 14, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds impressed when it was showcased at Gamescom 2024; visually it’s spectacular and the colossal clashes with the game’s monsters are exhilarating. An expedition of hunters are dispatched to a harsh landscape called the Forbidden Lands where a young boy is discovered after his village was devastated by a beast called the White Wraith. It features an evolving environment that alters the wildlife’s behaviour.
Available from February 28, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game
Cosy games without combat have been the rage for years now and there’s arguably no better place to unwind than among the peaceful hills of the Shire. Absent of the Ringwraiths, orcs and that darn ring, this Lord of the Rings game has us creating a hobbit and building a new village called Bywater. The gameplay looks inspired by Animal Crossing: New Horizons as we can fish, forage, cook and garden while sprucing up a snug Hobbit Hole.
Available from March 25, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Atomfall
In 1957 the UK suffered the worst nuclear disaster in its history as a reactor set fire at the Windscale facility in Cumbria. Atomfall takes place five years after that accident but in a fictional quarantine zone across the rolling hills of Britain’s countryside. It focuses on survival as players must craft weapons and find supplies in derelict buildings to stay alive. There’s a strange mystery at the story’s heart too, filled with rogue government agencies and cults reminiscent of classic science fiction novels from the likes of John Wyndham.
Available from March 27, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Mafia: The Old Country
The previous three Mafia games have been set in America, but this sequel will instead explore the origins of the crime syndicate in the Sicilian underworld during the early 1900s. The franchise has often drawn comparisons to Grand Theft Auto — we play crooks causing chaos in both — but developers have already shot down any resemblance between The Old Country and GTA VI, which could be released just months later. They’ve described it as a “linear, narrative-driven game” that offers a cinematic experience.
Available from summer 2025, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
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Grand Theft Auto VI
It’s not too far-fetched to say that Grand Theft Auto VI will be both the biggest game of 2025 and possibly the biggest of the decade. GTA V came out in 2013 and sold 205 million copies, earning the developer Rockstar $9 billion in revenue. Last December’s debut trailer showed off a more exotic and bonkers version of the Miami-inspired Vice City, set to the ballad of Tom Petty’s Love Is a Long Road. We don’t know much about the story yet, but we’ve had a glimpse of Lucia, the franchise’s first playable female character since it shifted to the 3D animation style in 2001.
Available from autumn 2025, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Since it was first announced in 2017, Metroid Prime 4 has been stuck in development hell. But we’ll finally get to play the first-person shooter in 2025. Not much has been revealed about the story but the latest trailer showed us the main character, Samus, leaping from a spaceship, shooting a bunch of aliens and diving into a morph ball. As expected with a Metroid game, there’ll be tonnes of action and puzzles. It’s been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch, but will it also debut alongside the console’s much-anticipated successor, which should launch next year?
Available on Nintendo Switch, date to be confirmed
Ghost of Yotei
Battling it out with Assassin’s Creed Shadows as the best feudal Japan-set game of the year, Ghost of Yotei is the sequel to 2019’s sublime Ghost of Tsushima. Three centuries have passed since the events of the first game and this time we play as the series newbie Atsu, a warrior exploring the snowy tundras and grasslands of Ezo under the towering shadow of Mount Yotei. Tsushima was so stylish and cinematic that it felt like an Akira Kurosawa film. This follow-up is the first that the developer Sucker Punch has made for the PS5, so it should look and feel even better to play.
Available on PS5, date to be confirmed
Let us know your most anticipated game in the comments below.
