The 15 Most Exciting Game Releases of 2025
Another year of anticipated launches begins now.
The new year has just begun, and there¡¯s already plenty to look forward to in gaming in 2025. From massive franchise sequels to original indie games, the wild variety of gaming is already on full display, with plenty of surprises sure to come later in the year. Release dates are sure to be shuffled and Balatro-like hits that no one saw coming could shake things up further, but until then, here are the 15 most exciting video games coming in 2025.
Hyper Light Breaker
The long-awaited follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter hits Early Access this year.
Nearly 10 years after Hyper Light Drifter, the beautifully brutal indie action game is getting a spiritual sequel at last. Hyper Light Breaker moves into 3D and adds multiplayer while trying to keep the challenging combat and gorgeous world of its predecessor intact. This time, levels are procedurally generated to make every playthrough unique, and the vertical dimension offers a new way to explore. Hyper Light Breaker hits Steam Early Access this year, with a full release expected in 2026.
Hyper Light Breaker will be released Jan. 14 in Early Access on PC.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
Ender Magnolia is a dark, moody sci-fi Metroidvania with a unique combat system.
The sequel to 2021¡¯s excellent indie Metroidvania Ender Lilies launched in Early Access in 2024, and its 1.0 release is due early this year. Like the previous game in the series, Ender Magnolia casts players as a child with the ability to summon vanquished foes to aid her in combat. Ender Magnolia replaces Ender Lilies¡¯ fantasy setting with a sci-fi world, and in its pre-release version, combat is already considerably faster and more fun as well.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist will be released Jan. 22 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Citizen Sleeper 2 mixes the best that video games and tabletop RPGs have to offer.
Citizen Sleeper wove elements of tabletop RPGs into its compelling sci-fi story in 2022, and its upcoming sequel looks to push its fusion of tabletop and video games even further. Set in the far-flung future in a downtrodden corner of the galaxy, Citizen Sleeper 2 asks players to manage a crew of misfits on difficult, dubiously legal jobs, adding a whole new layer of challenge. If its demo last year is anything to go by, Citizen Sleeper 2 still packs an incredible narrative punch along with its more finely honed dice system.
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector will be released Jan. 31 on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Assassin¡¯s Creed Shadows
Splitting the action between two protagonists is a major change for Assassin¡¯s Creed.
The Assassin¡¯s Creed series has changed a lot in the nearly two decades of its existence, and Assassin¡¯s Creed Shadows could be one of its biggest leaps to date. Shadows splits its protagonist duties between two characters: nimble shinobi Naoe, who handles stealth, and powerful samurai Yasuke, who takes care of combat. It also marks the series¡¯ first foray into feudal Japan, a setting that fans have been begging to see for years. First slated for release in 2024, Shadows finally shows players the future of Assassin¡¯s Creed early this year.
Assassin¡¯s Creed Shadows will be released Feb. 14 on PS5, Xbox, and PC.
Avowed
Avowed explores the fantastical world of Pillars of Eternity from a whole new point of view.
After building its fantastical setting of Eora in the excellent Pillars of Eternity games, Obsidian Entertainment is set to explore it from a new perspective. Avowed lets players loose in Eora from a first-person perspective ¡ª but wisely aiming for a smaller, more authored experience than the behemoth open world of Skyrim. It¡¯s still likely to appeal to fans of Bethesda¡¯s Elder Scrolls games, thanks to its wild fantasy world and a huge amount of choice in how players approach quests, but with the narrative chops of Obsidian backing it up.
Avowed will be released Feb. 18 on Xbox and PC.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds looks like the series¡¯ most ambitious entry to date.
After Monster Hunter Worlds brought Capcom¡¯s venerable co-op series to whole new audiences, Monster Hunter Wilds looks poised to bring even more hunters into the fold. Set in a vast ecosystem that¡¯s more reactive to players than ever before, Monster Hunter Wilds continues the series¡¯ tightrope walk of adding more complexity for returning players without totally baffling newcomers. It does that with a helpful new mount, AI-controlled companions, and, of course, plenty of new monsters to turn into fashionable armor.
Monster Hunter Wilds will be released Feb. 28 on PS5, Xbox, and PC.
Split Fiction
Co-op adventure Split Fiction runs players through a gauntlet of ever-changing sci-fi and fantasy levels.
One of the wildest games revealed at The Game Awards 2024, Split Fiction is the next title from It Takes Two developer Hazelight Studios. The new co-op adventure stars a sci-fi author and a fantasy author who are trapped in a simulation of their own work by an evil tech CEO trying to steal their ideas for his own profit. Each level moves between fantasy and sci-fi settings with a huge amount of variety in the challenges they present to players.
Split Fiction will be released March 6 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Wanderstop
Wanderstop uses a cozy foundation to tell a story about healing from trauma.
Developed by a team including creators of The Stanley Parable and Gone Home, Wanderstop is both a cozy tea-making game and a critique of the entire cozy genre. It follows a warrior who turns to a low-key job at a tea shop to deal with her trauma and finds it not as relaxing as she¡¯d hoped, inspired by its developers¡¯ own experiences of burnout.
Wanderstop will be released March 11 on PS5 and PC.
Cairn
Cairn is a survival climbing sim that will put your patience and planning to the test.
If 2023¡¯s Jusant left you wanting more games about mountain climbing, Cairn should be on your radar. Described by developer The Game Bakers as a ¡°survival climber,¡± Cairn takes a more hardcore approach than Jusant, demanding that players manage every handhold on their climb to the top while making time to eat, drink, and otherwise take care of your body¡¯s needs. There¡¯s a PC demo out now, for anyone wo wants a taste of its unforgiving climbing before launch.
Cairn will be released in 2025 on PC.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Death Stranding 2 already looks as captivating ¡ª and as baffling ¡ª as its predecessor.
How do you even follow up on a game as inscrutable and one-of-a-kind as Death Stranding? That¡¯s a hard question to answer right now, as Death Stranding 2¡¯s trailers do more to add to the mystery than dispel it. What we do know is that it involves talking puppets, cyborgs, breathtaking vistas, and plenty of baffling celebrity cameos just like you¡¯d expect from Kojima Productions. Whatever Death Stranding 2 ends up being, it¡¯s guaranteed to be like no other game.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released in 2025 on PS5.
Demonschool
Demonschool pulls from influences as disparate as Suikoden and old-school horror movies.
After a series of delays, one of our most anticipated RPGs of 2024 has become one of the most promising of 2025. Demonschool mashes up elements of games like Persona and Suikoden with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and still comes out feeling totally original. Its band of college students turned demon hunters juggles battling supernatural threats with tending to their social lives in a story packed with as much humor as horror. A unique turn-based combat system turns every round into a cinematic clash that demands precision more than brute strength.
Demonschool will be released in 2025 on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Ghost of Yotei
Ghost of Y¨tei is a whole new story set hundreds of years after Ghost of Tsushima.
The follow-up to 2020¡¯s Ghost of Tsushima is making some bold changes, including centering around a brand-new protagonist and fast-forwarding more than 300 years from the events of the original game. It follows samurai Atsu as she dons the mask of the Ghost in the area around modern-day Hokkaido at a time when it fell outside of the reach of Japan¡¯s governance. Other than that, what to expect in Ghost of Y¨tei is still up in the air, but building on the foundation of Ghost of Tsushima is a solid start.
Ghost of Y¨tei will be released in 2025 on PS5.
Grand Theft Auto VI
The Grand Theft Auto series returns to Vice City this year.
It¡¯s anyone¡¯s guess whether GTA VI will actually make its 2025 launch window, but for now, Rockstar Games is sticking to it. For all the hype and speculation around the game, we know very little about GTA VI, other than that it marks the return of the Vice City setting and follows two characters on a Bonnie-and-Clyde-inspired crime spree through a massive simulated world. Regardless of what shape it takes and when it hits its release date, there¡¯s no denying it¡¯s going to be huge.
Grand Theft Auto VI will be released in 2025 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Elden Ring Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign finally brings a straightforward multiplayer experience to a FromSoftware game.
One of The Game Awards 2024¡¯s biggest surprises, Elden Ring Nightreign is a co-op multiplayer spinoff of FromSoftware¡¯s hit open-world RPG. Teams of three players will take on a series of enemies in 40-minute matches, growing stronger on their way to challenge imposing bosses. It¡¯s an unusual project for FromSoftware and one that could finally fulfill the desire of many fans to play through Elden Ring with multiplayer that isn¡¯t a pain.
Elden Ring Nightreign will be released in 2025 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
One of the most anticipated Nintendo games ever, Metroid Prime 4, is set to release this year.
Metroid Prime 4 has ascended to near-mythical status in the long wait since 2007¡¯s Metroid Prime 3, but evidently this is the year it finally launches. A 2024 gameplay trailer showed a massive battle between heroine Samus and her Space Pirate nemeses, complete with Metroid staples like the Morph Ball. From the looks of it, Metroid Prime 4 might not bring many gameplay surprises, instead doubling down on what¡¯s made the series great so far.
