If you wonder about most Anticipated Games of 2025, the answer is pretty simple: GTA VI, GTA VI, GTA VI, and a couple of other games. Seriously, GTA VI does not have much of a competition when it comes to being anticipated; not because other good games are not coming in 2025, but because nothing can match the hype Rockstar has created around this franchise. Maybe Elder Scrolls 6 could compete, but after Starfield’s lackluster reception, even that franchise lost a little bit of its momentum.
It’s not exaggeration to say GTA VI’s hype bubble not bursting is tied to the survival of the video game industry in general. If by some dark miracle, this game bombs, it can create a mess like we haven’t seen since the video game crash of 1983. GTA VI is going to be a trendsetter; it’s going to portray the most realistic video game world we have ever seen; it’s going to push the boundaries of… well… every category you can imagine. But enough about us gushing about this game. The world doesn’t revolve around GTA VI.
At least not yet.
What Makes a Game Anticipated in 2025?
The most anticipated games of 2025 all feature certain qualities that the contemporary gamer values, sometimes subconsciously. Let’s see what some of these qualities are:
Storytelling and World-Building Excellence
Storytelling in games ad world-building has become a sort of “all in or all out” kind of deal for video games. There are certain games like Death Stranding 2 and The Witcher 4, which treat it as their selling point, while there are some other games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Monster Hunter Wilds that are mostly reliant on their game-play to engage players and the story is just a very useful backdrop for all the Game Juice glory they provide.
However, what all these have in common is that they feature a unique world that you can get immersed in. Art direction plays a pivotal role in this day and age, because it’s the only tool you have to make your game stand out in this saturated market. Although the most anticipated games of 2025 are mostly sequels and spin-offs of existing franchises, but the fans expect these new iterations to provide a different feel for already familiar environments.
Take Borderlands 4, for example. After Borderlands 3, fans felt tired of Pandora, so this new sequel plans to take people to a new planet: Kairos. It’s safe to bet that this planet is going to be a whole different vibe compared to Pandora, but at the same time, it’s going to carry much of the visual identity from previous entries; you know, the kind of visual DNA that makes Borderlands feel like Borderlands.
Gameplay Innovations and Mechanics
Innovation, with capital I, is indie game’s forte right now; when it comes to AAA game industry, there’s too much at stake for developers to just do crazy stuff you have never seen before. But no AAA game is complete without providing a bit of a hook that sets it apart from everything else in the market. Take Elden Ring Nightreign example.
This game is some sort of battle royale, roguelike 3 player coop. When this game was being described, people absolutely could not guess the next word in the sentence. None of these elements are new by themselves, but combine them together and you’ve got something really unique, for better or worse.
Doom is planning to reinvent itself by going medieval. Again, not the most innovative move. Even the Sims did it (The Sims Medieval needs more love). But by adding medieval style weapons, the developers have opened a completely new approach to the addictive Doom formula. Hugo Martin, the director of the game, went so far as to say you can beat the game without using any guns, but it’s going to be challenging. We’re sure some Youtuber is going to make it look like a piece of cake.
The bottom line is: the most anticipated games of 2025 all have a certain trick up their sleeve to make sure they look different. What works and what won’t, only time can tell.
Read Also: Game Mechanics | Design, Importance, and Examples
Visuals and Realism
The divide between games with photorealistic graphics and games that unironically imitate 1 bit graphics (we’re looking at you Lucas Pope) continues to get wider. Now graphic heavy games have become fewer, but more determined than ever to make your hardware sweat.
The undisputed king of graphical fidelity to realism is going to be GTA VI. Rockstar fans are driving themselves crazy finding all the little details this company has put inside Red Dead Redemption 2 years after its release. Naturally, they expect GTA VI to take graphical realism to a whole different level, which would be insane to think about.
However, games like Death Stranding 2 and The Witcher 4 are also expected to shine bright in this department. While they are set in a sci-fi and fantasy universe respectively, but they have done a great job, trying to stay as realistic as possible within the confines of their speculative universe.
They are definitely more realistic than stylistic, which means a lot of work, especially considering the fact that they don’t have real-life counterparts to model after. After all, no one said becoming one of the most anticipated games of 2025 is an easy task.
Influence of Franchise Legacy
2025 is not a kind year for newcomers of any kind. Almost all of the games that are in the news cycle of video games websites are new entries in franchises that have already proven themselves. Even Avowed, which doesn’t have any numbers in front of its and looks like a brand new title, is set in the Pillars of Eternity universe.
Of course, this does not mean that new original titles won’t be released in 2025 or won’t attain success. But the thing is, they are not going to be anticipated. They would have to find their footing through word-of-mouth marketing; which means they have to be so God damn good some people won’t shut up about them and force others to play them too.
But for now, the games that are in our list of the most anticipated games of 2025 are all sequels, spin-offs and reboots of established franchises. The general sentiment of gamers has become very legacy-oriented, for better or worse.
Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2025
So, without further ado, let’s see what are some of the most anticipated games of 2025.
Grand Theft Auto VI
Yup, GTA VI is the undisputed king of all the anticipated games, maybe ever. There is a ridiculous amount of hype behind this game, with the phrase “X happened before GTA VI’s release” finding its way into pretty much all facets of life on the internet. When its trailer was uploaded on Youtube, it broke the world record for the greatest number of views on the first 12 hours for a non-music video content.
Not much is known about the game, apart from the fact that it’s going to have two protagonists: Jason and Lucia (who is the first female protagonist in the series). The game is set in the state of Leonida, which is heavily inspired by Florida and the trailer was basically a love letter to all the crazy stories about Florida that have become viral in the past few years.
There’s a slight possibility that this game might get delayed to 2026. But whenever it gets released, it’s bound to make someone a billionaire.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom has created a specific niche with the Monster Hunter franchise – killing big ass monsters in the coolest ways possible – and with each new entry, they show that they’re the only company that can satisfy the demand in style. Monster Hunter Wilds is by far the most ambitious MH game, featuring a massive seamless open-world in which you can hunt monsters with your friends across deserts and plains, without going through loading screens.
There is a huge emphasis on weather dynamics and environment changes. A storm might emerge and force a monster you are hunting to retreat, forcing you to change your strategy.
Monster Hunter Wilds is supposed to be the biggest MH game so far, with an insane number of character customization options, weapon types, monster types and general customization options. If the game doesn’t fall under its own weight, it’s going to be a real treat.
Avowed
Avowed is a first-person/third-person RPG by the Obsidian Entertainment, the veterans of the RPG industry. Judging by what we have seen from it so far, it’s safe to say this game stands at a crossroad: it can either be the new Skyrim, or be the poor man’s Skyrim for people that didn’t get their fix by Bethesda. The Elder Scrolls games, despite having rich world building and great immersive qualities, are not known for their narrative depth. The main narrative is usually a serviceable romp that gives you the excuse to do something epic. But Obsidian Entertainment has always been known to deliver top-notch stories, even when everything else was unpolished.
So, this is what Avowed has going for it: it’s supposed to be Skyrim, but with actual narrative depth. Obsidian had enough time to flesh out the universe for this game through Pillars of Eternity games, so one can remain hopeful.
Borderlands 4
It’s safe to say that people are experiencing some sort of “franchise fatigue” with Borderlands. The movie adaptation bombed and Borderlands 3 did not enjoy the rave reviews and word-of-mouth advertisement that Borderlands 2 did. Borderlands 4 can either restore the franchise to its former glory, or be the last nail on its coffin.
The biggest change from previous entries is that this new game is set in a new planet called Kairos with a shattered moon looming overhead. The identity of Borderlands has been tied to Pandora so strongly that this change of scenery almost feels like a soft reboot for the franchise. Although we have yet to see if this change is a real vibe switch or it’s just the marketing department paying lip service to the customer that demands something fresh.
Apart from the change, the core appeal remains the same: there are going to be a billion zillion different types of guns you can toy with. If only better writing and humor complements the laser shooting shotgun in your hand, Borderlands 4 can be one of the pleasant surprises of 2025.
Elden Ring Nightreign
Ok, this one’s really weird. A roguelike Battle Royale 3 player co-op mishmash in the Elden Ring universe? What the hell were they smoking? But Elden Ring Nightrein is a thing now, and for all intents and purposes, it could be something really amazing. The game basically goes through 3-day cycles in which the procedurally generated environment gets smaller and smaller and at the end of the run, you have to fight the final boss. The task of you and your coop partners is to get ready for this final battle in the 3 days the game provides for you.
Knowing what we know about the difficulty of From Software games, it’s safe to assume that some of these 3 day runs with 3 of your friends are going to result in legendary plays, but still, we can’t get over the fact that From Software is making a co-op Battle Royale/Roguelike hybrid. Since 2009, From Software has been on an incredible streak, delivering banger after banger with no obvious misfires. Could this be their first blunder, or will Nightreign prove they literally can make anything work? Only time will tell.
Death Stranding 2
Nowadays, anytime a photo of a beautiful girl is posted on the internet, you might find Somone in the comments who says: “Kojima will scan her”. Yes, Kojima has been scanning a lot of people for his newest foray into blockbuster weirdness, somehow managing to attract high profile actors and arthouse directors to play cameo roles and secondary roles in a video game as if it’s a badge of pride.
Death Standing 1 was a polarizing game. It was one of those games you had to “get”, otherwise it would seem like a pretentious mess. But enough people got it, so now we have Death Stranding 2. There are new additions like Elle Fanning and George Miller to an already star-studded cast, making sure that package delivery has never looked so fancy.
It’s safe to assume that whoever didn’t like DS 1 is going to not like DS 2 even more. Kojima is a man who prefers to double down, not to tone it down. So, if you’re into weirdness, indie devs got you covered. Don’t leave them hanging. But if you’re into weirdness with AAA quality, 2025 has something just for you.
Doom: The Dark Ages
It’s Doom Medieval. There’s not much more to say. The legions of hell have infiltrated a Medieval world and the Doom Slayer – as some sort of eternal out-of-space out-of-time warrior archetype – goes after them to get medieval on their asses (Sorry, had to do it). The world is medieval, but the Doom Slayer and the legions of hell are not. This has resulted in a fusion of medieval and sci-fi aesthetics that gives this game a unique look.
There are some new toys for you to play with: a shield saw that you can throw around like Captain America and a bad-ass looking flail that is designed to crush demon bones.
Judging by what we have seen from the trailers, it looks like the game-play is going to be a little bit more grounded compared to Doom Eternal; the game is designed in a way that you have to be able to finish it without using guns. So, the game-play is going to be a breath of fresh air for people who have already mastered the combat style of previous Dooms.
Medieval aesthetic and Doom are not as surprising as it might sound, because that’s basically what Quake 1 was back in the day. So, in a way, this game is id Software going back to its roots more than anything.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
In its very own exclusive corner, Nintendo has been doing its own thing for a long time now. All of the big Mario and Zelda games are guaranteed to be system sellers, but alongside these tried and tested franchises, we have also got Metroid, the franchise that pioneered a very influential genre (Metroidvania) and then switched to console FPS with Metroid Prime series. Recently, Nintendo published a remastered version of the first three Metroid Prime games for Switch and now, Metroid Prime 4, the long-awaited sequel that was first announced in E3 2017, is close to finally being released.
Metroid Prime has a whole different vibe to it: it has morph ball traversal, clue scanning, interconnected areas and a special emphasis on isolation in alien world, which is one of the few signature qualities that connects it to its 2D side-scroller counter-part.
It is logical to assume that Metroid Prime 4 is going to have one of the best graphics on a Nintendo console. For that reason, there’s a slight possibility that Nintendo delays its release and turn it into a lunch title for Switch 2.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
Ah, good old Assassin’s Creed. You can always expect people to complain about it and then watch as each new entry becomes one of the biggest games in the year that it is released in. AC Shadows has gone through all sorts of controversy: from the inclusion of Yasuke (a black man) as one of the main protagonists to the ability to destroy holy objects inside Shinto temples. But hey, it’s Assassin’s Creed. It’s going to feature one of the most realistic and comprehensive portrayals of Feudal Japan. Assassin’s Creed has never failed to deliver in its portrayal of historical epochs.
This game has made Japan lovers a bit mad (whether rightly or wrongly, it’s up to you). But it’s going to bring the same old Assassin’s Creed goodness and we’re pretty sure that it’s going to be at least financially successful.
Ghost of Yōtei
Speaking of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we’ve got another “Samurai Simulator in Historically Accurate Japan” contender: Ghost of Yotei. This is a semi-sequel to the acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima. It takes place 300 years after that game (in 1603) and features a new female protagonist called Atsu.
We can pretty much expect the same things we saw in Ghost of Tsushima from this game: breathtaking visuals, a character-driven narrative and a standard open-world fare. The biggest difference is that the game takes place in Mount Yotei in Ezo, which was outside of Japan’s rule at the time the game takes place in. So, the vibe is going to be different; more untamed nature, less samurai clans hanging about. Also, the protagonist is female this time, so there’s that.
Gaming Trends to Expect in 2025
We can notice the emergence of new trends if we analyze the most anticipated games of 2025 more closely. Here are the most notable ones.
Open World and Immersive Gameplay
If you look at the list above, you’ll notice that open-world games are all the rage, with 8 out of 10 most anticipated games being open-world titles. It makes sense why Open-world is all the rage right now if you understand the current state of game industry. AAA games are expensive and time-consuming to make and when they get published, they need to be presented as this big project that can consume your life for a while and make that 60–70-dollar price tag justifiable.
The only genre that can provide that level of content is open-world. Linear games with a tight narrative that have a beginning, middle and an end can last (healthily) to 20 hours at most and do not fit the current industry trends. Therefore, open-world games are all the rage, because even a casual play-through can guarantee a 50-hour playtime at least.
Open-world games are also in line with another trend: immersion. Immersion is the quality that allows a gamer to feel like they’re part of the game they’re playing. Although linear games like Last of Us have managed to be immersive, but open-world games are more guaranteed to convey that feeling.
AI and Player Interaction
Another emerging trend in 2025 and beyond is the inclusion of AI in NPC interactions to make them more believable. Although it’s still too soon for AI to take over any real story content, but it can be used to fill up background chatter of NPCs or prompt NPCs to give context-appropriate responses for any kind of variable, rather than just a few pre-determined ones.
We can speculate that GTA VI’s NPCs are going to be the most realistic in any game ever, with AI (and the promise of 1500 “world events”) making them behave in ways that gives would feel realistic with a capital R. An anonymous tester who has seen footages from the game has gone on record, saying: “shooting people is so realistic that it makes you feel bad, like a sense of guilt.”
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Technological Innovations
Unreal Engine 5 is all the rage in 2025. The Witcher 4, Borderlands 4 and Doom: The Dark Ages are all using it and with the ubiquitous presence of the engine everywhere else due to Epic’s unshaking support and the rich asset marketplace, we can imagine many more developers are going to use it in the future.
Apart from Unreal Engine’s technical mastery, a new technological innovation that has managed to take hold is PS5’s haptic technology, which can let you feel sensations through vibrations, resistance, or motion on your controller. This idea is basically controller vibration taken up to eleven and it’s one of those ideas that might stick, despite seeming a bit gimmicky at first.
Gaming Events and Reveals Leading to 2025
2025’s gaming lineup is already drooling over itself, and the events leading up to it are basically the hype machine’s fuel. E3’s dead for better or worse, so now we’ve got Nintendo Directs (April 2025 might spill Switch 2 beans) and PlayStation State of Plays (May, maybe, if Sony stops napping) dropping random bombshells on Metroid Prime 4 Ghost of Yōtei. Capcom’s cooking Monster Hunter Wilds streams to anticipate its February launch, while indie fests like Day of the Devs sneak in quirky sideshows of the thousand indie games we’re going to get in 2025 and beyond. It’s a chaotic mess of reveals and honestly, it’s all just foreplay for GTA VI’s inevitable world domination.
The Game Awards 2025
December 11, 2025, at LA’s Peacock Theater is going to be legendary, because it is gaming’s overhyped prom night, and Geoff Keighley’s there to make sure it all goes smoothly. The awards are cool, sure, but the real juice is the trailers. Last year gave us The Witcher 4’s Ciri flex and Borderlands 4’s “please don’t suck” plea, so expect 2025 to drop some bombshells too.
With 85 million streams last time, December is the night gaming pretends it’s Hollywood. Although judging by all the things we hear from Hollywood, maybe it wouldn’t be an entirely bad idea for this pretension to stop.
PAX 2025
PAX 2025 is the nerd herd’s playground, popping off three times like the fairy godmother to bless nerds: PAX East (May 8–11, Boston) hits post-Avowed and Wilds, letting you paw at Elden Ring Nightreign’s co-op chaos or Metroid Prime 4’s alien vibes; PAX West (August 29–September 1, Seattle) rolls in for Doom: The Dark Ages demos and Ghost of Yōtei hype, sweaty hands-on action before fall’s big drops.
PAX Unplugged (November, Philly) appeals to dice rollers, but might sneak Witcher tabletop nods. It’s 100,000+ fans per show, all screaming over indie booths and overpriced nachos.
Gamescom 2025
Gamescom 2025 (August 20–24, Cologne) is the big kahuna and the true successor to E3; it boasts 335,000 gamers cramming Germany’s halls, and it’s 2025’s mid-year hype bomb. Opening Night Live (August 19, Geoff Keighley again; does he sleep?) might finally show GTA VI’s Florida madness or The Witcher 4’s Ciri carving up beasts. You’ll dodge cosplayers to test Borderlands 4’s billion guns or Death Stranding 2’s baby mech nonsense. It’s loud, it’s crowded and it’s bound to make gaming journos happy, because they finally have a lot to write about.
Summer Game Fest 2025
Summer Game Fest 2025 (June 6, LA’s YouTube Theater) is the year’s opening act; Geoff Keighley’s (Yup, this guy again) two-hour hype reel, streaming to all those who are interested in gaming news beyond headlines. Summer Game Fest, which is exclusively focused on streaming, was created during Covid times, so it’s already a relic of a lost bygone era. It’s a great opportunity for some developers to showcase their stuff without the stress of organizing for real conferences with real people in the audience. Hell, someone might get to present their game without their pants on.
Conclusion
The most anticipated games of 2025 are big, flashy mostly open-world titles that continue the legacy of established franchises. With the advent of new technologies like AI and Haptic feedback, we can expect gaming to continue moving towards interesting unexpected directions. We just hope that if GTA VI comes out in 2025, it doesn’t steal the spotlight from everyone else. God knows that some gaming companies are driving themselves crazy thinking about when to release their game so it’s not close to GTA VI’s release date. More info on GTA VI can literally save jobs! Let’s hope one of these gaming events can make that happen.
