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2025 in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In the video game industry, 2025 saw the release of Nintendo's next-generation Nintendo Switch 2 console.
Critically acclaimed games
The following table lists the top-rated games released in 2025 based on Metacritic, which generally considers expansions as separate entities. The original versions of these games were released in 2025.
More information Title, Developer(s) ...
Title | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Release | Platform(s) | Average score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Sandfall Interactive | Kepler Interactive | April 24, 2025 | Win, PS5, XSX/S | 93 |
Blue Prince | Dogubomb | Raw Fury | April 10, 2025 | Win, PS5, XSX/S | 92 |
Donkey Kong Bananza | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | July 17, 2025 | NS2 | 91 |
Split Fiction | Hazelight Studios | Electronic Arts | March 6, 2025 | Win, PS5, XSX/S, NS2 | 91 |
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Major events
See also: 2025 in esports
More information Month, Day(s) ...
Month | Day(s) | Event |
---|---|---|
January | 7–10 | New gaming accessories and handheld consoles were revealed during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 showcase held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada.[2] |
February | 11–13 | The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosted the 2025 D.I.C.E. Summit and the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3] |
25 | Warner Bros. Games closed Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego.[4] | |
March | 12 | Scopely acquired the games division and related intellectual property of Niantic, Inc. for $3.5 billion, which included Niantic's Pokemon Go and Monster Hunter Now.[5] |
17–21 | The Game Developers Conference, including the Game Developers Choice Awards and the Independent Game Festival, were held in San Francisco, California. | |
19 | The first industry-wide video game union, the United Videogame Workers-Communication Workers of America, covering both the United States and Canada, was announced.[6] | |
25 | Game Informer announced that it had been acquired by Gunzilla Games and re-established themselves as an independent video game news outlet, additionally mentioning a revival of their print magazine and return of all laid off staff members.[7] | |
27 | Ubisoft announced the formation of a four billion euro subsidiary, with a 25% ownership by Tencent, to manage its top franchises, including Assassin's Creed and Far Cry.[8] | |
April | 2–13 | The 2025 London Games Festival, which comprises New Game Plus, the BAFTA Games Awards, Games Finance Market, Screen Play, Now Play This, The Trafalgar Square Games Festival, Side Events and The London Video Game Orchestra were held in London, England.[9] |
29 | Electronic Arts laid off between 300 and 400 employees, including at Respawn Entertainment and Codemasters.[10][11] | |
May | 2 | Rockstar Games issued a statement announcing a delay for Grand Theft Auto VI, pushing its release date to May 26, 2026.[12] |
9–11 | Evo Japan 2025 was held at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo.[13] | |
22 | Super Nintendo World opened to the public alongside Universal Epic Universe in Florida.[14] | |
June | 6–9 | Several streamed presentations were shown as part of the 2025 Summer Game Fest, including a live show on June 6 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.[15] |
July | 2 | Microsoft laid off about 4% of its workforce, leading to the closure of The Initiative, layoffs at several Microsoft Gaming studios, and cancelation of several games.[16] |
9 | SAG-AFTRA members voted to ratify a new interactive media contract negotiated with game developers and publishers, ending the year-long strike impacting voice actors.[17] | |
29 | Atari SA announced plans to acquire a controlling interest of Thunderful Group for about 4.5 million euro.[18] | |
August | 1–3 | The 2025 Evolution Championship Series was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada.[19] |
20–24 | Gamescom 2025 is being held in Cologne, Germany.[20] | |
September | 25–28 | Tokyo Game Show 2025 is scheduled to be held in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan.[21] |
December | 11 | The Game Awards 2025 is scheduled to be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.[22] |
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Notable deaths
- January 9 – Alan Emrich, 65, video game writer who coined the term 4X.[23]
- January 12 – Robert Machray, 79, actor with voice roles in The Dark Eye and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.[24]
- January 15 – David Lynch, 78, surrealist filmmaker whose work influenced numerous video games, including the Alan Wake series, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Silent Hill 2, the Persona series, Disco Elysium, and Deadly Premonition.[25][26]
- January 24 – Tetsuhisa Seko, 54, president of Nippon Ichi Software.[27]
- January 30 – Wayne June, voice actor who was announcer for Dota 2 and narrator of Darkest Dungeon.[28]
- February 3 – Stéphane Picq, 59, composer who scored Dune, MegaRace, Lost Eden, Atlantis: The Lost Tales, and Riverworld.[29]
- February 10 – Peter Tuiasosopo, 61, actor who played E. Honda in 1994's Street Fighter.[30]
- February 14 – William Roberts, 80, voice actor who voiced Vesemir in The Witcher series and Dromarch in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.[31][32]
- February 16 – Viktor Antonov, 52, art director of Half-Life 2 and Dishonored.[33]
- February 21 – Peter Jason, 80, actor with voice roles in Fallout 2 and Gears of War.[34]
- March 11 – Dave Mallow, 76, voice actor who voiced Akuma in the Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom series.[35]
- March 12 – Thomas Lee, 59, former EA employee who worked on games such as Final Fantasy IX, Parasite Eve, and Wing Commander III.[36]
- March 12 – Takashi Inagaki, 87, voice actor who voiced Yen Sid in the Kingdom Hearts series, Epic Mickey, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.[37]
- March 25 – Abdulaziz "HAX$" Al-Yami, 30, pro Super Smash Bros. Melee player.[38]
- April 3 – Narayana "River Boy" Johnson, audio director and composer for Cult of the Lamb.[39]
- April 5 – Bill Petras, art director for Blizzard Entertainment on several games, including StarCraft, World of Warcraft and Overwatch.[40]
- June 2 – Tim LeTourneau, developer with Maxis including producer on The Sims[41]
- June 9 – Pik-Sen Lim, 80, Chinese-born actress, including the voice of the narrator in the Dark Souls series. [42]
- July 3 – Michael Madsen, 67, film actor with various voice roles in video games including Grand Theft Auto 3, Driver 3, Narc and Dishonored.[43]
- July 8 – James Carter Cathcart, 71, voice actor who portrayed Gary Oak, James, Meowth and Professor Oak in Pokémon, and other appearances in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Sonic X, and Shadow the Hedgehog.[44]
- July 22 – Julian LeFay, 59, programmer from Bethesda Softworks considered the "father of the Elder Scrolls" for his work on The Elder Scrolls: Arena and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.[45]
- July 24 – Hulk Hogan, 71, pro wrestler who appeared in several WWE, WCW, and TNA video games including serving as the cover athlete of MicroLeague Wrestling, WWF WrestleMania, among other titles.[46]
- August 17 – Terence Stamp, 87, actor who appeared in The Getaway: Black Monday, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Halo 3 and Wanted: Weapons of Fate.
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Hardware releases

More information Month, Day ...
Month | Day | Console | Manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|
January | 15 | MSI Claw 8 AI+ | Micro-Star International |
February | 14 | Lenovo Legion Go S | Lenovo[47] |
June | 5 | Nintendo Switch 2 | Nintendo |
October | 16 | ROG Xbox Ally, ROG Xbox Ally X | Asus |
TBA | TBA | Acer Nitro Blaze 8 | Acer |
TBA | TBA | Acer Nitro Blaze 11 | Acer |
TBA | TBA | Atari Gamestation Go | My Arcade[48] |
TBA | TBA | Lenovo Legion Go 2 | Lenovo |
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Game releases
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January – March
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April – June
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July – September
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October – December
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Unscheduled releases
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Video game-based film and television releases
More information Title, Release / premiere date ...
Title | Release / premiere date | Type | Distributor(s) | Franchise(s) | Original game publisher(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grisaia: Phantom Trigger the Animation | January 2, 2025 | Anime television series | Tokyo MX (Japan) | The Fruit of Grisaia | Frontwing | [1080] |
Promise of Wizard | January 6, 2025 | Promise of Wizard | Coly | [1081] | ||
Tasokare Hotel | January 8, 2025 | Tasokare Hotel | SEEC | [1082] | ||
Farmagia | January 10, 2025 | Farmagia | Marvelous | [1083] | ||
Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing | January 17, 2025 | Anime film | Shochiku | Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! | Sega | [1084] |
Devil May Cry | April 3, 2025 | Adult animated television series | Netflix | Devil May Cry | Capcom | [1085] |
A Minecraft Movie | April 4, 2025 | Feature film | Warner Bros. Pictures | Minecraft | Mojang Studios | [1086] |
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers | April 5, 2025 | Anime television series | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Guilty Gear Strive | Arc System Works | [1087] |
Summer Pockets | April 7, 2025 | Summer Pockets | Visual Arts | [1088] | ||
Home Sweet Home Rebirth | April 11, 2025 | Feature film | Vertical | Home Sweet Home | Yggdrazil Group | [1089][1090] |
Until Dawn | April 25, 2025 | Sony Pictures Releasing | Until Dawn | Sony Interactive Entertainment | [1091] | |
Kamitsubaki City Under Construction | July 3, 2025 | Anime television series | TBS Television (Japan) | Kamitsubaki City Under Construction | Kamitsubaki Studio | [1092] |
Arknights: Rise from Ember | July 4, 2025 | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Arknights | Hypergryph (China) Yostar (worldwide) |
[1093] | |
9-Nine: Ruler's Crown | July 5, 2025 | 9-Nine | Palette | [1094] | ||
Nukitashi the Animation | July 19, 2025 | AT-X (Japan) | Nukitashi | Qruppo | [1095] | |
As One | August 22, 2025 | Anime film | Gaga Corporation | Starwing Paradox | Square Enix | [1096] |
Exit 8 | August 29, 2025 | Feature film | Toho | The Exit 8 | Kotake Create | [1097] |
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch | October 14, 2025 | Adult animated television series | Netflix | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell | Ubisoft | [1098][1099] |
Mortal Kombat II | October 24, 2025 | Feature film | Warner Bros. Pictures | Mortal Kombat | Midway Games | [1100] |
Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation | October 29, 2025 | Anime television series | Disney+ | Disney Twisted-Wonderland | Aniplex | [1101] |
Gnosia | October 2025 | TBA | Gnosia | Petit Depotto | [1102] | |
Monster Strike: Deadverse Reloaded | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Monster Strike | Mixi | [1103] | ||
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | December 5, 2025 | Feature film | Universal Pictures | Five Nights at Freddy's | Scott Cawthon | [1104][1105] |
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Cancelled and discontinued games
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Notes
- The calendar year is divided into four quarters, often abbreviated Q1 (January to March), Q2 (April to June), Q3 (July to September) and Q4 (October to December).
- Full release of an early access game.
- Battlefield Studios is a collective branding used for DICE, Ripple Effect Studios, Motive Studio and Criterion Games.
- Includes El Viento, Earnest Evans, and Anett Futatabi.
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References
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