With 2024 pretty much over and done with, it’s time to turn our attention to 2025 and the games that it will bring.
While this list is personal, it does point out an issue with 2025 game releases: There aren’t that many games with concrete release dates. After the launch failure of Cyberpunk 2077, video game companies are not wanting to publish a release date well ahead of time, leaving them enough breathing room to delay games until they are in a playable state that the company won’t get backlash if they release something that is only halfway playable.
That issue aside, these games listed either have a locked-in release date, or have been announced to be launching during the 2025 gaming year… If all goes to plan.
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Starting things off is one of the more controversial games to be released in 2025. While the Assassin's Creed series is one of the more revered gaming series to still exist, Assassin's Creed Shadows is considered to be a "step in the wrong direction" when it comes to character selection and setting working together. There is an ongoing debate about the legitimacy of one of the main characters, Yasuke, and the idea of the second character, Fujibayashi Naoe, being historically accurate.
All that aside, Assassin's Creed Shadows is still an Assassin's Creed game, meaning that the gameplay and story are going to be well worth playing. While many outlets are going to compare this game with things like Ghosts of Tsushima, I think that Assassin's Creed Shadows is going to carve its own nitch in the action-adventure world and be reviewed very positively... Unless Ubisoft does what Ubisoft does and screws things up with bad QA testing or something worse: Microtransactions.
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
Release Date: February 21, 2025
The Like A Dragon series has caught on like wildfire. Who knew that making the Yakuza series into an RPG would create something so new and refreshing that it would go on to make the Yakuza series not only more popular in Japan, but spread into worldwide fame? The wacky world of Yakuza is not to everyone's tastes, but once again the Like A Dragon series is changing things up with a more combo heavy, almost Dynasty Warriors style, gameplay system and adding in navel combat too. So the adventures of Goro Majima in Hawaii look to be shaping up to be another smash hit for the Like A Dragon series... Plus, this game has AEW wrestler Samoa Joe as one of the Pirate Kings, and if they make him playable or as a member of Goro's crew, then this game will instantly hit my Top 5 of 2025.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Release Date: February 28, 2025
I have an interesting history with the Monster Hunter series, each time one comes out, people tell me that I need to play it with them but when the time comes to play none of them are available to play, leaving me to play the game alone. While Monster Hunter does have a great single-player experience, the game is best played with other people, with different combinations of classes to help take down some very challenging foes. This is what monster Hunter is all about.
What got me interested in Monster Hunter Wilds is how easy the game is to play on your own, with the gameplay fitting to a single-player experience first and an online experience second. The beta period late in 2024 was a good look at how the game works solo, giving you more options at your disposal rather than just hitting the same thing over and over again till you get what you want. Of course, the game is still best with friends, but Capcom has shown that getting that online experience with friends going is more complex than writing an Excel sheet to do anything useful.
The demo is what sold me on giving this series a go again as I've got multiple friends interested, and that included a lot of people here at The Outerhaven, with Keith already taling with our Capcom connections to get four copies of the game so that when it drops, we can stream and play together for the review. So look forward to a lot of Monster Hunter Wilds coverage leading up to and beyond the launch of the game near the end of Feburary.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Release Date: April 24, 2025
We've seen the return of Tekken, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat in 2024, so with 2025 it looks like other fighting game franchises are getting their turn at trying to take the fighting game crown. Fatal Fury is the latest franchise to jump into the ring and throw hands, complete with a crossover with Street Fighter as characters like Ken and Chun Li join the likes of Terry Bogard, Joe Higashi, and newcomers Preecha and Vox Reaper.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves looks to be a decent fighting game, but like most of the more recent returns to this genre, the success of the game is going to come down to the online code (It's confirmed if Fatal Fury is going to use the popular rollback net code), the story mode experience, and more importantly: How many DLC packs or microtransactions are included with the game. Hopefully, Fatal Fury learns the lesson from Mortal Kombat and doesn't screw things up thanks to corporate greed and nickle and dimes players to death, or makes the game complex for no reason. Only time will tell here.
Borderlands 4
Release Date: To Be Announced 2025
We begin our journey into uncharted waters with Borderlands 4. Considering that the franchise did take a little bit of a brand hit with the movie not being all that great, it did result in the game series getting a huge boost in people buying the game for the first time to play what the series is actually about. This upswing in players caused GearBox to announce that they are going into production of the fourth entry into the main shooter-looter franchise.
As someone who has played, or attempted to play, all of the main Borderlands games with my friend TJ to great delight... We didn't play through Borderlands 3 because we just couldn't get together enough to get the game going into anything decent, especially since I broke the game in our first playthrough by skipping a story trigger point... However, we have no idea what this game is going to be, who is going to be playable, or if CLAPTRAP is going to be shootable. With everything being a mystery, we shall see if Borderlands 4 is going to be worth buying and playing... If it does come out in 2025.
CAPCOM Fighting Collection 2
Release Date: To Be Announced 2025
After getting a smash hit with the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection in 2024, Capcom is teaming up with SNK to release CAPCOM Fighting Collection 2, which is going to feature the popular Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, and Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium alongside Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein, Capcom Fighting Evolution, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper (The first time the PSP port is available on something people will play), Power Stone, Power Stone 2 (FINALLY!), and Project Justice (aka Rival Schools 2). While some people will be upset that Rival Schools: United by Fate still remains locked to the PlayStation era, it will be great to have these games available to play online and offline once again.
At this rate, it will look like all of Capcom's popular fighting games will be back on modern consoles if you buy everything. As someone who grew up in the Capcom golden age of the 1990s and 2000s, I can't wait to get my hands on these games once again and do some damage to those who dare to cross my path... Until I go online and get my ego crushed by people who are much better than I am... Damn my old age.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Release Date: To Be Announced 2025
It's a great time to be a 90s kid. Doom returned to its throne as the king of shooters a few years back with the remade DOOM game, and followed that up with DOOM Eternal, another great version of the decades-old blood-splatter shooter-fest.
Doom: The Dark Ages looks to be the origin of the Doomslayer... Well, the rewritten version anyway. (People will know that Doom began because the demons killed Daisy, the Doomslayer's pet bunny, sending our hero into a rage-fueled rampage) We will take control of the Doomslayer as we head into a medieval-looking version of hell on Earth, complete with new mechanics like a chainsaw/shield weapon, a giant mech, and a dragon. It looks like a good day to go down to hell and kick some demon ass... Bring it on.
Final Fantasy XIV: Mobile
Release Date: To Be Announced 2025
This one is interesting. I'm still not sure if Final Fantasy XIV: Mobile is going to be a solo experience, or if it going to work alongside the current PC and console versions of the game. From the sounds of it, Final Fantasy XIV: Mobile is going to work with the current versions, but be a cut-down version of the game so people can log in and play via the mobile interface.
While I didn't get a chance to ask anything of this project with Yoshida-san during my interview with him in 2024, as he announced the game after his trip to Australia, my time with him was enough for me to trust that he has the best interests of the players at heart, which will lead to something that will meet his expectations and outcomes. We'll see what comes of this version of the best selling MMORPG that comes with a free trial... Yeah, you know the meme by now. Soon enough you will not be able to escape Final Fantasy XIV, for it will be everywhere.
Judas
Release Date: To Be Announced 2025
We know nothing about Judas except that it is made by the same team and developers that were behind the Bioshock series, and I love Bioshock. Judas looks like more of what made me enjoy Bioshock: Guns and Powers. This time around it looks like you're playing as a rebel of "the system" who screwed things up and is looking to make things right again by taking down robots, other people, and "the big three". Instead of being under the sea, you're going to be out in space, making things all the more interesting by adding gravity to the mix alongside the threat of being sucked out into the cold vacuum of space itself. With luck, there will be more information leading up to the launch of Judas, which will either make this a must-play game, or something to avoid.
Grand Theft Auto VI
Release Date: To Be Announced 2025
Yep, we've talked about this game for how many years now? After playing the crap out of Grand Theft Auto V since the PlayStation 3 era, through the PlayStation 4, and into the PlayStation 5 era, it's time for the next entry to be made and released. The only problem is that this game has been rumored to be in production, had its alpha leaked, and then finally got a teaser trailer released at the start of 2024. As we head into the end of 2024 and begin 2025, we still have very little to go on in terms of the overall story, and less when it comes to gameplay. We have a bunch of pre-rendered footage that is going to possibly be some of the story cinematic moments, and that's it.
From that teaser, we do get a lot of Vice City vibes, looking like we're headed to Florida or something. As we head into 2025, we are hopeful that this game is going to get more information detailed, more footage shown, a release date, and most of all... An actual release... Then we can stop with the "I can't believe we got thing before Grand Theft Auto 6".
