Between games industry layoffs, studio closures, live service disasters, and — despite it all — some excellent games, 2024 was a packed year for the medium. Some of the biggest stories of the year were marked by industry-wide shifts — from Xbox making its first-party games available on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, to live service games losing ground. 2024 also saw the release of PlayStation 5 Pro and Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard finally bearing fruit with Call of Duty coming to Game Pass.
But for all of 2024’s biggest gaming stories, 2025 somehow promises to be bigger. From a little game called Grand Theft Auto 6, to the successor to a modestly successful console called the Nintendo Switch – the coming year could be a landmark year in gaming. With 2024 in our rearview mirror, let’s look at our picks for things to look out for in gaming in 2025:
Grand Theft Auto 6
What feels like three decades after the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar Games, the original rockstars of open world games, will finally release Grand Theft Auto 6 in 2025. It’s been years of wait and years of leaks, but patience is going to pay off when GTA 6 becomes a reality in the Fall of next year. It is, without a shred of doubt, the most anticipated game of all time. At this point, it’s not just a game; it’s a lightning rod for all that gaming is and can be.
The next Grand Theft Auto is not only a watershed moment for Rockstar, a studio that has perhaps set the bar higher than anyone else in the medium, but also for the games industry as a whole. It is bound to revitalise console sales, bring unprecedented press and global attention to the medium and inspire endless conversation online for years to come.
Just like during the run up to the release of Cyberpunk 2077, there’s also an undeniable feeling that GTA 6 will slam open a window to what games of the future will look and play like. The first trailer already set the expectations high, and the clamour for a second trailer has now crossed the year mark. With no news on GTA 6 in 2024, next year will also bring a drip feed of updates on the upcoming game. We don’t yet have an official release date, and a delay into 2026 seems unlikely at this point. But whenever GTA 6 comes out next year, it will be the biggest event on the gaming calendar.
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch has done well. The cute, little hybrid handheld has sold over 145 million units since it went on sale in 2017. And Nintendo is finally ready to bring out its successor, the Nintendo Switch 2. The Japanese company has remained tight-lipped on its next console, only confirming so far that the Switch 2 will be launched before the end of March 2025, and it will be backwards compatible with Nintendo Switch games.
The year will likely see strong sales of the Switch 2 and a host of Nintendo first-party releases for the new console. The Nintendo Switch successor will be more powerful, perhaps feature a bigger display and a better battery. Leaks have provided some insights into the features of the hybrid console. It is likely to get a more powerful dock, a redesigned stand and magnetic Joy-Con controllers to eliminate stick drift.
The Switch 2, however, has a lot to live up to. Its beloved predecessor is the third-highest selling console of all time after the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS. But expect Nintendo to be up for the task. The Nintendo Switch 2 could emulate the original Switch and become the defining piece of gaming hardware for the next few years.
More Gaming Handhelds
Gaming handhelds are back in the picture, with several manufacturers launching their portable gaming devices over the past two years. The Nintendo Switch scratched an itch, the Steam Deck opened the door, and now we have Windows-based gaming handheld PCs from brands like Asus, Lenovo, MSI and more. 2025 will likely see more of these make it to market.
Lenovo is likely readying its new lineup of Lenovo Legion Go handhelds for CES 2025 in January and we can expect more manufacturers to follow suit. Both Sony and Microsoft are reportedly working on handhelds that can play PlayStation and Xbox games, respectively. While these devices are unlikely to arrive in 2025, we may see more details about them emerge in the coming months.
Nintendo Switch 2 will undoubtedly be the king of the handheld form factor, and Steam Deck has held strong against increasing competition, even as an announcement about its successor looks unlikely. But the coming year could see some other major players jump into the handheld space, including Nvidia. Between the Switch 2, Steam Deck, ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go and MSI Claw, a crowded field will have to make room for more.
The Steam Deck OLED released in 2023
Photo Credit: Valve
What’s Next from PlayStation in 2025
This was an eventful year for Sony. From their biggest live service bet, Concord, launching to the sound of crickets and shutting down withing two weeks, to Astro Bot winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024 – the Japanese conglomerate was on a roller coaster ride in 2024. In the absence of major first-party releases, Sony placed its faith in external studios developing games for its platforms. Helldivers 2 was a massive hit, launching simultaneously on PS5 and PC, and providing a blueprint for future multiplayer releases from Sony.
Single-player titles exclusive to the PS5 were a bit of a mixed bag. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth was a critical darling but fell short of sales expectations for Square Enix. Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin and Shift Up’s Stellar Blade offered new experiences in a year lacking a tentpole PlayStation exclusive, but they didn’t quite meet the high standards of the platform. And Astro Bot proved that Sony could look beyond third-person action-adventure titles for their next big hit.
But the PlayStation parent is surely gearing up for a busier 2025. Ghost of Yotei, Sucker Punch’s long-awaited follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima, is coming out next year and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach also arrives in 2025. There are some interesting third-party PS5 exclusive releases lined up, as well. But we’d likely have to wait longer before we get to play Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Insomniac’s Wolverine and whatever Santa Monica Studio has quietly been cooking since the developer released God of War Ragnarök. We could, however, get more updates about these games next year.
What’s Next for Xbox in 2025
From a strategic shift that saw the company release its first-party games on rival platforms, to major first-party releases that finally showed the first signs of Microsoft’s acquisition spree bearing fruit – Xbox had an interesting 2024. With Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Stalker 2 and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 in its rearview mirror, Xbox now looks towards its 2025 slate – and it’s looking good!
Microsoft will kick off 2025 with Avowed, Obsidian’s next RPG, in February, before Doom: The Dark Ages and South of Midnight launch later in the year. Playground Games’ long-awaited action-RPG Fable is also slated to launch in 2025.
We might see more Xbox games make their way to PlayStation and Switch, and we may get more details about the Xbox handheld reported to be in the works. There might not be any big surprises, but 2025 is set to be good year for Game Pass subscribers and players on the Xbox platform.
