2025 in video games
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In the video game industry, 2025 saw large-scale layoffs occurring since 2022, contracting from the large growth that had happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other hardware, Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch 2 console, though along with Sony Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft, had to adjust the pricing on their hardware within the United States and Canada as a result of tariffs placed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Additional costs to hardware came about from the growth of the AI bubble, with memory chips being directed to commercial data center growth over consumer sales.
2025 also saw smaller companies and individual developers achieve outsize success compared to larger AAA studios with games developed by smaller teams such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II achieving critical acclaim and commercial success while Schedule I's early access release generated $60–125 million in gross revenue within just months of release, and Hollow Knight: Silksong sold over 7 million copies.
Major developers faced financial difficulties and continued layoffs, leading to Ubisoft striking a deal with Tencent and Electronic Arts being bought out by a group of private equity firms led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's negative reception saw Activision announce a change to its release schedule for upcoming Call of Duty games.
Top-rated games
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.
| Title | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Release | Platform(s) | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hades II | Supergiant Games | September 25, 2025 | WIN, NS, NS2 | 95 | |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Sandfall Interactive | Kepler Interactive | April 24, 2025 | WIN, PS5, XSX/S | 92 |
| Blue Prince | Dogubomb | Raw Fury | April 10, 2025 | WIN, PS5, XSX/S | 92 |
| Split Fiction | Hazelight Studios | Electronic Arts | March 6, 2025 | WIN, PS5, XSX/S, NS2 | 91 |
| Donkey Kong Bananza | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | July 17, 2025 | NS2 | 91 |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | Team Cherry | September 4, 2025 | WIN, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX/S, NS, NS2 | 90 | |
Major awards
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 became the second game (after 2023's Baldur's Gate 3) to sweep the Game of the Year categories at the five major awards ceremonies: the British Academy Games Awards, D.I.C.E. Awards, Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, and Golden Joystick Awards.[2]
- Some award presentations combine these categories.
Major events
| 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.[7] |
| 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.[8] |
| 25 | Warner Bros. Games closed Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego.[9] | |
| March | 12 | Scopely acquired the games division and related intellectual property of Niantic, Inc. for $3.5 billion, which included Niantic's Pokémon Go and Monster Hunter Now.[10] |
| 17–21 | The 2025 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.[11] | |
| 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.[12] | |
| 27 | Ubisoft announced the formation of Vantage Studios, a four billion euro subsidiary, with a 25% ownership by Tencent, to manage its top franchises, including Assassin's Creed and Far Cry.[13][14] | |
| 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.[15] |
| 29 | Electronic Arts laid off between 300 and 400 employees, including at Respawn Entertainment and Codemasters.[16][17] | |
| May | 2 | Rockstar Games issued a statement announcing a delay for Grand Theft Auto VI, pushing its release date to May 26, 2026.[18] |
| 9–11 | Evo Japan 2025 was held at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo.[19] | |
| 22 | Super Nintendo World opened to the public alongside Universal Epic Universe in Florida.[20] | |
| The Pac-Man franchise celebrated its 45th anniversary in Japan.[21] | ||
| June | 6–9 | Several streamed presentations were shown as part of Summer Game Fest 2025, including a live show on June 6 at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.[22] |
| July | 2 | Microsoft laid off about 4% of its workforce, leading to the closure of The Initiative, layoffs at several Microsoft Gaming studios, and the cancellation of several games.[23] |
| 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.[24] | |
| 29 | Atari SA announced plans to acquire a controlling interest of Thunderful Group for about 4.5 million euro.[25] | |
| August | 1–3 | The 2025 Evolution Championship Series was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada.[26] |
| 20–24 | Gamescom 2025 was held in Cologne, Germany.[27] | |
| September | 13 | The Super Mario franchise celebrated its 40th anniversary in Japan.[28] |
| 25–28 | Tokyo Game Show 2025 was held in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan.[29] | |
| 29 | Electronic Arts announced its intent to be acquired as a private company by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners for $55 billion, to close by June 2026 pending approvals.[30] | |
| November | 6 | Rockstar Games issued a statement announcing a delay for Grand Theft Auto VI, pushing its release date to November 19, 2026.[31] |
| December | 5 | Netflix announced its intent to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, including Warner Bros. Games, in a deal valued at $82.6 billion.[32] |
| 11 | The Game Awards 2025 was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.[33] | |
| 31 | Doug Bowser retired as president and COO of Nintendo of America, with executive vice president of revenue, marketing and consumer experience Devon Pritchard succeeding as president and former president of Nintendo of Europe Satoru Shibata joining as CEO.[34] |
Notable deaths
- January 9 – Alan Emrich, 65, video game writer who coined the term 4X.[35]
- January 12 – Robert Machray, 79, actor with voice roles in The Dark Eye and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.[36]
- January 15 – David Lynch, 78, surrealist filmmaker whose work influenced numerous video games, including the Alan Wake series, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Silent Hill 2, the Persona series, Disco Elysium, and Deadly Premonition.[37][38]
- January 24 – Tetsuhisa Seko, 54, president of Nippon Ichi Software.[39]
- January 30 – Wayne June, voice actor who was announcer for Dota 2 and narrator of Darkest Dungeon.[40]
- February 3 – Stéphane Picq, 59, composer who scored Dune, MegaRace, Lost Eden, Atlantis: The Lost Tales, and Riverworld.[41]
- February 10 – Peter Tuiasosopo, 61, actor who played E. Honda in 1994's Street Fighter.[42]
- February 14 – William Roberts, 80, voice actor who voiced Vesemir in The Witcher series and Dromarch in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.[43][44]
- February 16 – Viktor Antonov, 52, art director of Half-Life 2 and Dishonored.[45]
- February 21 – Peter Jason, 80, actor with voice roles in Fallout 2 and Gears of War.[46]
- March 11 – Dave Mallow, 76, voice actor who voiced Akuma in the Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom series.[47]
- March 12
- Thomas Lee, 59, former EA employee who worked on games such as Final Fantasy IX, Parasite Eve, and Wing Commander III.[48]
- Takashi Inagaki, 87, voice actor who voiced Yen Sid in the Kingdom Hearts series, Epic Mickey, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.[49]
- March 25 – Abdulaziz "HAX$" Al-Yami, 30, pro Super Smash Bros. Melee player.[50]
- April 3 – Narayana "River Boy" Johnson, audio director and composer for Cult of the Lamb.[51]
- April 5 – Bill Petras, art director for Blizzard Entertainment on several games, including StarCraft, World of Warcraft and Overwatch.[52]
- May 30 – Renée Victor, 86, actress who voiced female Argonians in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.[53]
- June 2 – Tim LeTourneau, developer with Maxis including producer on The Sims.[54]
- June 9 – Pik-Sen Lim, 80, Chinese-born actress, including the voice of the narrator in the Dark Souls series.[55]
- July 3 – Michael Madsen, 67, film actor with various voice roles in video games including Grand Theft Auto III, Driver 3, Narc and Dishonored.[56]
- 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.[57]
- 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.[58]
- 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.[59]
- 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.[60]
- September 26 – Andrew Dice, co-founder of Carpe Fulgur.[61]
- October 2 – Kazuki Motoyama, 69, artist and writer of the Mario manga published by Kodansha in Comic BomBom.[62][63]
- October 16 – Tomonobu Itagaki, 58, game designer, creator of Dead or Alive series and Ninja Gaiden series.[64]
- November 17 – Rebecca Heineman, 62, co-founder of Interplay Entertainment and video game developer for several titles.[65][better source needed]
- November 21 – Lamarr Wilson, 48, YouTuber and technology reporter, as well as gaming-industry event host.[66]
- November 23 – Udo Kier, 81, horror actor with multiple video game roles including Yuri from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2.[67]
- November 29 – Tomomichi Nishimura, 79, Japanese voice actor who voiced Akuma and M. Bison in the Street Fighter series.[68]
- December 1 – Nick Thorpe, 38, the Features Editor and primary writer for long-running British gaming magazine Retro Gamer.[69]
- December 4 – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, 75, actor who portrayed Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat and Heihachi Mishima in the Tekken films.[70]
- December 10
- Jeff Garcia, 50, actor and comedian who voiced Sheen Estevez in the Jimmy Neutron franchise.[71]
- Jim Ward, 66, voice actor who voiced Captain Qwark in the Ratchet & Clank series, Jack Krauser in Resident Evil 4 and Doktor in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.[72]
- December 21 – Vince Zampella, 55, co-founder of Infinity Ward and Respawn Entertainment.[73]
- December 25 – David M. Rosen, 95, co-founder of Sega and founding father of the Japan arcade scene.[74]
Hardware releases
| Date | Console | Manufacturer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 15 | MSI Claw 8 AI+ | Micro-Star International | [75] |
| February 14 | Lenovo Legion Go S | Lenovo | [76] |
| June 5 | Nintendo Switch 2 | Nintendo | [77] |
| October 16 | ROG Xbox Ally | Asus | [78] |
| October 16 | ROG Xbox Ally X | [78] | |
| October 21 | Samsung Galaxy XR | Samsung | [79] |
| October 31 | Atari Gamestation Go | My Arcade | [80] |
| October 31 | Lenovo Legion Go 2 | Lenovo | [81] |
| December 5 | Intellivision Sprint | Atari SA | [82] |
Games released in 2025
Cancelled games
Discontinued games
Video game-based film and television releases
| 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 | [124] |
| Promise of Wizard | January 6, 2025 | Promise of Wizard | Coly | [125] | ||
| Tasokare Hotel | January 8, 2025 | Tasokare Hotel | SEEC | [126] | ||
| Farmagia | January 10, 2025 | Farmagia | Marvelous | [127] | ||
| Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing | January 17, 2025 | Anime film | Shochiku | Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! | Sega | [128] |
| Devil May Cry | April 3, 2025 | Adult animated television series | Netflix | Devil May Cry | Capcom | [129] |
| A Minecraft Movie | April 4, 2025 | Feature film | Warner Bros. Pictures | Minecraft | Mojang Studios | [130] |
| Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers | April 5, 2025 | Anime television series | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Guilty Gear Strive | Arc System Works | [131] |
| Summer Pockets | April 7, 2025 | Summer Pockets | Visual Arts | [132] | ||
| Home Sweet Home Rebirth | April 11, 2025 | Feature film | Vertical | Home Sweet Home | Yggdrazil Group | [133][134] |
| Until Dawn | April 25, 2025 | Sony Pictures Releasing | Until Dawn | Sony Interactive Entertainment | [135] | |
| Kamitsubaki City Under Construction | July 3, 2025 | Anime television series | TBS Television (Japan) | Kamitsubaki City Under Construction | Kamitsubaki Studio | [136] |
| Arknights: Rise from Ember | July 4, 2025 | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Arknights | Hypergryph (China) Yostar (worldwide) |
[137] | |
| 9-Nine: Ruler's Crown | July 5, 2025 | 9-Nine | Palette | [138] | ||
| Nukitashi the Animation | July 19, 2025 | AT-X (Japan) | Nukitashi | Qruppo | [139] | |
| As One | August 22, 2025 | Anime film | Gaga Corporation | Starwing Paradox | Square Enix | [140] |
| Exit 8 | August 29, 2025 | Feature film | Toho | The Exit 8 | Kotake Create | [141] |
| Gnosia | October 12, 2025 | Anime television series | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Gnosia | Petit Depotto | [142] |
| Splinter Cell: Deathwatch | October 14, 2025 | Adult animated television series | Netflix | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell | Ubisoft | [143][144] |
| Monster Strike: Deadverse Reloaded | October 21, 2025 | Anime television series | Tokyo MX (Japan) | Monster Strike | Mixi | [145][146] |
| Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation | October 29, 2025 | Disney+ | Disney Twisted-Wonderland | Aniplex | [147] | |
| Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | December 5, 2025 | Feature film | Universal Pictures | Five Nights at Freddy's | Scott Cawthon | [148][149] |
Notes
- Self-published Indie
- Reported by Jason Schreier.
- Reported by VGC and Jason Schreier.
- Reported by Jason Schreier and Stephen Totilo.
- An offline version of the game is accessible for existing owners.
- Also no longer available for download and player registration closed the same day.