My Ten Most Wanted Games of 2025
We celebrate the New Year as a society for a reason; It’s about looking forward, fresh starts and embracing the year that is to come. Despite the internet being a dark, messy place that can seemingly never be pleased, its never a challenge to look ahead and find games worth being excited for. On many levels, we see more games get released than ever with frequent content updates giving gamers insane levels of choice in what to invest their time into. With that said, I wanted to cultivate a list of the Top 10 games that I am personally looking forward to whether they be awaited sequels in historic franchises or brand new properties that could usher in something new. Without further adieu, here is my Top Ten Most Wanted Games of 2025.
10. Skate Story
Devolver Digital is one of my favorite companies in the modern gaming sphere so I had to include one of their upcoming games on this list. If you’re unfamiliar with Devolver, they’ve become one of the most prominent publishers of indie games with all time greats like Hotline Miami, My Friend Pedro, Anger Foot, Cult of the Lamb, Death’s Door, Enter the Gungeon and more linked to their seemingly immaculate eye for indie greatness. While Devolver is scheduled to ship several games next year, there’s also a very high chance that they will announce and release a game that should have been on this list, after its published and within 2025 itself.
With that said, as a former skateboarder myself, the idea of playing a Devolver laced skateboarding game as a demon made of glass who shatters when he falls is pretty damn appealing. And that’s exactly what Skate Story is. While I can’t speak to the actual gameplay formula, I’m expecting it to be a stylish vibe and a half, akin to something like Journey where the player can sit back, relax and go on the ride. In this case however, I’m expecting Skate Story to have a much different (and probably more deranged) flavor. Games published by Devolver are basically the modern “Nintendo Seal of Quality” in my book, so Skate Story is likely to be a game worthy of your library when it ships.
9. 2XKO
My relationship with fighting games is two-fold; The first half of the equation is, I never play them. The second half is respect. Fighting games were the “original” competitive gaming genre and in my eyes, are pretty under appreciated by modern gamers and the industry. We’ve invested billions of dollars into esports but for some reason, fighting games still feel a bit niche. While I have to admit that I generally avoid fighting games because I am horrible at playing them (and they generally have a very high skill gap), Riot Games has yet to have a misfire. Everything that Riot makes ends up not only being high quality, but also a smashing success. That’s why I’m expecting 2XKO to begin a new era for fighting games, bringing new players to the fold and pushing boundaries in the competitive scene.
In full transparency, I’m more excited for Riot’s MMORPG set in the League of Legends universe than 2XKO, but the chances of the MMO seeing release in 2025 are virtually non-existent.
8. John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando
Everyone loves a great Left 4 Dead style cooperative shooter but the industry hasn’t had a breakout hit in this vein since Valve and Turtle Rock broke up. While there’s probably a higher chance of Remedy’s FBC: Firebreak being the breakout coop shooter of the year than John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, I’m a Carpenter fan (The Thing is one of my favorite films of all time) and Saber Interactive reached new heights in 2024 with the launch of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Mindlessly blasting hordes of enemies with friends really never gets old, so I’m hoping that Toxic Commando scratches that itch when it releases in 2025.
7. Tempest Rising
While the real-time strategy genre certainly isn’t attracting high player counts these days, I’m a huge fan of the classic Command & Conquer: Red Alert game that I grew up with and were some of the first PC games that I played. Gamers old enough to remember those days will certainly see the resemblance here and feel a bit of nostalgia. Having played the Tempest Rising demo on Steam, I really enjoyed the style and atmosphere of the game which is published by 3D Realms, a company that I don’t hesitate to support thanks to their focus on retro style games. If nothing else, I expect Tempest Rising to be an indulgent blast from the past when it releases in April of 2025 and one that I will selfishly enjoy playing. There aren’t a ton of RTS launches these days, so I will selfishly enjoy playing Tempest Rising, the only RTS that I will have played since StarCraft 2. If you’re looking for something different or searching for an RTS to play next year, this is the one.
6. Alara Prime
While I’ve always enjoyed tactical shooters like Counter-Strike and Valorant, I have appreciated them more and more as I have gotten older. Something about the meticulous pacing, planning, reaction times and discipline required to succeed just gets more and more appealing to me as life goes on. That’s why I’m excited that Alara Prime which is entering Alpha in Early 2025 and bringing a new twist on the tactical shooter formula with it. Instead of the Attackers vs Defenders format of traditional tactical shooters, Alara Prime uses a 4v4v4 setup, with two teams attacking and one defending. This dynamic creates really tense situations as all three teams brawl with each other to try and seize or hold control of a bomb site.
I had the pleasure of playing Alara Prime in private testing earlier this year and based on those impressions, I’m convinced that its the real deal. The development team is dedicated and passionate, as is the community that has been drawn to the game. I think fans of competitive games and tactical shooters are going to love trying Alara Prime when it releases and I’m hopeful that the 4v4v4 twist gives it staying power. I have little doubt that Alara Prime will be something special and worth gamers time, I just hope that it can get itself in front of enough people. It certainly deserves it.
5. Marathon
Bungie’s revival of the long dormant Marathon franchise has excited a lot of gamers, but not everyone is sold on its return being in the form of an extraction shooter. I personally have no issue with its sub-genre and am happy to include it on my list of Most Anticipated Games. When it comes to nailing vital basics like gunplay, movement and world building, Bungie is one of the best developers in the business. Having spent the last decade or more dedicated exclusively to the Destiny franchise, I can imagine that the team at Bungie is very excited to pour their passion into something new, which Marathon may benefit from.
Despite what many perceive as Destiny’s PvP shortcomings, there was a time when Bungie was essentially the industry leader in the first-person PvP space. My hope is that this admittedly very different looking Bungie can channel that history and give the world an exciting and accessible extraction shooter that goes mainstream. Bungie most certainly has the track record, audience and ability to do it. Only time will tell if they succeed however, as many things have changed for Bungie including new PlayStation ownership, a steep decline of the Destiny franchise and unfortunate layoffs that have impacted a majority of the industry. Regardless of some of Destiny’s shortcomings and a general distrust for PlayStation’s management, this historic studio has more than earned my excitement for the first Marathon game in decades and something new from the creators of Halo.
4. DEADROP
As a Midnight Society Variant, I’ve been following and on some levels contributing to the development journey of their premiere title and vertically designed extraction shooter, DEADROP. Unfortunately, this year was one full of challenges for the studio as they had to handle a scandal linked to Dr. Disrespect (One of the studios Co-Founders who is no longer with the company) and layoffs during a year in which the game’s development was accelerating. With that said, Variants such as myself have begun testing a new build of DEADROP which has a large majority of the gameplay systems and design implemented, meaning that Midnight Society can now focus on refinement, balance, polish and additional content to get it ready to launch.
The Early Access release of DEADROP is planned for 2025 on PC, Xbox and PlayStation with a lot of work remaining to be done. I believe that the extraction shooter genre needs disruption from the slow, agonizing pace of games like Escape from Tarkov and if Midnight Society plays all of their cards right, DEADROP could be the game to offer it. It’s been a roller coaster ride from the beginning, but if DEADROP delivers on its core ideas and principles of faster paced, high risk, high reward gameplay, DEADROP can make a splash and be a game that pushes boundaries for the extraction genre which is booming but lacking in innovation.
3. Gears of War: E-Day
I am a staunch believer that the Gears of War franchise is massively under appreciated by modern gamers and the reason is probably different than you might think. The Gears of War campaigns are epic testosterone fueled joy rides but the greatness in Gears lays in the multiplayer. The Gears of War games are filled with distinct, one of a kind mechanics, flow state like movement and gunplay, satisfying kills and executions, well designed maps that require players to understand spacing, map control and more. I absolutely hate the fact that Gears 5 was slept on so fiercely, especially from a multiplayer perspective. Regardless, my hope is that Gears can regain its form and capture an audience in the multiplayer space because there truly isn’t anything else like it on the market. All it’s going to take are some minor evolutions to the design and true live service support and content roll outs that match its competition.
While E-Day’s return to the franchise’s origins may be what is driving much of the excitement for the return of Gears of War, it will be the multiplayer offerings that hold the key to sustain the game and franchise in the years to come. I’ve been a Gears of War fan since Day One and I will continue to root for the well deserved success of this one of a kind franchise.
2. SPLITGATE 2
I could start this portion of the article by telling you how under appreciated the original Splitgate was, detailing how 1047 Games has acquired new levels of funding to invest in Splitgate 2 and how the portal mechanic is still one of a kind in the multiplayer and competitive shooter space. But I don’t have to tell you that because I’ve played Splitgate 2 multiple times now and I KNOW that its poised to deliver on all of the potential that the franchise has.
Splitgate 2 is everything that a sequel should be. It takes what made the original game great in premise but does everything possible, better. The visuals and performance are better, the gunplay is more responsive and diverse, the map designs are on par for a top tier arena shooter, there’s more progression and variety baked into the game design and more. Splitgate 2 doesn’t just give players more reasons to keep playing, it’s more fun, well executed and polished as a whole. After playing it, I truly believe that Splitgate 2 might be the best multiplayer shooter to launch in 2025, and its a game that FPS and esports fans absolutely need to have an eye on. Fans of shooters are always looking for something new with staying power and I truly believe that Splitgate 2 is it.
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
There are games on this list that are almost certainly going to be incredible but anyone who knows me should have seen this coming. With DOOM Eternal representing one of my favorite games of all time, DOOM: The Dark Ages doubling down on the metal aesthetic and evolving the gameplay formula with medieval infused weaponry, not only is The Dark Ages one of my most anticipated games, but I think it has a real chance to be Game of the Year in 2025. The team at Id Software has had plenty of development time to bring The Dark Ages to life and evolve the DOOM formula once again.
Although The Dark Ages’ reveal trailer was one of the most hype inducing pieces of media ever released (this is fact, not opinion), we still have so much more to learn about it, which is exciting in and of itself. What will the multiplayer offerings of The Dark Ages look like, for example? DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal took very different paths on that front. Regardless, if there was only one game that you had to bet all of your money on from this list, DOOM: The Dark Ages would be the one. Id Software is one of the most stories game developers in history and with new levels of funding thanks to Xbox ownership, The Dark Ages is bound for greatness when it ships in 2025. Slaying demons in increasingly badass ways while dark heavy metal pumps in your ears just never gets old.
Feel free to leave comments with your own Most Anticipated Games and come join us on Twitch during the year where we will be streaming many of these games.
