Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be a record success upon release
Even if you were lucky enough to pick up a new console or games this Christmas, you probably have your eye on some upcoming releases.
And 2025 is shaping up to be an important year.
Most agree that 2024 has been a painful year for the video game industry, with tens of thousands of layoffs and studio closures around the world.
We hope things will bounce back – at least in part – next year.
And two huge releases in particular are expected to make a huge impact.
Grand Theft Auto 6
Rockstar Games
Fans will keep their fingers crossed that there are no delays until the GTA 6 release date.
A cultural moment, a day that millions of players have been waiting for for a long, long time.
The release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6).
It should arrive in the fall, 12 years after the arrival of the GTA 5 prequel on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, breaking launch records.
The sequel has already broken records with its first trailer, which racked up an incredible 90 million views in 24 hours when it was released last December.
And it probably won’t be the last record broken.
“The anticipation of this is impossible to measure,” says James Batchelor, editor-in-chief of GamesIndustry.biz.
“This will undoubtedly be one of, if not the biggest, game launches of all time.”
Developer Rockstar hasn’t revealed much about the new game beyond its two protagonists and scenes from its fictional Florida-inspired setting, Leonida.
The big question on most fans’ minds is whether the release date will slip, as has happened with Rockstar’s previous big releases.
James says he hasn’t seen anything to suggest that will be the case – yet – but if things remain calm, it’s time to start worrying.
“If we still haven’t seen absolutely anything by the summer, and certainly if we haven’t seen anything, say, by the end of August, then yes, it will go through 2026,” he says.
Why is GTA 6 so important?
Sony
GTA 6 should help sales of Microsoft’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox
The release of GTA 6 is expected to impact the entire video game industry.
“I think this will probably be one of those times where the rising tide will lift all boats,” says George Osborn, consultant and author of the Video Games Industry Memo newsletter.
He says a big hit – particularly if it has the cultural resonance of GTA – can make more people “feel in the mood to buy video games” and publishers want to capitalize on that.
Other major releases are planned for this year: Assassin’s Creed Shadows from French publisher Ubisoft, Ghost of Yōtei from Sony and the strategy game Civilization VII, to name just three.
“The challenge for developers is how do we stay outside the window of Grand Theft Auto?” says George.
Avoiding the heavyweight of GTA 6 will likely mean other publishers releasing their new games early in the year, or even delaying them until early 2026.
Another thing we know is that the game will release on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles first, with a PC version following later.
Many gamers remain loyal to their previous generation machines, and Sony and Microsoft are hoping that GTA 6 will finally inspire them to upgrade.
“If anything is going to convince people to upgrade to a new console if they haven’t already, it’s going to be GTA 6,” says James, who estimates that PlayStation 4 users still make up 50 percent of active gamers on PlayStation 4. Sony.
But if we’re talking about hardware upgrades, there might be some competition.
A new Nintendo Switch?
Nintendo
Keeping it under your hat: So far, official information on Nintendo’s new console is scarce
Here’s what we officially know about Nintendo’s next console.
It exists.
Your current Switch games will work on it.
And that’s it.
There’s no official name yet, but fans are calling it the Nintendo Switch 2.
Despite leaks and unconfirmed rumors, the machine’s capabilities remain a mystery and the company has promised some sort of official announcement by the end of March.
However, we have the feeling that Nintendo will not want to change the winning formula of the original Switch, which has sold 146 million units since its launch in 2017.
“Reasonable money is just going towards a bigger and better Switch,” James says.
Expect it to look the same with more processing power under the hood.
“This may seem reductive,” he adds.
“But given the level of success it’s had, they’d be foolish not to just build on the foundation they’ve laid here.”
James says the confirmation of backwards compatibility – the ability to play games originally designed for the first Switch – strongly suggests that the new machine won’t be a million miles from its younger sibling.
He says there is a risk that, as happened with previous Nintendo consoles, customers will not understand that the new machine is different from the one they already have at home.
But James is not sure he will meet the same fate.
“It was a long time ago,” he said. “I think they’ve learned a lot of lessons since then.”
More success
Local thinking
The Balatro Card Game Was the Runaway Indie Hit of 2024
Some of the biggest success stories of 2024 have come from small, independent developers.
Most notable was Balatro, an addictive poker-inspired card game that ended the year in contention for high-profile Game of the Year awards.
Journalist Rachel Watts, who hosts the Indieventure podcast, believes this helped set the stage for more success this year.
“There have been so many great independent films this year,” she says.
“On the triple-A side, a lot of reviewers and players have said ‘it’s such a quiet year, there aren’t a lot of big releases,’ but for indie games, there’s always so much cool stuff to play.”
A success like Balatro is incredibly rare, and one of the big problems for indie developers in 2024 has been discoverability: getting players to actually find your game.
Rachel says the number of releases on Steam – the online store where most PC games are purchased – is “frankly crazy” and getting noticed is “one of the hardest things”.
“I just don’t think it gets any easier,” she says.
Rachel says independent developers are also struggling to find investment and the financial outlook is “pretty bleak” through 2025.
But she believes more players are starting to recognize the creativity that exists in the industry – and that more successes will follow.
“Indie space is a place where I retreat to just play games that make me want to play again,” says Rachel.
“If Balatro can stand up to some of the biggest titles of the year, then I hope other indie titles can.”
Esports Olympics
Luc Bouchon
The eSports World Cup took place in Saudi Arabia in 2024
There’s another big moment to watch out for in 2025: the first Esports Olympics will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I think it’s an important moment because the Olympic movement has traditionally not been very interested in esports,” George says.
After years of campaigning, the International Olympic Committee reached a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia to host the game version.
The first esports World Cup took place in the kingdom this summer, and George says the event “didn’t really reach out” to a wider audience.
“It will be interesting to see if the eSports Olympics with the official IOC brand and the official brand of the Olympic movement behind them have a different impact,” says George.
Some fans, players and commentators boycotted the World Cup to protest Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
George says esports Olympics will reignite discussions about sportswashing – the idea that Saudi Arabia uses its vast wealth to invest in sports and entertainment to improve its international reputation – which she denies .
“You have this really interesting thing,” George said.
“Your big esports moment: esports becomes an Olympic sport.
“It’s really interesting. But the only reason this could happen is because Saudi Arabia financed it.
“So, you know, what do people think about this?”
Other things to watch out for
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12.45pm and 5.45pm weekdays – or listen again here.
