Will 2025 be the best year ever for PS5?

Don’t call it a comeback, but we might be in for another 2023-level year for video games in 2025. The stars are aligning and there are a ton of widely anticipated games coming to PS5 next year. Between marquee first-party titles as well as core third-party games on the horizon, I fear for our collective wallets and free time.

2023 is considered one of the great years in gaming. Period. Between games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, and Street Fighter 6, PS5 players were eating well. In 2025, we’re looking at another colossal avalanche of games. Many high-profile titles, including Grand Theft Auto VI, are slated for the year, with some that’ll irrefutably get players on PS5 talking. If all goes well, and we don’t face any major delays, 2025 could become the best year for PS5 so far.

Let’s take a look at what’s set to be released in 2025 (so far)

1 Dynasty Warriors: Origins

Releasing on PlayStation 5: January 17

A new entry in the long-running Japanese hack and slash Musou series is almost here. Dynasty Warriors: Origins places players in the middle of the Three Kingdoms, a historical period of ancient China. Players take on the role of an original protagonist, making choices that will leave an impact on the Three Kingdoms. Those familiar with Dynasty Warriors can expect large-scale battles where you’ll be joined by officers and soldiers as you take on the forces of your enemy.

2 Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Releasing on PlayStation 5: February 14

Delayed into 2025, Ubisoft Quebec’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches in February 2025. After years of fans begging to play an Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan, Ubisoft is delivering. The game features two playable characters, including Yasuke an African samurai, inspired by a historical figure of the same name, and Naoe, a female shinobe. The two offer unique stories as well as combat styles. This allows players to tailor the way they play and the stories they get from Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

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Which Assassin’s Creed game would you want developed into a full movie or show?

As someone who has never actually played an Assassin’s Creed game, it might be surprising to hear that I know way too much about the stories themselves. It all started when a song from the score of Assassin’s Creed III came on my studying playlist in college, and the algorithms that be sent me an ad for the game later on. I then entered a rabbit hole of watching compilations of gameplay and the cinematic trailers for each respective iteration. I remember seeing the trailer for Assassin’s Creed Unity with Lorde’s cover of Everybody Wants to Rule the World for the first time — the bird soaring over a pivotal point of the French Revolution and the Brotherhood falling seamlessly into the fray. I still wish we could get another Assassin’s Creed movie, but this time based on Unity, Valhalla, or even Black Flag. If you could get a perfect adaptation of one Assassin’s Creed game of your choice, what would it be? 

3 Monster Hunter Wilds

Releasing on PlayStation 5: February 28

Capcom

Capcom invites players to play Monster Hunter Wilds and explore sprawling and vibrant environments. Hunt new and familiar monsters across uncharted territories. Monster Hunter Wilds enables players to create a custom Hunter who travels to the Forbidden Lands. Track and hunt various foes by yourself or team up with other players to gain rewards, monster parts and resources. Craft new armour, weapons, and set up camp. With redefined co-op mechanics, Monster Hunter Wilds will surely shine across all major platforms next year.

4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Releasing on PlayStation 5: Spring

MachineGames

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle features everyone’s favorite archaeologist. The game is set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Step into the shoes of Dr. Jones as he attempts to stop those from gaining power from the Great Circle, which is connected to mysterious sites around the world. Control Indy as he explores larger-than-life environments and solve puzzles. Like other MachineGames titles, players will take out Nazi enemies. While the game is first launching on Xbox and PC in 2024, the anticipated game is confirmed to be launching on PS5 next Spring.

5 Borderlands 4

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

Gearbox

Six years after the launch of Borderlands 3, Gearbox Software is reaching back into the vault for Borderlands 4. Announced earlier this year, there are not many details to mull over currently. However, Gearbox has confirmed that players will take on the “role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet.” The last detail is incredibly interesting for long-time players as Borderlands typically takes place on the planet of Pandora. With a fresh perspective, Borderlands 4 could win the graces of modern looter shooter fans.

6 Crimson Desert

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

Pearl Abyss

Crimson Desert is the widely anticipated open world single player game from Pearl Abyss. Originally envisioned as a prequel to Black Desert Online, Crimson Desert became too large and transitioned into becoming its own property entirely. The game takes place in a large fantasy world, where you play as Kliff, a mercenary. With a rich combat system, staggeringly large boss fights, and an interesting perspective on exploration, Crimson Desert has the chance to astound players in 2025. That is, if Pearl Abyss indeed lands its 2025 release date.

7 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

Kojima Productions

Kojima Production’s follow up to Death Stranding is shaping up to be as bizarre as it is enthralling. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach continues the journey of Sam ‘Porter’ Bridges as he’s once again joined by Fragile. Aboard the DHV Magellan, Sam and Fragile are joined by an eclectic cast of characters, including Dollman, Tarman, Tomorrow and Rainy. In a recent presentation, visionary game director Hideo Kojima outlined some in-game systems, including the ability to watch music videos and a wild new take on Photo Mode. Despite having very little understanding of what Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be about, Kojima Productions is poised to deliver a game that’ll at least have us all talking.

8 Doom: The Dark Ages

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

id Software

Very few games truly feel as “metal” as the Doom series. There’s something viscerally exciting about mashing up demons with an explosive arsenal. Doom: The Dark Ages cranks it up to 11 by painting a medieval motif across the entire experience. Armed with a Captain America-like shield fitted with chainsaw teeth, Doom: The Dark Ages looks devilishly insane. And if more uninterrupted, gritty combat wasn’t enough, id Software’s upcoming game hands you the reigns of a mech and dragon. These are all the trappings of a game putting an emphasis on fun and riveting gameplay.

9 Ghost of Yotei

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

PlayStation

Sucker Punch is set to return to its Ghost franchise in an unexpected way. Following Ghost of Tsushima, players are taken 300 years after Jin Sakai’s journey to Yotei, an active stratovolcano located in Hokkaidō, Japan. Ghost of Yotei is set in the perspective of Atsu (played by Erika Ishii), a female ronin who adopts The Ghost persona. Not much else is known about the game. However, Ghost of Yotei is following up on the success of Ghost of Tsushima, which sold 9.73 million copies, becoming one of Sony’s fastest-selling original games. A lot of eyes will be on Ghost of Yotei when it launches next year.

10 Grand Theft Auto 6

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

To say Grand Theft Auto 6 will be successful is an understatement. Given the reception and sales of GTA 5, the next installment of the franchise could shatter Rockstar Games’ expectations. GTA 6 brings players back to the beloved location of Vice City. Centered around the crime duo Lucia and her male partner, the upcoming game is the first to feature a female protagonist since 2000. Like other games in the series, GTA 6 takes a deep look at American culture, including Florida’s quirky residents, social media, and influencers. Given that GTA 5 became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning $800 million in its first day, I couldn’t be more curious to see the reception for GTA 6 next year.

11 Lunar Remastered Collection

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

Game Arts

Lunar Remastered Collection brings Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue to modern consoles for the very first time. Both games feature enhanced graphics, audio, and quality-of-life improvements that’ll modernize the gameplay experience. Keeping both games authentic to the experience back in 1992, Lunar Remastered Collection is more of a remaster than a remake. Lunar is widely considered one of the great JRPG franchises developed by Game Arts.

12 Marathon

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

Bungie

Delving back into the DNA of the studio, Bungie is dusting off and revisiting Marathon in 2025. What was first a precursor to the Halo series is now being revitalized as a PVP extraction shooter. Taking place within the canon of the series, events of the new title take place on Tau Ceti IV, where an orbiting ship’s 30,000 passengers have disappeared. As Runners, players will face off against other teams to fight for treasure and rewards. The game is confirmed to support cross-play and cross-saves between PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC when it launches.

13 Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra

Releasing on PlayStation 5: TBD

Skydance Games

Hailing from acclaimed producer Amy Hennig, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra focuses on Captain America and the Black Panther during World War II. Steve Rogers and Azzuri, the king of Wakanda, form an uneasy alliance as the two take on global threats of Hyrda. Players will take control of four total characters, including Howling Commandos member Gabriel Jones and the leader of a Wakandan spy organization, Nanali. Those familiar with Hennig’s work in narrative writing are very excited for the story being told in Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. Adding to this studio Skydance Games is leveraging Unreal Engine 5 to craft some breathtaking visuals.