Industry news: December edition
Being a player in 2025 was like being a kid in a candy store. So many different flavors to choose from, so much fun, and of course, we can’t have it all, so lots of hard choices to make. What should I play this month when another great game is about to be released? Oh, a shadow drop, where am I’m going to squeeze that in?
For the last time, we’ve put together a 2025 retrospective of game news, looking at the month of December.
The Game Awards are no secret
By now the results of the Game Awards Show are not a secret anymore, so we won’t be dwelling on it for too long. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won the hearts of players and went home with almost all the awards for which they were nominated, including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Performance and the big title of Game of the Year.
And even though we’ve had such a great game in the spotlight, the lists of runners-up were also made of incredible titles. The top nominated games include Hades II, Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Hollow Knight: Silksong, while Split Fiction, Silent Hill f, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Battlefield 6 were also featured in multiple categories.
What was announced at GOTY
Another long-awaited part of the GOTY show are the exclusive announcements and sneak peaks that come with it. This year, Geoff Keighley’s mysterious statue circulated online weeks prior to the event, teasing a new game. After so many speculations, we’ve received confirmation that this refers in fact to a Divinity sequel from Larian Studios. The game will build on the story and characters from Divinity: Original Sin 2 and it will be even bigger than Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Larian developers.
And of course, the stream of news from the Game Awards doesn’t end here:
🎮As a gesture of gratitude for all the support received from the player community, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has received a free “Thank you” update, adding brand-new bosses, outfits, tracks, improvements, and more.
🎮Hollow Knight: Silksong’s first major expansion will carry us over the sea, bringing new areas, bosses and enhanced graphical effects. Sea of Sorrow will also be available for free in 2026.
🎮And with more expansion news, Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred will be live in April, 2026. The new campaign introduces Prime Evil Mephisto as a boss and two new classes, the Paladin and another one to be announced.
🎮A new trailer for Resident Evil Requiem revealed a delightful surprise for fans of the franchise. Leon S. Kennedy, the protagonist of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 will be back in the new installment.
🎮Capcom has announced Mega Man: Dual Override, planned for release in 2027, the same year that marks the 40-years anniversary of the franchise.
🎮For Star Wars fans there was not one, but two pieces of good news. The new action-RPG Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is made by Casey Hudson, the same director of the beloved Knights of the Old Republic. On a completely different tone, STAR WARS: Galactic Racer™ is a racing game set in the Star Wars galaxy, which will be available for both single-player and multi-player modes.
🎮We definitely did not have this on our GOTY bingo card – the co-director of Last of Us returns with a new game called Coven of the Chicken Foot. Starting from an unconventional premise, the game builds on the companion system developed at Naughty Dog.
🎮The launch of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has been confirmed for May 29, 2026, hopefully this will remain unaffected by the current acquisition of Warner Bros.
🎮Another legacy character is back for a new adventure! Lara Croft is ready to take on ancient mysteries of Northern India in the new Tomb Raider: Catalyst, planned for 2027. The very first Tomb Raider game will get a remake for new gen consoles in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (2026).
🎮Phantom Blade Zero will launch on September 9, 2026. The game blends dark fantasy, action and storytelling in a Chinese-inspired setting.
🎮A gameplay demo of the galactic adventure Pragmata is now available on Steam and the release date has been officially set for April 24, 2026.
🎮The launch of veteran Souls-like Nioh 3 is closer than we might expect, along with a new trailer showed during the awards, the launch date was confirmed for February 6, 2026. The demo will be available starting January 29, 2026.
🎮Speaking of Souls-likes, Decrepit is a game heavily inspired by the setting of the Dark Souls series, with a first-person action and stamina-based combat. The game is developed by the indie studio Three Friends, backed by some of the founders of Minecraft and Valheim.
🎮Another game that caught the attention of many (including us) is Bradley the Badger. Made with love for video games and inspired by the experience of being a player, this satirical platformer looks promising.
🎮Wizards of the Coast have teased Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, an upcoming video game set in the world of the classic TTRPG. The title will launch in 2027 and it will be a third-person action-adventure.
🎮Creative Assembly have announced Total War: Warhammer 40,000, a galactic sandbox that will launch with four major factions from the 40k The production might take a while, however, in 2026 we’ll receive more news about what’s to come.
🎮The sequel teased in the last Alan Wake 2 DLC was finally made official. Control Resonant will be ready in 2026, it will feature a supernaturally-warped setting, expanding the universe through the eyes of Jesse’s brother, Dylan Faden.
🎮The show closed with Highguard, an upcoming multiplayer hero shooter from the team behind the successful Apex Legends. The PvP raiding game will be free to play starting January 26, 2026.
Best PC Games of 2025
As per their annual tradition, the publication PC Gamer named their favorite PC games of 2025. The winners included Old Skies for the category Best Adventure Game, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor for Best Roguelike, Dispatch for Best Characters, and Blue Prince for Best Design.
From the titles frequently encountered in other awards ceremonies, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Best Story and Hollow Knight: Silksong was awarded Best Action. The title of PC Gamer’s Game of the Year 2025 went to Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, for its immersive gameplay and innovative twist on RPG elements.
All in all, the mentions seemed well-rounded, highlighting multiple games appreciated by the both critics and players alike.
Fallout season 2 was well-received
The TV adaptation of Bethesda’s Fallout returned with a new season on December 16. The premiere set a record on Rotten Tomatoes for video game adaptations, debuting at a 97% score. According to reviewers, the second season seems to be even darker than the first one, diving more into the backstories of the main characters.
The season tries to balance the story between games produced by Bethesda and Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, introducing the fan-favorite setting of New Vegas.
December 2025 game releases
As usual, the last month of the year is quieter when it comes to new releases, however, we still had some interesting titles:
➡️December 1: Marvel Cosmic Invasion
➡️December 2: Destiny 2: Renegades; She’s Leaving
➡️December 4: Nightreign DLC The Forsaken Hollows; Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Switch, Switch 2)
➡️December 9: RuneQuest: Warlords
➡️December 12: Terminator 2D: No Fate
➡️December 19: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes Expansion
Looking forward with optimism
No doubt, it was a difficult year for the game industry. With restructurings happening in major studios, projects being closed down and a constant push for AI technology, many talented and skillful workers took a hit.
On a brighter side, we’ve noticed the independent gaming scene flourish, 2025 was the year of indie gaming and we’re happy to see it, both as players and as service providers. There is an increased demand from the community for smaller games that bring creativity and a distinctive personality to the gaming scene. With more and more emerging studios making their way to the public, we hope dedicated professionals looking to practice their craft will find their rightful place in the industry.
In the world of AAA’s, there’s a lot of craftsmanship, innovation and amazing talent, and we’ve seen it in last year’s releases. The competition was fierce at the awards, with each title bringing its unique strengths.
