Portal's 2025 preview

So here we are in 2025. We can’t lie; we hoped the world would be a little more futuristic by now. Hoverboards. Star Trek-style holodecks. Robot football. That sort of thing.

Alas, there’s not much sign of any of these things coming to pass any time soon. Instead, let’s focus on what we do have: video games and plenty of them.

Last time out, we reviewed the past year and detailed the fantastic projects we worked on. This time, we’re looking ahead at some of the goodies the games industry has in store for us in 2025.

From a new console set to reinvigorate the industry to the latest iteration of a global mega-franchise, 2025 is shaping up to be an intriguing year. Let’s get started.

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Switch 2

Arguably, the single biggest source of optimism for 2025 is the launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2. Why?

As analyst Matthew Ball points out in his presentation “The State of Video Gaming in 2025," the original Switch has sold around 150 million units worldwide. That makes it the second-best-selling “living room” console ever, just behind PlayStation 2.

As Ball says, this figure is important because it’s the “sole growth driver in most markets”. In theory, a more powerful Switch is, as Ball puts it, a “Big Deal.”

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Switch 2 revealed!

That’s the business side. What do we know about Nintendo’s console itself?

Well, coincidentally, we’re writing this piece on the day that Nintendo officially revealed Switch 2 (16 January), so you’re getting this info hot off the press.

The announcement was made via a video (embedded below) on the Japanese platform holder’s YouTube channel.

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The video shows off the console’s design, including the new magnetic joy-cons and larger screen. We also get to see what looks a lot like a brand-new Mario Kart.

Other than that, there isn’t too much to go on. There’s no price information and no release date other than “2025.”

Nintendo has, however, announced a Switch 2 Direct for 2 April. This will, presumably, feature answers to the above questions along with the lineup of launch games for the new console.

Finally, Switch 2 will embark on a hands-on worldwide tour beginning in early April. Tickets are free but will be decided by random lottery.

The tour ends in June, which could indicate that the Switch 2 will be available in shops later in the summer.

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Grand Theft Auto VI

The other great hope for the industry in 2025 rests with the long-awaited release of GTA VI. Can one game really benefit the wider industry?

To answer that question, we return to analyst Matthew Ball. He suggests that although Rockstar’s next opus will eat up both money and playtime from other titles, there’s a strong likelihood that publisher Take-Two will price the game at $80 or even $100.

If that happens, it will likely open the door for other publishers and indie developers to raise the prices of their own new releases, theoretically increasing revenues for all.

And while gamers may baulk at paying $100 for a game, as Ball explains, game prices have never been lower in real terms. That’s despite the fact that budgets for game development are at an all-time high.

Of course, all of this talk of GTA helping save the industry in 2025 relies on Rockstar’s game actually coming out this year. At the time of writing, there’s no confirmed release date beyond “late 2025.”

Rumours of a delay into 2026 circulated last autumn, although Take-Two later claimed that the epic crime ‘em-up was still on course to be released in the “fall of calendar [year] 2025”.

A Take-Two earnings report scheduled for early February may hold the definitive answer.

Whether or not it launches this year remains to be seen. What’s certain is that 2025 will reveal more about the game, its features and how it plays. Even that is a thrilling prospect.

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Portal’s most anticipated

We’ve been pretty business-focused so far. Let’s get into the fun stuff: the games. We asked the Portal crew what they were looking forward to playing in 2025. Here’s what they said.

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Josh - Grand Theft Auto VI

It’s route one from the big boss, but who can blame him?

“I love exploring open-world games, and nobody does it better than Rockstar”, said Josh.

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Elousie - World of Warcraft Classic

It’s back to the future for Elouise. Blizzard continues to update WoW Classic with new content from yesteryear.

On the agenda in 2025? The Mists of Pandaria. It’ll include raids, dungeons and scenarios from the much-loved 2012 expansion.

“I’m not ashamed to say that I’m a massive WoW nerd”, admitted Elouise, “I love revisiting the worlds I explored when I was younger and can’t wait to get back to Pandaria.”

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Jake - Elden Ring Nightreign

Nightreign is a standalone spin-off of FromSoftware’s brutally difficult but critically acclaimed Elden Ring from 2022.

This time, the game focuses on co-op, with teams of three working together to battle fearsome foes over three in-game days.

“I can't wait to return to the hauntingly beautiful Elden Ring universe, now reimagined as an epic 3-player co-op action-survival experience”, enthused Jake, “Nightreign promises to be a thrilling evolution of the Elden Ring saga.”

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Çağatay - Directive 8020

Directive 8020 is the latest instalment in Supermassive Games’ Dark Pictures Anthology. This time, we’re getting whisked off to another planet in a story that the devs say is inspired by classic movies like The Thing, Alien and Event Horizon.

“I love sci-fi. I love to be scared”, explained Çağatay. “I’m a big fan of Supermassive’s work, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do in this setting.”

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Tom (that’s me, hi) - Football Manager 25

FM 25’s development has been anything but smooth sailing. Delayed from its usual November release date following a switch to the Unity engine, we’ve heard precious little of this version bar promises of a major UI overhaul and much improved in-match graphics.

Still, I have confidence that the Sports Interactive team will successfully deliver what is set to be the biggest shake-up in the history of the series.

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Other games on our radar

Those are the games that have us most excited, but there’s plenty more on the way that will have us reaching for our wallets.

Civilization 7

The series that gave birth to the 4X genre returns in 2025. Civ 7 promises a revamped three-age structure, updates to combat units and a whole lot more.

There’s not long to wait; Civ 7 arrives on 11 February.

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Fable

It’s been a long wait for a new Fable. Thankfully, this franchise reboot is in the safe hands of Forza Horizon developer Playground Games, with a little help from Eidos-Montréal.

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Monster Hunter Wilds

The Monster Hunter series has grown from a fairly niche, hardcore proposition to something that’s much more accessible to newcomers without sacrificing its trademark depth.

Wilds is the latest evolution of the franchise, and it’s out at the end of February.

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InZOI

The Sims has largely dominated the life sim genre for the past 25 years. That could be about to change with the arrival of InZOI this March.

Krafton’s game certainly looks the part, but can it overcome such an established competitor?

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Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

It’s been over 20 years since the original beloved Bloodlines. The wait for a follow-up is almost over, thanks to Paradox and the game’s developer, The Chinese Room.

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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Norman Reedus returns to front Hideo Kojima’s follow-up to everyone’s favourite baby-carrying Deliveroo simulator. Why are they on the beach? We have no idea.

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Dune: Awakening

The world has gone Dune crazy thanks to Denis Villeneuve’s excellent movies.

Awakening is described as an open-world survival MMO. That might set alarm bells ringing, but developer Funcom has plenty of genre experience, dating back to Anarchy Online in 2001 through to Conan Exiles, which continues to entertain a dedicated audience.

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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

First announced in 2017, Beyond has been a long time coming. Nintendo has been coy about the game’s release date other than to say that it’ll be out this year. Could that mean we’ll see it as a launch title for Switch 2?

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Skate

Speaking of long waits, here’s Skate. The last instalment of EA’s kick flipper launched all the way back in 2010. Fans have been demanding a follow-up ever since. Good news, it’s coming later this year.

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Subnautica 2

Subnautica was a smash hit, selling over six million copies worldwide on Steam. It’s also one of the few games to boast an Overwhelmingly Positive user review tag on Valve’s platform.

Seven years later, this sequel looks just as terrifying, although this time, we can get moral support from friends thanks to all the new multiplayer functionality.

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Hopes for the industry

After a challenging couple of years, there are high hopes that 2025 will see the games industry bounce back.

Analysts at DFC Intelligence support this optimism, saying that this year could begin a sustained period of industry growth that may even surpass the sales boom we saw during the pandemic.

What’s driving this bold prediction? The DFC boffins reckon it’s a combination of increased consumer hardware spending, new tools that lower the cost of development and fresh hardware entering the market.

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Ciao for now

That’s all from us for this preview. Thanks for reading. Find us on X, LinkedIn or Instagram, and let us know what you’re looking forward to in 2025.