4 big predictions for where video games are going in 2025

digitaltrends.com:

Table of Contents The Switch 2 is a hit (for real this time) Grand Theft Auto 6 smashes records Xbox’s acquisitions pay off Trump presidency creates headache for gamers

Well, 2024 is officially behind us — and thank goodness for that. The last 12 months has been a constant roller coaster ride, taking the world through a series of unprecedented events. While the video game industry wasn’t as quite as volatile as, say, the American political landscape, it was certainly a whirlwind year. Mass layoffs left tens of thousands without jobs, hyped-up games flopped, and harassment was on the rise. In between those headaches, we got a surprisingly strong year of unpredictable games like Balatroand Black Myth: Wukong.

That makes 2025 a little difficult to predict. We saw the best and worst of the industry last year, and it’s unclear which side the needle will fall on by December 2025. Are things going to stabilize and give us a year with less layoffs and more great games? Or is the industry going to decay further, giving us more studio closures and big-budget flops?

As I do every year around this time, I’ve put together a list of four predictions for where video games are going in 2025. What I’ve found from interrogating my own thoughts is that I’m surprisingly optimistic this time despite everything that transpired in 2024. That’s thanks to some major hardware and software launches that could refresh the industry when it needs it the most. There’s a major caveat to all of that, though, as one hasty political decision could bring all of that potential momentum to a halt.

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The Switch 2 is a hit (for real this time)

If I was feeling lazy, I would just copy and paste everything I wrote last year into this blurb.

Yes, when I wrote this piece