It’s that time of the year when a flurry of new video game trailers and gameplay reveals are shown as part of the annual Game Awards. And while who wins Game of the Year will steal some of the headlines on December 11, a lot of the excitement also comes from the secrets and surprises that get unleashed in the form of new game announcements.
So we’re keeping tabs on what has been confirmed to make an appearance so far, what has been teased, and some of the pie-in-the-sky dream games we know deep down in our brains won’t be there, but our heart tells us there might just be a chance. Don’t worry, we’re not going to be quite as far-fetched as to say GTA 6 will be at The Game Awards, nor The Witcher 4, which CD Projekt Red has already confirmed won’t be. But that’s enough of that. Let’s head straight into what you can expect from The Game Awards 2025.
Regal. Inspiring. Thickness. No, not words often used to describe me, but the ones that accompanied Geoff Keighley’s social media post of a mysterious demon-covered monolith that appeared in the Mojave Desert last week. Theories have been flying out as to what it could be teasing, but much of that speculation has been debunked, with Diablo, God of War, and The Elder Scrolls 6 all supposedly not what it relates to. What do you think it is?
regal.inspiring.thickness pic.twitter.com/lY1duUcE1B
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) November 29, 2025
We do know that Resident Evil Requiem will be showing up on the 11th with a new look at the long-running horror series’ latest entry. Arriving early next year, rumours have been circulating ever since its original reveal that Resident Evil 4 hunk, Leon Kennedy, will make an appearance in Requiem. Is now the time for Capcom to confirm his inclusion?
A new playable character will be revealed for Invincible VS, though. The fighting game adaptation of the cult-favourite comic and animated TV show has garnered a lot of attention since its summer reveal, so who do you think this character will be? We’ll also get a good look at Exodus, the upcoming sci-fi action RPG from Archetype Studios, formed by former BioWare developers. With that sort of Mass Effect pedigree behind it, it's certainly one we’re looking forward to seeing a lot more of. We also know that a new Total War game will be revealed by developer Creative Assembly, following the series' 25th anniversary.
And finally, we know that one of the musical performances on Thursday night will be from Evanescence, who will be showcasing their song “Afterlife” from the Netflix adaptation of Devil May Cry. Would I prefer they did “Bring Me to Life” with Nathan Fielder dressed as an airline pilot on backing vocals? Yes, of course, but we can’t have everything in this world.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 broke the record for the most nominations of The Game Awards, and looks set to be one of the big winners of the night. Could we see a release date announcement for the upcoming free update that will add a new dungeon, among other treats? Who knows, maybe even a cheeky little shadow drop…
Another announcement we could see from one of the big nominees of the night is a wider console release for Hades 2. Currently only on PC and Switch, could one of 2025’s best games come to PS5 and Xbox?
Fallout Season 2 arrives on Amazon Prime Video on December 17, and given Geoff’s penchant for having stars of the big and small screen on stage at The Game Awards, we wouldn’t be shocked to see some combination of Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins arrive to give us a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Speaking of stars of the big screen, things don’t come much more cinematic than James Bond. 007 First Light is the upcoming action-adventure from Hitman studio IO Interactive, and it's shaping up very nicely, as you can read in my big preview. With it coming out in March 2026, surely we’re due for another hit on the Bond pipe soon. Could a big reveal, such as who the villain will be, or who is performing the game’s theme, be at The Game Awards? The stage certainly seems set for the latter to come with a live performance at the show.
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, which is being helmed by Uncharted’s Amy Hennig, moved out of early 2026. The delay may mean that we’ll be waiting a little longer to play Captain America and Black Panther’s WW2 adventure, but is now the time for a full gameplay reveal?
Speaking of Marvel, Insomniac’s Marvel’s Wolverine is due late 2026, and while we’ve had some teases of what it will look like in action, we’d certainly love to see more. As for other PlayStation exclusives, Housemarque’s Saros looks set to follow in the sci-fi shooter footsteps of breakout hit Returnal when it arrives in March. Again, we’d love to see more. And one PlayStation Studios game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, may well be a while off yet — if you think you’re playing this in 2026, keep dreaming — but seeing as it got its big reveal at last year’s Game Awards, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see a bigger look at Naughty Dog’s next project very soon.
On the Xbox side of things, could we finally get a good look at some Fable gameplay? Or maybe see Gears of War: E-Day in action? There’s also Forza Horizon 6 on the way next year, of which we’ve seen nothing but the smallest of teasers. We know it's set in Japan, so we would love to see just how beautiful Playground Games’ depiction of Tokyo is. Plus, let’s face it, driving games can never resist pulling out all of the stops and placing their cover car centre of stage at events like this.
It also wouldn’t be a Geoff Keighley show with a sprinkling of Hideo Kojima into the mix. The Metal Gear Solid creator is up for a few awards thanks to Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, but might we also get a look at what is coming up next from him? Xbox horror exclusive OD: Knock continues to be teased as it conjures up unsettling memories of P.T, so we could see more of that. There’s also Physint, his PlayStation espionage action exclusive. That may well be far away at this point, but not beyond the realms of possibility for Kojima to tease further.
Another legendary developer, Ken Levine, continues to work away on Judas. It’s been over 12 years since he last released a game, 2013’s Bioshock Infinite, so who really knows if now is the time to finally give us a launch date for this one. I’m very excited about it, but I won’t let myself get carried away until I have any idea when I’ll actually be able to play it. Something I have already been able to play a little of is Phantom Blade Zero, a quite punishing sword action game from Chinese developer S-Game. It was originally meant to arrive in 2025, but could a release date finally be unveiled on the 11th?
And, finally for now. FromSoftware’s Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods, has been very quiet ever since its initial reveal back in April's Nintendo Direct. Due for 2026 – and seeing Keighley has had several previous Hidetaka Miyazaki-related reveals at The Game Awards in the past – maybe now is the time for an in-depth look at exactly what this co-op action RPG is.
Well, at least we don’t have to close our eyes and cross our fingers in hope of a Hollow Knight: Silksong release date anymore. But will Team Cherry tease DLC for one of 2025’s best games? Even I won’t go as far as to genuinely suggest that.
Another one of this year’s best games is Donkey Kong Bananza, which served as Nintendo’s big launch window 3D platformer. That may have come as a surprise to some who thought Mario would have that position nailed down. Could we see a new 3D Mario game announced at The Game Awards? It’s admittedly a long shot, but with the new Super Mario Galaxy Movie on the way next Spring, it sure would be nice to have a new game to play alongside it.
What might be more likely is a look at what Cory Barlog has been cooking up at Sony Santa Monica. A new game from the God of War director outside of that universe has been rumoured for a long time now, and it feels like we may be getting closer to seeing what it is. The Game Awards has a pattern of bringing back past winners of the Game of the Year award to tease their next projects. So this gives us a little hope here.
Following on from that train of thought, two recent recipients of the big prize have been Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3. The former’s creator, FromSoftware, may well bring The Duskbloods with them, as mentioned earlier, but what about a new single-player action RPG in the mould of what has made them so well-renowned? Bloodborne 2, anyone? I almost feel bad for mentioning it. As for Baldur’s Gate 3, developer Larian is surely now working on its next game, although seeing as BG3 did take many, many years to make, we won’t be expecting to play this one soon. Could we see a tease of what’s to come, though? Do you think it would be Baldur’s Gate 4 or something altogether different?
Baldur’s Gate’s original developer, BioWare, has its sights set on the stars, as the EA studio returns to the beloved sci-fi RPG series, Mass Effect. Could we be given a glimpse into where the story may be heading next? Or dare we even dream of some Mass Effect 5 gameplay? That may be a little too far, but I do like to dream.
And speaking of dreaming, I can’t not mention Half-Life 3. Rumours have been circulating over recent weeks that the long, long-awaited FPS sequel might actually be in development, with an announcement imminent. Could it actually be at The Game Awards? Geoff Keighley does have a long history with Valve, but these days it operates more like Rockstar does, with outside help rarely called on for its big marketing beats. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Gordon Freeman pop up on that giant screen, but I won’t believe it until I do.
What would be your dream Game Awards reveal? Let us know in the comments below. Mine, as ever, would be a full Burnout reboot from the original Criterion team, but I may have to admit that I’m not living in 2005 anymore.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
