2024 has been a big year for gaming, as a number of diverse and addictive titles have been released over the past twelve months. Over the course of this year alone, players have been able to collectively experience games like Tekken 8, Palworld, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Balatro, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Astro Bot, Silent Hill 2, Hades 2, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Black Myth: Wukong, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. These titles, all highly rated by fans and critics, vary drastically in scale, gender, and development team size. With such a party in 2024, the question now is how it will compare to 2025.
The year was full of games that should have received a lot of praise, such as Elden RingDLC and Hades 2next to surprise hits that became the internet's collective obsessionas Helldivers 2, Balatroand Palword. Although there were also some disappointments throughout the year, such as Concordia and the sunset XChallengingthe end of 2024 still offers hits like Marvel Rivals to enjoy. The Game Awards earlier this month brought together the best of the best for developers, esports, as well as indie and AAA games.
2024 saw some fantastic releases
Indie and AAA games were in the spotlight
That the entire year was a non-stop marathon of AAA titles and surprise hits this seemingly came out of nowhere. The top five games of the year according to Metacritic ratings were Astro Bot, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Metafora: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Screen speechanalyzes support a similar conclusion. These AAA games were extremely popular, but what made 2024 special for gaming were the indie titles that provided pure fun.
Helldivers 2 was one of the best games of 2024, with incredibly addictive co-op missions that brought friends together in the quest to take down bots and bugs across the galaxy. The unique card game Balatro also came out of nowhere to become a common addiction. Other games from solo developers got the love this year, like Valley of the StarsConcernedApe's ConcernedApe released a huge free update for the beloved farming simulator in March, and indie ventures like Neva, Lorelei and the laser eyesand Crow Country received some of the Screen speechthe highest notes.
2024 was one of the biggest years for gaming
The Game Awards showed the best of the best
The Game Awards were accumulated for 2024, especially for the six games competing for the title of game of the year. Ultimately, the award went to Astrobot, a well-deserved victory for the only platformer nominated this year. Next to Astrobot they were Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthand Metaphor: ReFantazio. While most of the nominations were some sort of fantasy-themed RPG, the triumph of a platformer and the inclusion of a game from a solo developer shows a healthy variety in the gaming industry.
Compared to The Game Awards in 2023, the list of nominations for best games is a little less diverse, as horror and superhero action also made it onto that list. Still, 2023 winner Baldur's Gate 3 it was also a fantasy RPG, so perhaps this trend is here to stay for at least a few more years. Clearly, players are enjoying their fantasy settingslight or dark, and games like Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate 3, and Dark Myth: Wukong are scratching that itch.
2024 also saw major failures
Live Service Snipers Aren't What They Used to Be
Along with key 2024 highs, there have been some significant casualties for video games. Among the most infamous failures was Concordiaa $40 hero shooter developed by Sony and released in late August. Just a few weeks after its release, Concordia has been taken offline, probably due to the fact that the gaming world is already flooded with free hero shooter games like Legends of the apex and Surveillance 2and players are not willing to pay upfront for another.
Next to Concordia was XChallenging, another shooter from a AAA studio that released and announced its closure in the same year. Different Concordia, XChallenging is going out more with a whimper than a bang, as it launched in May and was announced to begin a permanent shutdown in early December. Although games like Marvel Rivals show that the genre can still work, Concordia and XChallenging imply that games need compelling hooks to gain a foothold in a market full of limited-time battle passes and microtransaction-filled shooters.
These big disappointments made the headlines, but others small changes have happened throughout the year that do not bode well for the future. Important games like Legends of the apex split their battle passes in two, making players pay twice for a season of content, while other new titles like Helldivers 2 required players to connect their PlayStation accounts to the game, even on PC. Both changes created waves of backlash, and although the makers of these decisions briefly backed off, the corporate spirit of the changes will continue to happen.
What to expect in 2025
Looking forward to the future of gaming
While The Game Awards celebrated last year's releases, the ceremony also revealed what's coming in 2025. Top games for next year include Doom: The Dark Ages, Civilization 7, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Avowed, Split Fiction, Killing Floor 3, Metroid Prime 4, Elden Ring Nightreign, Monster Hunter Wilds, the sequence of Stranding of Death, and Grand Theft Auto 6. Most of these upcoming titles are single-player experiencesSo fans of offline games already know they're in for a treat in 2025.
Live service games will continue into 2025, however hopefully the studios will learn from their mistakes in 2024 with Concordia and XChallenging. Titles like Marvel Rivals appear to have a bright future next year, although Rivals You'll have to be careful not to overwhelm the character selection and overwhelm players too early. Another game that is still going strong, even after the mess with PlayStation accounts, is Helldivers 2 with his constant war to defend Super Earth. Furthermore, the Elden Ring the hype train will not stop in 2024, with Elden Ring Night Kingdom revealed for 2025.
The breadth and variety of excellent games and the impressive number of surprise hits make 2024 difficult to compete with, but 2025 definitely has a chance of rising to the occasion. It could be a better year for major Western game developers, as many of 2024's highlights came from Japanese developers or smaller studios. Regardless of what 2025 brings to the table, 2024 Weathered Some Storms to Secure a Legacy as an impressive year for video games.