Predicting the gaming trends for 2025 starts with reflecting on what’s happened in 2024. After another tumultuous year of layoffs and studio closures, many folks in the games industry will be staggering into 2025 with an understandable sense of anxiety. As while Epic Games has had a good year with Unreal Engine 5 and Nintendo continues to buck the trends, many studios have suffered.
Game Design Trends 2025: Our Predictions
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Nintendo Switch Launches
Anticipation is mounting for the follow-up to Nintendo’s mega-hit Switch console, which has sold more than 146 million units since its release in March 2017. Nintendo has said that an announcement on Switch 2, or whatever it ends up being called, will be made by the end of March 2025 at the latest, and we already know it will be backwards compatible with the Switch. -
Live Service Games Out of Favour
Sony’s live service shooter Concord was the biggest video-game flop of 2024, shut down just two weeks after its launch in August as a result of catastrophically low player counts. Sony later shuttered the game’s creator, Firewalk Studios, having only bought the studio in 2023. -
The Rise of In-Real-Life Gaming
There’s a convergence happening with technology, as Unreal Engine and Unity become as useful outside of game development as within. We’ve seen in the past how Unreal us used to create immersive live experiences, such as Frameless in London that puts you into classic works of art and its use in filmmaking to drive LED Volume stages, the kind used by ILM for Star Wars. - AA Game Design is Back
Sam Barlow notes that some of the biggest hits of the past year have relied on tried and tested design elements. “I mean, Metaphor: ReFantazio is pretty much literally a PS2 game in the way it’s set up,” he says, calling it “an extremely archaic RPG design” that is “extremely confident and polished in what it’s doing”.
Game Design Trends 2025: Outside the Box
While it’s clear Nintendo Switch 2, generative AI, new tools for Unreal Engine 5, the rise of indies and more will happen in 2025, there are some outside chances of other things happening in video games. Below are some ‘outside the box’ things that may come to pass.
Conclusion
As we head into 2025, it’s clear that the gaming industry will continue to evolve, with new technologies, trends, and innovations emerging. While there may be challenges ahead, the industry has shown its resilience and ability to adapt in the past, and we can expect to see new and exciting developments in the coming year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will Nintendo Switch 2 be backwards compatible with the original Switch?
A: Yes, according to Nintendo’s announcement, Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with the original Switch.
Q: What is the impact of live service games on the gaming industry?
A: The recent failures of live service games, such as Concord, have shown that the industry is re-evaluating its approach to live service games, and may be moving towards more traditional game design approaches.
Q: What is the significance of generative AI in game development?
A: Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize game development, enabling the creation of more realistic and immersive game worlds, characters, and experiences.
Q: Will blockchain gaming become a major trend in 2025?
A: While blockchain gaming is gaining traction, it remains to be seen whether it will become a major trend in 2025.
