If “Astro Bot” was crowned game of the year, the Game Awards 2024 were also an opportunity to discover productions that will be talked about next year, and probably well after.
On the night of December 12 to 13, 2024, the Game Awards took place, a ceremony to reward the best video game productions of the year which has just passed, including Astro Botcrowned “game of the year”. But above all it was an opportunity for publishers, developers and manufacturers to unveil new games, some of which were more noticed than others.
There were significant announcements, including Split Fictionsigned Josef Fares, the creator of It Takes Twobut also The Witcher 4running on “an unannounced Nvidia graphics card”, without forgetting Borderlands 4which introduced its main antagonist while announcing the return of Claptrap, the sidekick accompanying the heroes throughout the adventure.
Tech&Co offers you a selection of trailers that should not be missed and whose releases are planned for 2025 and beyond.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
This was the final surprise, as unexpected as Geoff Keighley had promised. We were waiting for a new Naughty Dog game (The Last of Us, Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted), we got it and it's a real surprise as it stands out compared to its studio acolytes.
A game that will pay for the luxury in addition to seeing its music written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, two regulars at the Oscars received for their compositions (The Social Network, Soul). We will play a bounty hunter, played by Tati Gabrielle, who we saw in the film Uncharted and the series The 100who goes in search of a very dangerous criminal, played by Kumail Nanjiani (The Eternals, Silicon Valley), all in a synthwave and space opera atmosphere.
On production, neither more nor less than Neil Druckman, one of the fathers of The Last of Us.
No release date, but it's coming to PS5.
Elden Ring: Nightreign
If FromSoftware had explained that it was “not working” on a Elden Ring 2it was obviously necessary to understand that the studio behind the Dark Souls was developing a spin-off called Night rainwhich will not require the original game or its expansion, and which will be especially designed for cooperation, and therefore multiplayer.
Three players will be able to help each other with different predefined heroes (at least at the class level), with zones, some of which will be randomly generated. Elden Ring: Nightreign must be accessible to as many people as possible, since it will be released on all platforms except the Switch.
Disponible courant 2025 sur PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series et PC.
Mafia: The Old Country
If it can easily be called Mafia 4, The Old Country is in no way a sequel to the criticized Mafia 3. The game will take place in Sicily (with Sicilian dubbing) in the early 1900s and will immerse us in the origins of the Italian mafia.
It's still the Hangar 13 studio in charge, so we can hope for very good writing and directing. The few snippets of gameplay also suggest a very realistic game in terms of its graphics. We will nevertheless judge on the evidence in order to set off on an adventure in the company of a hero whose objective will be to survive in a merciless world.
Available in summer 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Rematch
FC 25 may have to worry about the arrival of a new competitor on the field. Sloclap, who made a name for himself with Sifuchange fight with Rematchan online multiplayer soccer experience. But above all an arcade style which can appeal to those who above all want to have fun. And he intends to change the rules.
Car Rematch will not offer “special moves” as in a Inazuma Elevenand will not be a simulation either EA Sports FC 25. The game aims to be arcade in its gameplay, but will also not forget to be demanding, requiring a lot of precision in 5 versus 5 confrontations.
Available in 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Steel Hunter
You knew World of Tanks or World of Warships. Wargaming returns and innovates with an unexpected Mecha Shooter. Steel Hunters will be free-to-play and is a cross between Armored Core et Fortnitebut without resembling either in its gameplay. It thus mixes the principle of Battle Royale and extraction, all carried by a duo of characters (the Hunters, mechas with different abilities) released on a map and who must eliminate all competition to achieve their objective.
In Steel Huntershumanity struggles for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. The Hunters are the result of experiments gone wrong by corporations and factions fighting to conquer the Starfall, a rare extraterrestrial resource essential to their survival. And the first images reveal a particularly visually polished game under Unreal Engine 5.
Wargaming forgets tanks and boats, but not its principles: the game is based on opposition, increasing skill and equipment. Each Hunter has his own skills and you have to know how to play the complementarity of the tandem, developing strategies and tactics by choosing each profile. Each game lasts 10 to 15 minutes. Expected for 2025, the game already has a 10-day closed beta period on PC available now.
Available during 2025 – Beta available until December 22.
Den of Wolves
There is obviously Payday in this Den of Wolves signed 10 Chambers and for good reason, it is its creators behind this new four-player co-op heist game. In the futuristic and ultra-technological city of Midway City, a highly secure island in the middle of the Pacific, the world's largest companies and the biggest banks are sheltering from cyberattacks that have become legion. The ideal place to design new kinds of heists.
A dynamic game, in diverse environments, combat, tactical plans to develop together before trying to implement them to succeed in your missions… So many possibilities available to players. A title that promises to be nervous and enjoyable for fans of collaborative FPS. A beta should arrive very soon.
Scheduled for PC in 2025.
Shadow Labyrinth
What if Pac-Man had finally gone bad and the ghosts had gone to his head? This is the basic concept of Shadow Labyrinthwhich was revealed by Bandai Namco. We play as Swordsman No. 8, who will be accompanied by Puck, a “dark” Pac-Man in a 2D action game, like a Metroid.
The Pac-Man in question will be able to merge with our hero to carry out certain attacks or to reach high platforms and access specific areas. All this, with lots of bosses to fight and tactics to develop.
No date or platforms announced at this stage.
Stage Fright
After the success of the franchise Overcookedthe Ghost Town Games studio is returning with a new franchise: Stage Fright. The studio's habits die hard: we find a cooperative aspect transposed this time into a slightly horrific game, but with a screen split in two, in two versions of the same universe.
Each player will have to carry out actions which will unlock others for both. The trailer also hints at a lot of chaos, one of the studio's trademarks.
Scheduled for 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Nightfrost – The Long Dark 2 (early access 2026)
Previewed at the very beginning of the year, the new project from the Hinterland studio is none other than a sequel to The Long Darka survival game in a snowy environment. For the occasion, Raphael van Lierop, the creator of the game, spoke in a long online publication.
We discover that this sequel, entitled Blackfrost: The Long Dark IIwill be an opportunity to change a little the formula initiated with the first opus. The objective here will not be simply to survive, but to do so “with others”, in cooperation with other players or characters encountered during your wanderings. Above all, we will have to try to avoid “black frost”, a very real threat to which others will be added, particularly in “the vast wilderness” which will make up the map.
Scheduled for 2026 on PC.
Melinda Davan-Soulas and Sylvain Trinel
