Now that the balance sheet of the past year has been drawn up, it is high time to look to the future. On paper, the year 2024 has been rather light for gamers, with the exception of a few surprises like the Balatro phenomenon or the adorable Astro Bot. Gamers around the world therefore have high expectations for 2025, and rightly so.
We have barely started a new calendar and it promises to be very busy. To have more fun during our next end-of-year review, the editorial staff of Journal du Geek has taken part in the game of theories and predictions. What will the video game industry look like in the coming months? Here are our hypotheses, both plausible and far-fetched.
GTA VI will disappoint players
What better way to start our divination session than with a disaster scenario. Planned for this year, the new installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise is most likely to be THE disappointment of the year. Although we wish it all the success in the world – because after all, the editorial team also dreams of this ultra-realistic open world – we must admit that expectations are higher than ever.
The excess and overbidding specific to Rockstar productions make GTA VI a title with ambitions that are difficult to achieve. Twelve years after GTA V, fans have waited so long that they already imagine the next installment as a video game messiah. The studio's legacy suggests that the game will live up to its promises, but can the evolution of the industry allow for such feats? Only time will tell.
To sprinkle our pessimism with a little negativity, we could also add that GTA VI is not immune to a possible delay, or that the price of the game could reach the €100 mark and set a dangerous new standard for game pricing. But that would be pushing it a bit far, wouldn't it? If there’s one prediction we hope to miss, it’s this one.
Ubisoft’s Revival
In 2025, the legendary studio is getting back on track by abandoning DLC and season passes to excess. By delaying its Assassin’s Creed: Shadows twice, Ubisoft has proven that it wants to do its best to restore its image. Long labeled as the expert in open world kits, this industry pioneer is facing its last chance to regain the trust of players.
Is it really possible to find Ubisoft at the top of its game? That’s all we hope for, and the coming months promise to be decisive. The accumulation of mistakes along the way could well end up pushing this industry behemoth to the sidelines. For now, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the only production planned by the studio this year. The public’s feedback following the launch on March 20 should give us some initial clues about the company’s future.
The Switch 2 will revolutionize portable gaming
Legend has it that one in two Nintendo consoles fails commercially. The GameCube failed but the Wii triumphed. The Wii U is already forgotten but the Switch has left its mark on us all. Should we expect the same curse for the Nintendo Switch 2? At Journal du Geek, we like to believe that the pattern will be broken with this new machine. So yes: Nintendo has accustomed us to innovation for each generation and the next console may seem a little bland at first glance.
But a direct evolution seems to be the right bet this time. In addition to the emphasis on backward compatibility that reminds us of the transition from the DS to the 3DS, the cultural impact of the Switch is not to be overlooked. The hybrid console is only 8 million copies away from surpassing the DS to become the best-selling console in the manufacturer's history. Without the success of this formula halfway between a home console and a portable console, platforms like the Steam Deck might not exist today.
Nintendo therefore has every interest in confronting its competitors with an even more ambitious model of its machine that launched the trend for hybrid gaming. If the rumors claiming the inclusion of DLSS technology prove correct, the Switch 2 promises to shake up the video game market. By combining power, affordable price and legendary licenses, this console will have the potential to make history. See you in April for more details.
Live service games will finally slow down
Our predictions are very good, but it's time to wish for a little bad. What if 2025 marked the end of abusive live service productions? By trying to sell FOMO with big battle passes in all online games, studios are biting their fingers. If there's one thing that the premature death of projects like Concord and XDeviant has taught us in recent months: it's that players can't stand these ephemeral titles anymore.
It's certain that industry players will now think twice before publishing FPS and MOBAs with concepts that are exhausted before they even come out. Reproducing a phenomenon worthy of Fortnite or Overwatch is not within everyone's reach. After all, who has time or money left to offer to this kind of microtransaction pit?
If studios still insist on following this tortuous path, let's hope they seek advice from the Marvel Rivals teams. The market is saturated and only the most respectful titles for players and their wallets will be able to stand out in the future. Gamers are no longer being fooled and that's a good thing!
AI, between boon and threat
In a perfect world, the application of artificial intelligence to video games allows for great things. Frame generation for greater fluidity, development of NPCs more alive than ever, new gaming solutions for gamers with disabilities... These are all innovations made possible by AI for a video game future that is more immersive and accessible than ever. Unfortunately, this industry is a creative sector that, like cinema, is already suffering from the excesses of artificial intelligence.
Voice actors, motion capture experts and many other professions are worried about the disappearance of their professions. It is very likely that 2025 will see the first major scandals in terms of AI in video games. Will the Hollywood strikes of 2023 and 2024 hit the video game industry?
0 Comments