2025’s Game of the Year race may already be doomed

There’s an elephant in the room, one created by Rockstar Games

Admittedly, yes, it is a tad extreme for me to be broaching the topic of Game of the Year on, *checks calendar*, 6 January, but I have a good reason to be concerned. I recently took the time to refamiliarise myself with the year’s announced releases both to see what I was personally looking forward to and to professionally gauge an idea of what the year might have in store. It’s an activity that led me to one conclusion; 2025 could be a year for the record books, and we don’t yet know what surprises it may have in store.

It’s at this point that I’d love to say that the current state of affairs reminds me of 2023’s The Game Awards, a year where it was nigh impossible to narrow a longlist down to six nominees, let alone select the winner; but while this year looks set to be one we won’t forget, filled with immense potential, I have an unsettling feeling that it’ll be, let’s say, marred by a Grand Theft Auto VI shaped problem.

Grand Theft Auto VI is easily the most highly anticipated game of all-time. The records set by the game’s reveal trailer prove that, but it’s not as if any of us needed concrete proof. Hype for the game is rife on social media - and that’s when all fans have to go on is a 91-second cinematic. Whether it’s YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, or in the media, I’m not declaring anything revolutionary when I say that GTA VI is going to dominate this year’s chatter. Its second trailer will garner immense coverage, as will its gameplay reveal.

Anyone else championing Professor Layton and the New World of Steam?

Then there’s pricing, pre-order incentives, previews, and reviews all before fans actually get their hands on the game itself - and that opens up a new wealth of content. Rockstar Games’ developers are masters of their craft. Just imagine the attention to detail we’re going to find in GTA VI’s open world.

I should stress that, of course, as much as we’re all hoping that GTA VI is going to be everything we’ve dreamt of and more, there’s nothing to guarantee its greatness until the game is in our hands. Even still, you can understand why I have a sneaking suspicion that GTA VI might dominate this year’s The Game Awards. Rockstar Games’ rich history, the quality of that reveal trailer, the sheer level of hype … it’s surely a recipe for success?

Which may lead you to wonder why this is something that’s causing me concern. I hope, like everybody else, that GTA VI is fantastic and if it deserves to win GOTY then I certainly hope it walks away with the trophy. What I’m about to say doesn’t make GTA VI any less deserving of any praise it eventually accrues. That being said, I’m worried it’ll dominate the year to the point where equally deserving games may be paid a pittance.

This isn’t Mean Girls. I can’t break up a tiara and award every deserving game a slice of the winning pie. There has to be a winner. That’s the nature of the, well, game. But would a title like Balatro find its airtime in a year like 2025 despite being wholly deserving of doing so? As excited as we all are about GTA VI, I suppose what I’m hoping is that we, as a community, still retain our ability to show support for all titles - without our minds and time being entirely consumed by the year’s inescapable dominating release.

Rockstar Games

Let me take GTA VI out of the equation for just a moment and name a couple of the other major titles set to launch this year: Civilization VII, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Elden Ring: Nightreign, Crimson, Desert, Avowed, Monster Hunter Wilds, Atomfall, Borderlands 4, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Fable, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Judas, Little Nightmares III, and Pokémon Legends Z-A.

And those are just a few of the year’s games coming from big name studios. There’s Directive 8020, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra … I could go on. Then alongside this, the year will bring us plenty more indie delights, the very best of which will break through and make a mark on the masses. I’ve already got my eye on Woodo. You can already see how this year’s award season might result in some snubs and upsets, and that’s with GTA VI taken out of the equation.

Place it back in and assume that it’ll end up nominated for practically every award going? Well, I simply hope that we’re all there to champion the titles equally deserving of the spotlight that may have just found themselves drowned out in the noise. 2025 could be one of the strongest years we’ve ever seen, but I hope when in the future we look back, it’s because of the breadth of quality - not any single one title.