Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a remake of a game from 2004. Photo: Konami
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a remake of a game from 2004. Photo: Konami
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a remake of a game from 2004. Photo: Konami
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a remake of a game from 2004. Photo: Konami

The most anticipated video games of 2025, from GTA 6 to Metal Gear Solid Delta


Faisal Al Zaabi
  • English
  • Arabic

This year could mark a major moment in gaming history with the highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Set to launch in the summer, it has been eagerly awaited since the record-breaking success of its predecessor, GTA 5, back in 2013.

But until then, gamers have plenty to look forward to. From long-awaited sequels to exciting new titles, here are some of the most anticipated games hitting the shelves this year.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII

Release date: February 11

Sid Meier's Civilization VII will be out next month. Photo: 2K
Sid Meier's Civilization VII will be out next month. Photo: 2K

The Civilization series has been beloved by its fans since the release of the first game in 1991. Since then, every release has advanced the reality of the experience and added new features to keep players interested. The objective of the game is world domination: take a society and grow it from simple means to cities of skyscrapers and nuclear power.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Release date: March 20

The protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are Yasuke and Naoe. Photo: Ubisoft
The protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are Yasuke and Naoe. Photo: Ubisoft

Postponed from last year, the next Assassin's Creed game is finally set for release next month. French studio Ubisoft announced that the game would be delayed due to it not being ready, which is admirable in an environment where many games are half-cooked, prompting discontent among fans. The game is set in feudal Japan and stars two characters, a female shinobi ninja and a black samurai.

Tales of the Shire

Release date: March 25

Tales of the Shire is a cosy game for a calm experience set in the Lord of the Rings world. Photo: Private Division and Weta Workshop
Tales of the Shire is a cosy game for a calm experience set in the Lord of the Rings world. Photo: Private Division and Weta Workshop

Lord of the Rings fans are eagerly waiting for the release of Tales of the Shire, a cosy gaming experience that will allow gamers to immerse themselves in the whimsical world of the films as they discover, decorate and share in this idyllic corner of Middle-earth.

Doom: The Dark Ages

Release date: May 15

Doom: The Dark Ages has a medieval-like setting as players battle with demons and monsters. Photo: Bethesda Softworks
Doom: The Dark Ages has a medieval-like setting as players battle with demons and monsters. Photo: Bethesda Softworks

The next instalment in the Doom series, which began in 1993, will be set in a gothic, medieval setting. The series was rebooted in 2016 for a new generation, upping the ante with loud rock 'n' roll and power weapons. The trailer for Doom: The Dark Ages shows a frenetic fun time, vanquishing enemies and levelling up in the process.

Grand Theft Auto 6

Release date: autumn

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to be the biggest gaming release of the year. Photo: Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to be the biggest gaming release of the year. Photo: Rockstar Games

While fans still have trepidation about Rockstar’s current promised release date of "summer 2025", most are hopeful that they'll get the game after waiting more than a decade since the last Grand Theft Auto title. The open world in GTA 6 will be in a Miami-like setting, with two playable characters, a man and a woman.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Release date: August 28

The Metal Gear Solid series has many popular games, but the standout is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Directed by gaming auteur Hideo Kojima, it was first released in 2004 and was one of the bestselling games of that year. A reboot of the game called Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is coming this year, with many hoping to enjoy the game again in a graphically improved setting.

Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 will release this year, six years after the release of Borderlands 3 in 2019. Photo: 2K
Borderlands 4 will release this year, six years after the release of Borderlands 3 in 2019. Photo: 2K

Release date: September 23

The fourth entry in the beloved Borderlands series (last year's film was less beloved) is coming this year – six years after the release of Borderlands 3. The first-person game is in the looter shooter subgenre, requiring players to take out enemies to loot their weapons, objects and collectibles. The game will be released a year after the movie was released, which only took in $33 million on a $110 million budget.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Release date: TBC

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach stars Norman Reedus as the protagonist. Photo: Kojima Productions
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach stars Norman Reedus as the protagonist. Photo: Kojima Productions

Another Kojima game, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a sequel to 2019’s popular Death Stranding. The objective is to move packages across a vast map and deliver them during an apocalypse-level event. The sequel looks to expand the world set in the first game and improve on the mechanics of delivering goods.

Ghost of Yotei

Release date: TBC

Ghost of Yotei will take place in the mountains of Yotei on Japan's Hokkaido Island. Photo: Sucker Punch
Ghost of Yotei will take place in the mountains of Yotei on Japan's Hokkaido Island. Photo: Sucker Punch

Ghost of Tsushima was one of the last great games on the PlayStation 4. It transported players to feudal Japan to assume the role of a disgraced samurai who must clear his name and rid his island from a Mongol invasion. The sequel is set more than 300 years after the events of the first and takes place in the mountains of Yotei on Hokkaido Island. The game’s protagonist is a female ninja who is out for revenge.

Fable

Release date: TBC

Fable is an action role-playing game set in a magical world. Photo: Playground Games
Fable is an action role-playing game set in a magical world. Photo: Playground Games

Xbox players have been anticipating the next game in the Fable series since the release of Fable: The Journey in 2012. The action role-playing game is set in a magical world where wizards are fought with spells and incantations. The game will feature British comedian Richard Ayoade as a major character who helps the protagonist on his quest.

Blade

Release date: TBC

Marvel's Blade is developed by the same studio that made 2021's Deathloop. Photo: Marvel
Marvel's Blade is developed by the same studio that made 2021's Deathloop. Photo: Marvel

From the same studio that created Deathloop in 2021, the new Blade game transports players to Paris. As the day walker, gamers must infiltrate a congregation of vampires who have been terrorising the city at night.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra

Release date: TBC

In Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Captain America teams up with Black Panther to take on the Nazis. Photo: Marvel
In Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Captain America teams up with Black Panther to take on the Nazis. Photo: Marvel

Captain America and Black Panther team up in this action game set during the Second World War. Details on the game are sparse but the two-minute trailer shows the story will involve espionage work behind enemy lines coupled with fight sequences.

Recent games such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel's Avengers haven’t sparked much confidence, but gamers will be hoping Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is more like the PlayStation’s popular Spider-Man games than the aforementioned flops.

Dune: Awakening

Release date: TBC

Dune: Awakening takes place on the desert planet Arrakis. Photo: Funcom
Dune: Awakening takes place on the desert planet Arrakis. Photo: Funcom

A new massively multiplayer online game, or MMO, set in the Dune universe is coming sometime this year. Taking place in the desert planet of Arrakis, the game will have players strategising and commanding the Fremen in their resistance of House Harkonnen and its grip on the spice trade on the planet.

Mafia: The Old Country

Release date: TBC

Mafia: The Old Country is set on the island of Sicily in the early 20th century. Photo: 2K
Mafia: The Old Country is set on the island of Sicily in the early 20th century. Photo: 2K

The Mafia series has had three mainline releases as well as a remaster of the first game. The next will be set in Sicily in the early 20th century. The game will follow protagonist Enzo Favara and his journey from the Italian island's sulfur mines to joining a crime family.

Fight card

1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)

2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)

3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)

4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)

5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)

6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)

7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)

8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)

9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)

10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)

11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)

12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

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MATCH INFO

Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: BeIN Sports

Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term). 

• On the protection component, there is a cap  of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated. 

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.

World Cricket League Division 2

In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

UAE fixtures

Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

Match info

Uefa Champions League Group F

Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Updated: February 13, 2025, 10:09 AM`