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.

RESULTS

6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra

7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m

Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby

8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby

8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

'Downton Abbey: A New Era'

Director: Simon Curtis

 

Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan

 

Rating: 4/5

 
RESULTS

6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).

7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m

Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.

8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m

Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Crops that could be introduced to the UAE

1: Quinoa 

2. Bathua 

3. Amaranth 

4. Pearl and finger millet 

5. Sorghum

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.0%20twin-turbo%20inline%20six-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E600Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FINAL LEADERBOARD

1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE)  68 72 69 67 - 4-under

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

The Bio

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Forced%20Deportations
%3Cp%3EWhile%20the%20Lebanese%20government%20has%20deported%20a%20number%20of%20refugees%20back%20to%20Syria%20since%202011%2C%20the%20latest%20round%20is%20the%20first%20en-mass%20campaign%20of%20its%20kind%2C%20say%20the%20Access%20Center%20for%20Human%20Rights%2C%20a%20non-governmental%20organization%20which%20monitors%20the%20conditions%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Lebanon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20past%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20General%20Security%20was%20responsible%20for%20the%20forced%20deportation%20operations%20of%20refugees%2C%20after%20forcing%20them%20to%20sign%20papers%20stating%20that%20they%20wished%20to%20return%20to%20Syria%20of%20their%20own%20free%20will.%20Now%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20army%2C%20specifically%20military%20intelligence%2C%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20security%20operation%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Mohammad%20Hasan%2C%20head%20of%20ACHR.%3Cbr%3EIn%20just%20the%20first%20four%20months%20of%202023%20the%20number%20of%20forced%20deportations%20is%20nearly%20double%20that%20of%20the%20entirety%20of%202022.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESince%20the%20beginning%20of%202023%2C%20ACHR%20has%20reported%20407%20forced%20deportations%20%E2%80%93%20200%20of%20which%20occurred%20in%20April%20alone.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20comparison%2C%20just%20154%20people%20were%20forcfully%20deported%20in%202022.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Violence%20
%3Cp%3EInstances%20of%20violence%20against%20Syrian%20refugees%20are%20not%20uncommon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJust%20last%20month%2C%20security%20camera%20footage%20of%20men%20violently%20attacking%20and%20stabbing%20an%20employee%20at%20a%20mini-market%20went%20viral.%20The%20store%E2%80%99s%20employees%20had%20engaged%20in%20a%20verbal%20altercation%20with%20the%20men%20who%20had%20come%20to%20enforce%20an%20order%20to%20shutter%20shops%2C%20following%20the%20announcement%20of%20a%20municipal%20curfew%20for%20Syrian%20refugees.%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThey%20thought%20they%20were%20Syrian%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20the%20mayor%20of%20the%20Nahr%20el%20Bared%20municipality%2C%20Charbel%20Bou%20Raad%2C%20of%20the%20attackers.%3Cbr%3EIt%20later%20emerged%20the%20beaten%20employees%20were%20Lebanese.%20But%20the%20video%20was%20an%20exemplary%20instance%20of%20violence%20at%20a%20time%20when%20anti-Syrian%20rhetoric%20is%20particularly%20heated%20as%20Lebanese%20politicians%20call%20for%20the%20return%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20to%20Syria.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

BLACKBERRY
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Matt%20Johnson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jay%20Baruchel%2C%20Glenn%20Howerton%2C%20Matt%20Johnson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: February 13, 2025, 10:09 AM`