The 2025 Game Awards are upon us, promising many awards for Clair Obscur and an avalanche of gaming trailers. Yearly, the 23-hour-long program devotes roughly 22 hours and 59 minutes to approaching video games. Typically, legitimately cool-looking video games are introduced on the present, like Hades in 2018, Death Stranding 2 in 2022, and Exodus in 2023.
This 12 months, the excitement has been by the roof. On Nov. 28, Sport Awards host Geoff Keighley tweeted a imprecise string of textual content (“regal.inspiring.thickness.”) alongside a photograph of a statue with demonic iconography. After all, this led to a flurry of hypothesis. Followers spent days convincing themselves that the stunt may spell something from a brand new God of Conflict recreation to a Lords of the Fallen sequel to the long-missing Elder Scrolls 6. However thanks to a trademark leak, the statue has all however been confirmed as advertising for an entry in Larian Studios’ Divinity collection of RPGs. (The statue is at present located exterior the Peacock Theater, the place the Sport Awards might be hosted and the place we may stand in entrance of it making faces.)
Additionally within the playing cards: Amazon Video games said it is going to exhibit particulars about its Tomb Raider reboot, and Sega teased an announcement pertaining to one in all its gazillion franchises.
However that is not sufficient to fill a whole day of “world premieres” (Keighley’s phrase). Polygon has already spent the previous month predicting who will win big on the Sport Awards this 12 months. Now, let’s predict a few of our dream bulletins at tonight’s present.
The return of Halo multiplayer
Earlier this 12 months, Halo Studios introduced Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full remake of Halo: Fight Developed constructed from the bottom up in Unreal 5. The catch? Because the identify implies, it solely contains the marketing campaign. The multiplayer part that has outlined the collection since day one (and has been languishing this previous 12 months) will not be a part of the re-release. However Halo Studios has stated it has “a number of initiatives” within the works. May Xbox spherical out the 12 months with a one-two punch of Halo revivals, supplementing the already-revealed marketing campaign nostalgia with a separate multiplayer recreation? Hopefully. We HCS sickos are parched. —Ari Notis
A Sonic recreation, however one of many good ones
Whereas The Sport Awards generally is a little unpredictable, historical past can provide you a good suggestion of what to anticipate. As an illustration, there’s a superb probability we’ll see Sonic the Hedgehog on the present in some capability, seeing because the blue blur has confirmed up earlier than and Sega places out his video games with an nearly annual frequency at this level. What’s tougher to foretell is when you’re going to get a correct mainline Sonic recreation or one thing… weird. This 12 months, I’m hoping we see the previous. It’s been a number of years since we received Sonic Frontiers, so it looks like we’re due for a tease of Sonic’s subsequent true journey, even when it’s nonetheless two years away. Realistically, although, I’m making ready for Sega to announce that Elphaba is coming to Sonic Racing Crossworlds. Really, what? That might be positive too. —Giovanni Colantonio
Regardless of the hell Sq. Enix is hiding
It stays to be seen what Sq. Enix’s marquee title for 2026 might be. The corporate has already introduced a few titles for early subsequent 12 months — Ultimate Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade for Nintendo Swap 2 on Jan. 22 and Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined for Feb. 5. The painterly motion RPG The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales can also be due out someday in 2026. However let’s be trustworthy, role-playing followers are actually hankering for brand new particulars on the following chapters of main collection, like Dragon Quest 12 and Kingdom Hearts 4. If both was to show up at The Sport Awards, we would put our cash on the latter, given the broader attraction of Kingdom Hearts exterior Japan.
A primary have a look at the yet-unsubtitled third installment of the Ultimate Fantasy 7 remake trilogy additionally sits atop many a fan’s want checklist, however feels extra unlikely given the upcoming Swap 2 port subsequent month. There’s additionally been a little bit of hypothesis a couple of HD-2D remake of Chrono Set off following some suspicious recent comments by co-creator Yuji Horii, and with the sport’s thirtieth birthday 12 months drawing to a detailed, the timing feels a bit extra auspicious. —Jen Glennon
An indication of life for Blade (no, not that tortured one)
Two years in the past, Deathloop developer Arkane took to the Sport Awards stage to tease its subsequent recreation: Blade. We didn’t study a lot in regards to the Marvel adaptation, however something with director Dinga Bakaba hooked up to it sounded good. We’ve heard nothing about it since.
Normally I’d say “allow them to prepare dinner” and fortunately watch for some information when it’s prepared, however I’m a bit extra antsy for information this 12 months. Xbox has closed down studios and canceled large video games like Excellent Darkish since Blade’s announcement. I don’t assume that any mission is protected proper now until I’m seeing some energetic indicators of life that inform me growth is properly underneath approach. Even when it’s solely a cinematic trailer or 15 seconds of gameplay, I simply need some assurance that Arkane is certainly cooking again there. —GC
A recreation with as mumble-worthy a reputation as Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Rumors swirled in November that Naughty Canine’s mysterious new recreation Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet was “content complete” and prepared for a 2026 launch, with a primo Sport Awards reveal ready within the wings. Buddy of Polygon Jason Schreier shut that shit down right away. Different buddy of Polygon Jeff Grubb corroborated the key diss by saying, no, Intergalactic wouldn’t pop up at The Sport Awards.
That’s too unhealthy as a result of (1) I’m genuinely curious to see how Neil Drukmann’s imaginative and prescient of a Eighties-themed non secular future interprets to gameplay and (2) I’ve not stopped mumbling the identify “Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet” since final 12 months’s TGAs. The truth is, I’m predicting and praying for everybody to be flawed and for us to get a brand new tease of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet if solely to get one other 12 months’s value of labor out of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet as a bit. If not, I can solely hope for a title of equal acclaim to tackle the Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet mantle of “dopey recreation titles we are able to’t assist however love.” —Matt Patches
One thing, something, from Atlus that’ll occupy our time for 364 days subsequent 12 months
The makers of Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio haven’t introduced any video games set to launch in 2026 — not but, anyway. Atlus served up a primary have a look at the long-rumored Persona 4: Revival at Summer time Sport Fest again in June, however we don’t but have a agency launch date for that. In response to guardian firm Sega’s most up-to-date annual monetary report, it’s broadly believed that the remake will launch someday between April 2026 and March 2027. So a brand new TGA trailer with a launch date isn’t completely out of the query.
Whereas followers have been starved for any information of a Persona 6, it appears unlikely that Atlus can be prepared to overshadow the upcoming remake with a brand new installment in shut succession. What could also be extra seemingly, nonetheless, is a Swap 2 port for Metaphor: ReFantazio, which claimed three trophies, together with Finest RPG, on the 2024 Sport Awards. —JG
A Half-Life 3 reveal to finish the aggressive rumor cycle and put us out of our distress
Valve will reveal Half-Life 3 at The Sport Awards. Proper? Please? Can we simply do that?
The November announcement of the Steam Machine got here with it a tirade of new reports that Half-Life 3 is real and coming quickly — and albeit, I’m beginning to imagine it. None of Gabe Newell’s explanations through the years for why Valve never completed and shipped Half-Life 3, nor the reveal that the crew has been throwing tons of effort and cash at Impasse, has slowed down the rumors that Half-Life 3 is properly into growth. Possibly Valve ought to simply announce it to close everybody up? Now looks like the second. Manifest, manifest, manifest. —MP
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