Summary
- Plenty of great games have dominated 2025 so far, from live-service and AAA blockbusters to small indie hits.
- Despite releasing in 2024, Marvel Rivals and Delta Force remain live-service successes with large player bases and ongoing updates.
- R.E.P.O., PEAK, and Schedule 1 all emerged as surprise indie hits, gaining popularity with high player numbers and positive reviews.
While still far from over, 2025 has already turned out to be full of great games and strong GOTY contenders. From long-anticipated AAA blockbusters to sudden indie hits, from enduring live-service titles to single-player-only releases — any player can find something worthwhile to play this year, no matter the platform or taste.
Today, we are examining some of the biggest games of 2025 so far that have truly made an impact, outshining even the huge blockbusters like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. This isn’t a best-seller list, as numerous factors are considered here, including sales, peak player counts, reviews, discussions, and the overall excitement surrounding each title. Here are some of the games that have defined 2025 so far.
The games below are sorted by release date, from older to newer.
Delta Force
An Unexpected Competitor for Call of Duty and Battlefield
Wait, what is Delta Force doing here, wasn’t it originally released in 2024? Sure it was, yet throughout 2025, Delta Force (formerly Delta Force: Hawk Ops) has significantly strengthened its position on PC, just recently crossing the impressive milestone of 200,000 concurrent players on Steam. At the same time, it finally debuted on other major platforms with crossplay support — just in time to give CoD and BF fans something to chew on while waiting for the next big entries.
While the game’s current position is definitely favorable, it remains to be seen whether Delta Force will stay afloat this fall, once Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 are launched. Still, the game’s free-to-play nature might help with that, and 2025 may continue to bring strong results for the tactical shooter with its variety of game modes.
Marvel Rivals
The Recent Live-Service Heavy-Hitter
In a case almost similar to Delta Force, Marvel Rivals was released in December 2024, but the game’s enduring popularity has guaranteed that it consistently remains among the most-played titles of 2025 across various platforms, supported by an enormous player base and a constant stream of updates adding new characters.
Marvel Rivals peaked this January, amassing 644,000 concurrent players on Steam, but unlike many other popular games, it has proved it’s here to stay. After several not-so-great attempts, Marvel games are finally becoming a real force in the modern gaming landscape, with Marvel Snap and Marvel Rivals already smash hits, and plenty of anticipated upcoming titles like Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Marvel’s Wolverine, and Marvel’s Blade in the pipeline. Move up, MCU.
R.E.P.O.
The First Among Indie Dominators Of 2025
R.E.P.O. (Retrieve, Extract and Profit Operation) was the first huge PC indie hit of 2025, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and making some real numbers despite being an early access game. With 96% positive reviews from players and an impressive all-time peak of 271,000 concurrent players on the platform, R.E.P.O. unexpectedly entered the top 50 of Steam’s most-played titles ever.
This online cooperative survival horror game is quite similar to fan-favorite Lethal Company, providing thrills and sheer fun driven by players themselves. Coupled with an affordable price and strong word of mouth, it’s exciting to see what’s next for R.E.P.O. in 2025 and beyond.
Monster Hunter Wilds
When Hype Outweighs The Result
Monster Hunter Wilds is by far the most controversial game among these, constantly surrounded by debates and negativity due to its technical state, lack of endgame content, and other issues that prevent it from reaching the glory of its predecessor, Monster Hunter World. Nevertheless, the game is easily among the best-selling (over 10 million copies sold) and most-played new titles of the year so far, which is impossible to ignore.
While Monster Hunter Wilds’ all-time player count peaked at an astounding 1.4 million, sales significantly slowed after the first month due to poor word of mouth (currently sitting at just 50% positive on Steam). It will be interesting to see whether Capcom can turn the tide in the years to come, though the announced crossovers may help bring in new players.
Schedule 1
Simplicity & Fun Make For An Overwhelming Success
Another one (but not the last!) of the unexpected indie hits, the co-op crime simulator Schedule 1 was among the most-played new titles for almost three months straight, despite launching in early access. The figures are truly impressive: Schedule 1 boasts a 98% positive rating and secured a spot among the top 30 most-played games on Steam, with about 459,000 simultaneous players this March.
Simplicity and fun are clearly among the winning trends for several of 2025’s most-played and popular games, proving that colossal budgets and photorealistic graphics aren’t essential to making players happy.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
RPG Of The Year, No Less
Who hasn’t heard of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 this year? This debut RPG from a small team looked too good to be true, yet somehow managed to overdeliver, instantly joining the pantheon of the most beloved RPGs of recent years. Despite launching on Game Pass, Expedition 33 still amassed impressive numbers, peaking at almost 150,000 players on Steam and selling over 3 million copies across all platforms.
From art and music to story and its innovative combat system, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a triumph and a prime contender for GOTY 2025. Winning the hearts of everyone who has experienced this gem, the game was one of the most shared and discussed on social media in a long time.
Elden Ring Nightreign
Most Experimental For The Studio Yet
One of the most experimental titles by FromSoftware in quite a long time, Elden Ring Nightreign proved divisive for the studio’s fanbase, and it’s easy to see why. Nightreign deliberately sets aside much of what players have come to expect from single-player soulslikes, instead offering a fast-paced, roguelike boss-rush experience alongside other players.
Despite initial concerns, it’s now safe to say that Elden Ring Nightreign has found its audience, peaking at 313,000 players and holding an 83% positive rating on Steam. Of course, it’s a far cry from the original Elden Ring‘s success back in 2022, yet given the game’s positioning, it’s a bold attempt by FromSoft to try something new that ultimately bears fruit and strengthens the Elden Ring brand.
Mario Kart World
Welcoming The New Platform Owners
No list of the biggest games is complete without a Nintendo title, and this year Mario Kart World takes the crown (sorry, Donkey Kong Bananza). As a launch title for the Switch 2 console, Mario Kart World was bound to become one of the most-discussed games of the year, selling over 5 million copies in its first month.
While generating overall positive buzz for its open-world design, Mario Kart World was also somewhat criticized for its lack of content, especially considering the hefty $80 price tag. Regardless of one’s stance on whether that’s justified, Mario Kart World is undeniably one of the definitive titles of the year.
PEAK
Joining The Elite Club Of Indie Smash Hits
One of the newest unexpected hits alongside R.E.P.O. and Schedule 1, PEAK‘s story is even more fascinating, as the game has only continued to grow in popularity more than two months after its already successful launch. Just this weekend, thanks to its first discount, PEAK reached over 170,000 players, and it was also reported that the game had already sold over 10 million copies — so who knows what’s next for this small but endlessly fun co-op game?
With 93% positive reviews and weeks of ongoing praise online, more and more players are giving the game a try with their friends — and so far, very few have left disappointed.
Battlefield 6
A Teaser Of What’s To Come
Battlefield 6 is one of the rare games that managed to make a notable splash even before its launch, currently slated for this October. With several overwhelmingly successful betas under its belt that drew millions of players across all platforms, Battlefield 6 has already surpassed Call of Duty‘s all-time player count on Steam — just a hint of a potentially colossal and much-needed hit for EA.
While everything is still ahead for Battlefield 6, it’s safe to assume that the game’s launch will be equally huge. Luckily, players won’t have to wait long to experience everything the release version has to offer.
