A new year is always a time for optimism, but as we approach 2026, it's hard not to acknowledge that 2025 has largely been a repeat of 2024 as the games industry continued its implosion with more layoffs and studio closures.
Yet it's also not been without its successes: most triumphant of these has been Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a poster child of what Unreal Engine 5 can do for small teams, as it went up against the AAA big guns and cleaned up all the awards and game-of-the-year accolades going. The launch of the Switch 2 has also been terrific for Nintendo, having sold 10.36 million units worldwide as of September, a number that is likely to have surpassed 15 million following holiday spending. Read my roundup of 2025's best indie games that went under the radar.
