GamesActionAs the live service wars continue, analyst says games like Black Myth: Wukong, Palworld, and Helldivers 2 prove it’s hard to predict the next hit: “All bets are off"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionAs the live service wars continue, analyst says games like Black Myth: Wukong, Palworld, and Helldivers 2 prove it’s hard to predict the next hit: “All bets are off"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Game Science)
2025 is absolutely stacked with massive games to look forward to - fromGTA 6to whatever launches on theNintendo Switch successor- but one industry analyst reckons games likePalworld, Black Myth: Wukong, andHelldivers 2will continue to break through the noise because it’s getting “more difficult” to predict the hits.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Circana executive director Mat Piscatella said that while the mass market chooses titans like Minecraft and Roblox, enthusiast gamers are leaning toward the unexpected, “looking at things like Black: Myth Wukong and Palworld and Helldivers 2… these kinds of games are the ones that are winning.”
Still, he doesn’t think 2025’s busy slate will affect how hard it is for underdog games to quietly find huge success. “You have the two huge things hopefully coming into the market next year with Grand Theft Auto 6 and the next Nintendo hardware device,” Piscatella said. “But other than that, I think all bets are off. The games that have broken out this year, I don’t know if you can call them all, like… ‘Where did this come from?'”
Piscatella even points to the most recent October best-sellers, which had bone-shaking boxing game Undisputed in the top ten chart. “A boxing game hasn’t been in the top ten since April 2011… I don’t know anyone that even was really thinking about Undisputed before it launched. And here it is, right?”
“So we’re constantly getting surprised with these kinds of games that show up and find an audience,” he continues, “whereas some of the bigger games that you expect to have an audience are seemingly struggling, right? So it’s quite the pickle to try to figure out. Trying to forecast and predict what games are going to be big and which ones aren’t is becoming more and more difficult… But it’s exciting that the core audiences, those enthusiast audiences, are looking beyond just the biggest, newest, 4, 5, whatever, 6A game people are talking about these days. That these smaller games are finding these audiences is actually really exciting and fun.”
To find out what the surprise hits might be, check out theupcoming games of 2025 and beyond.
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CATEGORIES
PRODUCTSHelldivers 2Black Myth: WukongPalworld
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
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4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”