The State of Gaming in 2025

Gaming seems to take a nosedive more and more each year, with controversial layoffs, extreme price hikes, studios putting out titles people want but missing the entire point of what said title was supposed to provide, AI, and so much more. Gaming was once a beloved hobby to many, and still is to many, however these days it feels like a chore or a big letdown. Today, I want to take time to discuss the state of gaming as of 2025.

So Many Games, Not Enough Time

With an average of 50-60 titles a month, and these titles being considered quality releases, there is simply not enough time to play all of these games. Gamers must choose which titles are worthy of their time and money, and both of those are limited these days. It is a shame because a lot of indie titles offer so much more and have very much boomed with AAA titles offering less and less but for the same price. However, when much anticipated titles come out and are actually good and offer a quality experience, such as Battlefield 6, these games get put on the back burner and sometimes for good. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however I personally believe the cons outweigh the pros.

Price Hikes

As custom PC gamers, we know the pain of price hikes. Consumers who are building custom PCs, or upgrading, feel these all the time as custom PC components fluctuate quite a bit. Console consumers are learning the pain we have been going through for a long time and that is wild price hikes. The unfortunate thing in regard to the console consumers is that these prices are here to stay, no matter what. The Xbox Game Pass controversy has caused a storm like no other. While I knew it would be big, I didn't think it would cause this much of an uproar. Something that is a hobby to many is nothing but money to these big AAA publishers and tech companies who own them, meaning despite what we, the consumer, are going through doesn't matter in the eyes of the companies making the product. These price hikes are going to end up imploding at one point, and I believe that gaming will have a major crash, more so than it is now.

Layoffs & AI

While layoffs have been no stranger to the games industry, in the past two years we have seen some of the most aggressive layoffs in gaming history. With profits being high, some even beating year over year records or records in general, it simply is not enough for these companies. What is the quickest way to cut costs? Cut employees, and AI helps the decision furthermore. Companies are pushing AI more and more in development to help with development time, but most importantly, costs. However, while AI has made strides, you can clearly tell when it is being implemented, and lazily to boot.

Where do we go from here? With a lot of consumers migrating over to custom PC offerings and giving up consoles, canceling this never ending subscription growth, and just going back to older titles to get their gaming fix, it is hard to see where we go in such a volatile market. I am an optimist and will always hope for the best, however it just seems to be getting more grim each year for the gaming world. While next year is looking to be a good year for gaming so far with titles like Resident Evil: Requiem and the very anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6, there are things to look forward to, even if few and far between.

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