The 2025 edition of the E3 replacement, Summer Game Fest, has concluded. We saw dozens of games, both previously announced and new, coming from major publishers and smaller studios alike. However, a few games stood out among the rest, at least in how they presented themselves with trailers and sneak peeks.
So, I’ve picked out the bestnewstuff that was on the screen, leaving what we already knew of for another time.
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Best new titles from the 2025 Summer Game Fest
Though we’re talking aboutnew gamesand ones that weren’t previously marketed as much, some of them are sequels or titles set in established worlds. Unfortunately, we live in an age of corporate gaming, where franchising takes precedence over new stuff. But, even so, there were exciting sequels and trademark games as well as new additions to the industry, so I still put them on the list.
Game of Thrones: War for Westeros
To open up the list, I might as well go with an established universe.Game of Thrones: War for Westerosis an upcoming RTS title set in the show’s continuity that puts you around the time of the hated eighth Season, where the Night King’s army of snow zombies is advancing while the rest of Westeros bickers over who gets to rule the ashes.
It is a PC- only experience so far and comes out in 2026. Hopefully, it will let you rewrite the God-awful final season of the show.
Resident Evil Requiem
When I first saw this, I wasn’t really aware that we were being shown a Resident Evil trailer. It felt so different and unique, and it seems that, if Geoff Keighley’s words are anything to go by, Capcom wants to shift the vibes of this new entry in the longstanding series. It looks great, modern, and horrifying, and I sincerely hope it turns out to be a continuation of Capcom’s stellar track record in recent years.
It also got a release date: Jun 19, 2025.
Mortal Shell 2
Though with humble beginnings and clear potential of the first game,Mortal Shell 2seems like an improvement on every bit of gameplay and lore that its predecessor had. The trailer was cinematic, epic, and beyond fantastic, and the title might just be the next great soulslike. While carrying the same name, this new title won’t be a direct sequel to the first, but rather a standalone experience and a spiritual successor, which might turn out to be a good choice given the simplicity of the first title.
We can expect it sometime in 2026, with the concrete date TBA.
Ill
Resident Evil 9wasn’t the only horror game that caught everyone’s attention at the SGF 2025. Ill, a “realistic first-person action horror,” as its Steam page describes it, looked like a true successor to the newerResident Evilformula that Capcom has been pushing sinceResident Evil 7. To be honest, it felt more like anREgame thanRequiem, and that should tell you enough about it as is.
From zombie babies to wicked creatures to cerebral scenes, it surely is going for major Japanese psychological horror vibes. The release date wasn’t given, so here’s hoping it comes sometime next year.
Atomic Heart 2
Atomic Heartwas one of the most unique games to have come out in recent years, and one of the firstFallout-likes that caught the attention of the broader public. However, the second game is aiming to take things up a notch, turning the whole Soviet retrofuturistic aesthetic into a global phenomenon. It is more of a spiritual successor to the first title, though the trailer does show several returning characters, including the now-infamous twins from the first game.
The release date is TBA, though we will likely be getting another game set in theAtomic Heartuniverse sooner, calledThe Cube, that aims to expand the world and provide a unique MMORPG experience while retaining the shooter mechanics of the mainline games.
Chronicles: Medieval
In today’s day and age, true sandbox titles are few and far between, relegated to a handful of development studios known for producing games in the genre. However, Raw Power Games aims to change that by introducingChronicles: Medieval,a medieval sandbox RPG that lets you go from rags to riches and control massive armies to “fight for land, glory, and legacy.”
It is reminiscent of theMount and Bladegames and could be a godsend in light ofBannerlord‘s continued failure to provide what its players expect. It also comes out next year, but the exact date will be revealed down the line.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Chinese hack-and-slash and soulslike titles have become an increasingly present occurrence, and it seems the country’s many studios are actively seeking to establish themselves as capable and visible in the Western-dominated gaming industry.Wuchang: Fallen Feathersis another game of this kind, promising fast-paced action, cinematic setpieces, an amazing score, and even better visual fidelity.
It resembles last year’s massively successfulBlack Myth: Wukongboth in name and character, and it likely drew inspiration from it as well. The game also releases quite soon, on July 24 this year.
How aboutyou, dear reader? What did you like the most at this year’s SGF? Share your thoughts with us below.
