In terms of new game announcements, this was one of the most exciting Game Awards we've seen in a minute. Divinity and Fate of the Old Republic were the highlights for me, and I'm liking what we're seeing from Exodus. But there were some notable absences: Studios we haven't heard from in awhile, announced projects due for a check-in, even rumored games that seemed a shoo-in for an official reveal. These are the nine biggest MIA games and studios from The Game Awards 2025.
Blade
Copium Status: Blade is probably just getting some beauty sleep in his coffin.
If you tuned in to this year's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted on December 4 (and you should have!), you may recall a devilishly handsome and well-informed games journalist explaining why Arkane's Blade adaptation is our 16th most anticipated upcoming game.
We're about due for more details, even a gameplay trailer—we last got official word from Arkane Lyon at the 2023 Game Awards with Blade's debut teaser. No reason to panic, though: While I was expecting a repeat TGA appearance, we might see Blade at Xbox's summer showcase, or even sooner if it does another January stream like it did this year.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake
Copium Status: Hope is a poison.
Woof, what do you even say? The KotOR Remake was first announced in 2021, then appropriated from its original developer, Aspyr. We got the announcement of (basically) KotOR 3, a game I thought would never exist, before further word on the remake.
Our latest update comes courtesy of a Game File report on court documents related to a lawsuit against Aspyr over planned restored content DLC in its Switch version of Knights of the Old Republic 2. Apparently, publisher Saber Interactive is planning a separate remake of KotOR 2, codenamed Juliet, and development of the KotOR 1 remake is in the hands of its subsidiary, Mad Head Games.
On the one hand, that seems wildly ambitious given how turbulent development of the KotOR 1 remake has been. But in the best of all worlds, you could see a "sister games" situation: The original games shared a game engine and assets, and released within a year of each other. Theoretically, development of a KotOR 2 remake would be significantly easier with all the work done on the first game. Whatever the case, I wish Mad Head the best of luck with this seemingly-cursed project.
FromSoftware
Copium Status: I'm being greedy here.
FromSoft has actually been on an insanely productive tear, one relatively unheard of in the modern games industry:
- 2019: Sekiro
- 2022: Elden Ring
- 2023: Armored Core 6
- 2024: Shadow of the Erdtree
- 2025: Nightreign
The Duskbloods is set to release in 2026, but as a Switch 2 exclusive, it's effectively dead to me until I hear about a PC launch date. It also feels like the studio has development capacity yet unaccounted for, and I just want to hear what's next in terms of singleplayer-first stuff. An Armored Core 6 expansion/sequel in the series tradition (Silent Line, For Answer, Verdict Day) would be most welcome. Otherwise, my internal biological clock is just telling me it's time for a cryptic, pre-rendered teaser for the studio's next barn burner.
CD Projekt
Copium Status: Can I get some preem Cyberpunk 2 news from my chooms? Nova.
CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski said in no uncertain terms that we wouldn't get a Witcher 4 update at The Game Awards this year, but the company still has other irons in the fire that we're basically in the dark about, namely Cyberpunk 2 and The Witcher 1 remake. The former seems a long way off, but I'd expect word on the latter sooner rather than later.
Fallout 3 Remaster
Copium Status: The lonesome cowboy continues his solitary vigil.
Word of a Fallout 3 remaster first appeared in leaked FTC documents related to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Hope and excitement faded, only to be rekindled with the surprise release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered—also mentioned in the docs—this past spring. The groundwork is effectively in place for it too, given Fallout 3 and Oblivion's tech overlap, coupled with Virtuous' unique solution for getting Oblivion onto Unreal Engine 5. But hey, maybe it'll be another out-of-nowhere surprise drop like the Oblivion remaster.
Fallout: New Vegas Remaster
Copium Status: I was always a fool for my Johnny.
Though only rumored to be in development, the debut of the TV show's New Vegas-set second season this month would've made for the perfect moment to announce this. Similar to the KotOR 2 remake mentioned above, it would be a waste to put all that work into a Fallout 3 remaster, then not give the same treatment to its much-loved, Obsidian-developed, shared tech base little brother, right?
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Remake
Copium Status: If we don't hear something soon, I'll eat my hidden blade.
There have been so many leaks related to this project it's hard to keep track. Only three days ago, we noticed a PEGI rating for a game called "Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced" that will boast "violence, bad language, and in-game purchasing" (my favorite). It's hard to imagine what else that could be. But it didn't get a Game Awards trailer, even though its release appears imminent.
The Elder Scrolls 6
Copium Status: I hear the Fighter's Guild is recruiting—not bad work, if you've got the stones for it.
The first and only teaser for TES 6 showed up at E3 2018, two years before Bethesda was even acquired by Microsoft. There's good reason to believe Xbox would want such a big ticket item to be reserved for one of its own showcases, but it's not unreasonable to think the RPG might poke its head out for The Game Awards.
Divinity is actually the big thing that made me think we might be due for a TES 6 update: One half of 2023's summer RPG Barbenheimer moment has already laid its cards on the table, though Bethesda and Larian admittedly make very different styles of RPG.
Half-Life 3
Copium Status: Lol. Indeed, lmao.
All I'm saying is that Valve historically does its announcements on Friday afternoons. At the time of writing, it still has the chance to do the funniest thing ever.
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