We’re almost a quarter of a way through the 21st century, and this year brings a ton of video game anniversaries.
In 2025, we’ll be celebrating gaming launches that defined the start of the new millennium 25 years ago, like Sony’s PlayStation 2. On top of that, some old-school classics are celebrating anniversaries that will make you feel old if you grew up playing them in arcades or on a gaming console. There are tons of new games to look forward to in 2025, but for those of us who are more sentimental, I’ve rounded up 10 of the most notable video game anniversaries taking place in 2025. Hopefully, those birthdays bring some new games with them.
Pac-Man — 45 years
Pac-Man first hit arcades in 1980, and gaming was never the same after that. It was one of the first examples of a game that broke out of the sports or action genre confines to create a universal experience for all people, regardless of age or skill level. Pac-Man was an early taste of how broadly appealing gaming would become, and the original still holds up today. The series is still going strong, but Bandai Namco is celebrating its 45th anniversary by getting experimental. Shadow Labyrinth is a gritty action-platformer inspired by Pac-Man that is launching in 2025 and has already unsettled us with a violent Secret Level episode. The fact that Pac-Man is still around to surprise us 45 years later is a testament to how iconic of a gaming franchise it is.
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) — 40 years
We have the NES to thank for keeping console gaming relevant in the U.S. Arriving a couple of years after the Famicom launched in Japan, the NES and its early lineup of games, which included Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, set a high bar of quality for console gaming and forever endeared itself to a generation of children. Forty years later, Nintendo is still going strong and pushing the boundaries of what gaming can be with each new piece of hardware it releases. It’s unknown if Nintendo plans to celebrate this NES anniversary in any big way in 2025, but at the very least, we can head into the new year knowing that it’s likely that the Nintendo Switch’s successor will come out at some point during 2025. Plus, there’s a large library of NES games to enjoy if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber.
The Secret of Monkey Island — 35 years
The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the most important adventure games ever released. This charming, comedic adventure showcased the storytelling potential of video games as a medium and heavily influenced many of the adventure games that have come afterward. While the adventure game genre is much more niche now than it was when The Secret of Monkey Island released in October 1990, developers like Double Fine have nurtured the genre since then, while studios like BioWare and Naughty Dog have spearheaded storytelling in more AAA-friendly genres. While there aren’t any big plans for The Secret of Monkey Island‘s 35th anniversary right now, I recommend celebrating by checking out 2022’s Return to Monkey Island or The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on Steam.
Chrono Trigger — 30 years
Chrono Trigger is one of the best RPGs ever made, and it’s celebrating its 30th anniversary in both Japan and North America this year. If you’ve never played it before, this time-hopping RPG adventure still holds up and was ahead of its time when it came to its seamless, action-packed battles and engrossing story that features multiple endings. Sadly, Square Enix has not done much with Chrono Trigger since its subpar PC release in 2018. While nothing has been officially announced or rumored, I think Chrono Trigger could be a good fit for the HD-2D remake treatment Square Enix is giving classic Dragon Quest games right now. Hopefully, this anniversary reminds Square Enix of how much people care for Chrono Trigger.
PS2 — 25 years
The PS2 is considered one of the best gaming consoles of all time. It sold over 160 million units, consistently got new games for over a decade, and was the birthplace of iconic franchises like God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Kingdom Hearts, Devil May Cry, and Yakuza. By doubling as both a game console and DVD player, the PS2 garnered a kind of mass appeal that no game console had before. Because it offered more mature franchises like Killzone alongside kid-friendly ones like Jak & Daxter, the PS2 did a lot of heavy lifting to prove that video games had long since evolved beyond being considered children’s toys. Hopefully, Sony continues to celebrate the PS2’s legacy this year by bringing more classic games to its PlayStation Plus Premium game catalog.
Final Fantasy IX — 25 years
The Final Fantasy series’ last hurrah on the original PlayStation in 2000 is considered a classic. Final Fantasy IX continued to build on the strong foundation prior PlayStation Final Fantasy games had established, but also did so with a more vibrant style. It feels like a sendoff to the old era of Final Fantasy, as the series would radically change in gameplay, style, and tone from Final Fantasy X onwards. Final Fantasy IX‘s 25th anniversary gives you a perfect excuse to revisit this iconic RPG or try it out for the first time. A remake of Final Fantasy IX has also been rumored for several years. If that’s real, learning about it during the game’s 25th anniversary would make a lot of sense.
Resident Evil 4 — 20 years
The year 2005 is considered one of the best years ever for gaming, and titles like Resident Evil 4 are part of the reason why. Resident Evil 4 was a revolutionary release, not just for the horror series it’s part of, but for the video game industry as a whole. It was one of the first games to truly nail the feel of third-person combat without feeling clunky to control. Games like Gears of War and Uncharted would go on to further refine the game feel, but all modern third-person shooter games owe something to Resident Evil 4. Over the past 20 years, Resident Evil 4 has been rereleased onto most major gaming platforms and remade for both the Meta Quest and current-gen consoles. As such, you have plenty of options if you want to celebrate Resident Evil 4‘s anniversary by replaying it.
Shadow of the Colossus — 20 years
Shadow of the Colossus was a similarly influential game released in 2005. This adventure, which sees players go on a quest to kill 16 colossi to save the woman they love, intertwined narrative and gameplay in an impressive way few games had done before. Its boss fights against these massive enemies offer up a spectacle that many games still fail to match, and the same goes for the late-game twists that recontextualize everything that players have done to that point. The PS2 original and its PS4 remaster are must-play PlayStation classics, and it would be very fitting to play Shadow of the Colossus as you celebrate its 20th anniversary. Hopefully, designer Fumito Ueda honors it anniversary by showing us more of his new game, which got a teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2024.
Mass Effect 2 — 15 years
BioWare’s Mass Effect trilogy is still one of the most impressive storytelling feats in gaming history. While the whole saga is worth checking out, Mass Effect 2 is the series’ crowning achievement. The sequel is peak BioWare, as every character players can recruit feels fleshed out and iconic in their own right. There are also tons of important choices that culminate in a thrilling suicide mission where anyone can die. It’s hard to believe this game is already 15 years old, as it was the last BioWare game to be released without any real controversy. Hopefully, the studio will turn a corner soon. BioWare brought the Dragon Age series back in 2024 with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and is now set to do the same with a brand new Mass Effect game. We haven’t seen much about this new Mass Effect game since it was first teased in 2021, though. If it’s not coming out to celebrate Mass Effect 2‘s 15th anniversary, BioWare and EA should at least take this anniversary opportunity to offer us a deeper look at the next Mass Effect sometime in 2025.
Undertale — 10 years
There are a few games that are extremely important to the indie game scene, like Cave Story and Braid. But no other 2010s indie game was quite as influential as Undertale. This Earthbound-inspired RPG took the world by storm in 2015 because of its hilarious writing and novel combat mechanic where players can choose to kill or save any enemy they fight. Whatever route players take has important, fourth-wall-breaking consequences that made Undertale quite the subversive experience in 2015. Lots of other indie games inspired by Undertale have launched over the past decade, but we’re still eagerly waiting for solo developer Toby Fox to finish up Undertale‘s successor, Deltarune. Thankfully, Fox recently confirmed that the next two chapters of Deltarune will finally come out in 2025, which is a perfect way to celebrate Undertale’s 10th anniversary.
