So 2025 is about to come to a close, and frankly, it can’t end soon enough. Personally, this hasn’t been my favorite year, and I’ve lived through a lot of them. But personally, professionally, and politically, let’s set that all aside, and just look at 2025, when it comes to Gaming.
Even then, it doesn’t get much better.
Now there have been some really interesting video games released this year, don’t get me wrong. But we’ve also seen prices rise for gaming hardware (specifically PC parts and Xbox consoles), not to mention the whole Xbox Gamepass price increase debacle. No matter how good the game releases might have been this year, there have been enough black clouds in that sector to overshadow any good news we’ve received.
It’s just hard to be happy about video gaming in 2025. maybe 2026 will be better, but since the AI industry is snapping up all of the silicon for themselves, prices for consoles and PCs are sure to continue to rise for some time to come. I suspect that will dampen any exuberance in the industry through next year.
As for tabletop gaming, things have been both better and worse. While there have been some really bright spots to highlight in 2025, including the release of “Daggerheart”, “Draw Steel”, and other great TTRPGs, we also have had to watch the new edition of “Dungeons & Dragons” drag itself weakly through the year. The veritable king of tabletop roleplaying produced a new edition that few wanted, even fewer third-party content creators will support, and frankly no one cares about. There is no excitement for D&D like there used to be, and like there is for DH, DS, and other new games.
2025 feels like watching the slow dying of “Dungeons & Dragons”, while also witnessing smaller TTRPGs take up the mantle D&D is leaving behind.
Now that doesn’t even touch on the chaos of tariffs ripping its way through the TTRPG industry, that in itself makes 2025 a year to forget. With hope, those tariffs will be completely reversed in the new year, and we find ourselves with someone wielding a more steady hand on such measures in the near future.
Anyway, 2025 sucked when it comes to, well, everything. Here’s to 2026 maybe restoring some sanity to our world, our economy, and to gaming in general.
