In the video game market, there was a time when the Christmas period was conducive to the launch of major new titles. Recently, we looked back at Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo, which brightened up Christmas 1994 for many players, but each year generally saw its “Christmas game“. The proof also in 1998, with Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast, launched on December 23, or even in 2002 with Zelda: Wind Waker, launched on December 13 (in Japan). A trend which also concerned consoles, since the Nintendo Wii was for example launched on December 8, without counting the PlayStation obviously, marketed on December 3, 1994 in Japan. But in recent years, the Christmas video game trend has been somewhat lost.
What game for Christmas 2024?
Of course, this does not prevent video games from finding a special place each year at the foot of the tree, the year 2024 having been particularly rich in releases, with many (too many?) titles launched in recent months. But in the month of December, the biggest blockbuster is a certain Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, a very (very) successful Xbox exclusive, but which should not find itself under many Christmas trees, the game being accessible via the Game Pass.
In addition to the ever-present Call of Duty and EA Sports FC, parents (and grandparents) will be able to spoil their children with titles that have already been available for several months. We think in particular of the excellent Astro Bot on PS5, which won the title of Game of the Year at the last Game Awards, but also that of Family Game of the Year.
For many publishers, rather than opting for December, we chose to focus on the months of September, October and November, and too bad for the monster traffic jam that this causes. Since September, we have notably seen the arrival of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Space Marine 2 (published by the French company Pullup), Dragon Quest 2D-HD Remaster, FC 25, Call of Duty, Silent Hill 2, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Metaphor ReFantazio , Super Mario Party Jamboree, Sonic x Shadow Generations, Dragon Age Veilguard, Mario & Luigi: The Brotherhood, The Ants, LEGO Horizon Adventures, Stalker 2…
It’s a lot… Far too much in reality over such a short period, and we can’t help but think that certain titles would have been perfect “Christmas games“. We think in particular of Epic Mickey Rebrushed, which went completely unnoticed (and launched at an unreasonable price), but also of Sonic x Shadow Generations (the price of which has already been halved) or even Mario Party Jamboree. The good news is that many of them are already available at discounted prices.
For publishers, launching a game in December always constitutes a risk, namely that of arriving on the market a bit too late, after certain Christmas purchases (and Black Friday), not to mention taking into account the fiscal calendar. The games are launched in September/October/November to best prepare for the end-of-year celebrations… and too bad for the “side”Christmas magic“. If there was a time when the Christmas period was an ideal time for big productions or games more “friendly/family“, this is no longer the case.
However, among gamers, many particularly enjoy the end of year period to discover one or more new games, warm under a blanket, watching the bad weather out the window. And as has often been the case for several years, apart from Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, we will have to look back a few months again (and incidentally on our list of games that marked the year 2024) to find its “Christmas game“.
And for the most experienced (old?), failing to find their dose of “Christmas magic” on PS5 Pro or Xbox Series World, by this Sonic 2 or even by this first Metal Gear Solid of the name which we unpacked under the tree a few decades ago.
Let’s now see what awaits us for Christmas 2025, with the possibility of seeing some highly anticipated new products emerge, starting with the new Nintendo Switch (but which should arrive before summer), but also a certain GTA VI.
