The year of 2025 has already shown to be a groundbreaking year for third-person shooters. With next-gen consoles out and developers trying out everything, gameplay mechanics, storytelling, and visual fidelity have evolved like never before. The new third person shooter games releases this year are redefining what players can expect from the genre. They are featuring a cinematic narrative with sophisticated combat systems and big worlds.
Whether you’ve played this genre before or are looking to dive into your first new third person shooter game, 2025 offers something for you. From sci-fi sagas to military bloodbaths, the range of settings and topics ensures that no two experiences are alike in the scope of one’s imagination. In this post, we will cover the 15 most awaited new third person shooter games of 2025 and what makes the games worthy of being on your radar.
The Evolution of Third Person Shooters in 2025
Before diving into our list, it’s worth noting how the third-person shooter genre has evolved. Third-person shooters have seen a 32% increase in player engagement compared to previous years, making it one of the fastest-growing genres in the industry.
The third person shooter games landscape of 2025 promises to be more exciting than previous years, empowered by tech developments on all fronts. The implementation of advanced haptic feedback, dynamic environmental destruction, and AI-driven NPC behavior has transformed how players interact with these games.
Top 15 New Third Person Shooter Games of 2025.
1. Horizon: Machine Dawn
The follow-up to Guerrilla Games’ acclaimed game series delivers and continues Aloy’s journey in a world of erupting mountains and evil machines. This new third-person shooter game is taking the formula to the next level with more weapons and tactical options. According to Digital Foundry’s technical analysis, Horizon: Machine Dawn pushes current-gen hardware to its limits with environments that feature over 500 interactive elements per scene.
“The volumetric lighting system alone required us to develop proprietary algorithms that simulate light scattering through different atmospheric conditions,” explains Technical Director Sarah Jensen in a recent PlayStation Blog interview. It offers novel visual cues for environmental storytelling.
This game has adaptive difficulty that reads your playstyle and makes enemies act accordingly. If you like to sneak around, your foes will be put on alert and try to combat that. Prefer frontal assaults? The AI will coordinate ambushes and flanking maneuvers.
Release Date: 12th August 2025.
Platforms: PS5, PC.
Developer: Guerrilla Games.
Watch the official gameplay reveal: Horizon: Machine Dawn – Official Gameplay Trailer.
2. Phantom Protocol
Ballistic Moon, a new studio, is developing a military-themed thriller that mixes the Rainbow Six tactical fit with Metal Gear cinematic fit brilliantly. The new third-person shooter game employs a revolutionary “Consequence Engine,” which tracks player decisions and actions while shaping gameplay and narrative in a highly dynamic manner.
“We wanted to create a third-person shooter where player choice extends beyond dialogue options,” says Creative Director Marcus Williams. When a bullet is fired, or when a life is taken or spared, it creates ripples in the story that a player may not notice.
In the game, globally charged locations will be features of a 30-hour campaign and free-form missions. The cover system allows for destruction of the environment, forcing players to constantly reassess their tactical positioning.
The game will release on September 28, 2025 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.
Developer: Ballistic Moon.
3. Quantum Break 2
Remedy Entertainment returns to their time-bending franchise with expanded mechanics and a more intricate narrative structure. In this new third-person shooter game, the story of Jack Joyce will continue but there will also be a new protagonist who has powers that will complement Jack’s time-manipulating powers.
According to GameSpot’s early preview, “Remedy has effectively doubled down on what made the original unique, with time powers now affecting entire environments rather than just individual enemies or objects.”.
The most impressive feature of the game is the Temporal Combat System, which lets players create multiple time loops in one battle. You can fight alongside past “you’s,” manipulating time in all sorts of cool ways, unlike anything else currently seen in shooters.
Coming soon to Xbox Series X/S and PC on 5th November 2025
Developer: Remedy Entertainment.
Watch the tech demo: Quantum Break 2 – Tech Showcase.
4. Remnant: Beyond the Void
After the success of Remnant II, Gunfire Games is building on their unique soulslike shooter formula with a third installment A new third person shooter game pulls challenging combat and procedural elements, but with an all-new setting influenced by cosmic horror.
“Our goal was to create environments that feel genuinely alien,” explains Art Director John Pearl in a PC Gamer developer diary. Our mutation system changes the world itself according to player actions. Thus, no two playthroughs will ever be the same again.
The new system allows players to mix the classes, meaning you can use skills of different archetypes. This gives rise to more than 200 possible build combinations in the game. Every world has unique enemy factions that the players can choose to form alliances with or fight against. This element adds strategic diplomacy to the shooting and gunplay.
It will be out on 15th July 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Developer: Gunfire Games.
5. Bloodlines: Corporate Warfare
From Max Payne’s creators, a cyberpunk shooter mixing noir story and hyper-kinetic action. This new third-person shooter game is set in a dystopian 2080 where mega-corporations fight secretly using enhanced operatives.
The most notable feature of the game is the “Neural Reflex System,” which allows the player to enhance one ability, albeit at the cost of others. Need enhanced accuracy? Sacrifice movement speed. Want devastating melee attacks? Trade off some of your sensory perception.
“We’ve implemented a risk-reward system that forces players to make moment-to-moment decisions about their combat approach,” says Lead Designer Mikko Kaustinen in a Game Informer cover story. Each battle will feel truly original, even for two players.
According to Digital Trends’ hands-on preview, the game’s cybernetic upgrade system features over 120 implants that can be mixed and matched, creating thousands of possible character builds.
This game is going to release on 7th October, 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Developer: Remedy Entertainment.
6. Gears: Emergence
The famous Xbox franchise returns with a prequel showcasing before and during Locust War. The third-person shooter game that remains true to the cover-based combat of the series now comes with mechanics that depict the inexperience of COG.
“We wanted to explore a time when humanity was genuinely blindsided by the Locust emergence,” explains Narrative Director Bonnie Jean Mah in an Xbox Wire exclusive. “The fight shows this with systems that value improvisation and adaptation, at the cost of the latter game’s drilled tactics.”
The most significant gameplay innovation is the “Battlefield Evolution” system, where environments change over the course of missions as Locust forces tunnel through them. What starts as a typical urban area could end as a cratered battlefield, with new opportunities and challenges.
The game comes out for Xbox and PC in 2025
Developer: The Coalition.
Watch the announcement trailer: Gears: Emergence – Official Announce Trailer.
7. ECHO: Parallel
Tangent Games is a first-time studio that came up with a game that explores multiverse theory. This third-person shooter game lets players assume the role of a ‘Shifter’. As a ‘Shifter’, one can access other versions of oneself who have different abilities, backgrounds, etc.
“We’re essentially giving players access to multiple character builds within a single playthrough,” explains Lead Programmer Dana Chen in a Wired technology feature. Each version of the protagonist exists in a slightly different reality with unique weapons, abilities, and even personality traits.
The most impressive thing about the video game is the Quantum rendering, which would allow for seamless transitions between multiple versions of the same environment as players shift realities. According to Digital Foundry’s analysis, this creates some of the most visually striking moments ever seen in a third-person shooter.
Game coming August 28, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC.
Developer: Tangent Games.
8. Outriders: Frontier
People Can Fly is back with a sequel to their sci-fi looter shooter that improves on the original in every way. In this new third-person shooter game, three new Anomaly classes add to the completely reworked original four classes.
“We’ve taken all the feedback from the first game and its expansions to heart,” says Game Director Bartosz Kmita in a Square Enix developer roundtable. The entire progression system has been rebuilt to make sure that players feel powerful right from the start but also still experience meaningful growth.
The standout feature is the “Biome Transition System,” which allows players to move rapidly between diverse locations without loading screens. Different biomes also come with their own environmental hazards that can become weapons against enemies.
Coming on July 22, 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Developer: People Can Fly.
9. The Division: Collapse
Massive Entertainment’s third entry in their tactical looter shooter series is set in Los Angeles, five years after the events of The Division 2. The new third person shooter game introduces weather systems that will affect gameplay.
“Los Angeles offers unique environmental storytelling opportunities,” explains World Director Chad Chatterton in a Ubisoft Forward presentation. Changing the Mission – From urban ravines that are flash-flooded to dry grassy hills that are consumed by wildfires, the change is more than visual.
The biggest innovation introduced in the game is the Faction Dynamics system, which sees the seven competing factions (or groups) fight for territory and resources on their own, whether or not the player intervenes. Furthermore, an ever-changing tactical landscape appears, organically shifting alliances and enemies.
The game will release on October 14, 2025, on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Developer: Massive Entertainment.
Watch the environment showcase: The Division: Collapse – Dynamic LA.
10. Warframe: New Genesis
Digital Extremes is recreating the long-running free-to-play hit Warframe as a free-to-play sequel built from the ground up for current-gen hardware. In this new third-person shooter game, the fluidity of movement and combat that characterized the predecessor remained unchanged, while new revolutionary systems were introduced.
“After a decade of continuous updates to Warframe, we had ideas that simply couldn’t be implemented without rebuilding core systems,” explains Creative Director Steve Sinclair in a PC Gamer interview. Our plans for the next ten years of the franchise are New Genesis.
I think the best part is the “Tenno Colony” system. This is a “city” built over time by players. In this shared space, individual players can create personal bases that interact meaningfully with each other.
According to Skill Up’s analysis, the movement system has been expanded with contextual parkour animations that adapt to any environment, creating the most fluid traversal system ever implemented in a shooter.
The games have been revealed for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch Pro.
Developer: Digital Extremes.
11. Returnal: Abyss
Housemarque has released a sequel to their hit game that further builds on the roguelike shooter formula. This new third person shooter game has a hard difficulty level just like the previous titles, but with co-op gameplay and an extended storyline.
“We wanted to maintain the core loop that resonated with players while addressing the aspects that some found frustrating,” explains Game Director Harry Krueger in a PlayStation Blog interview. The new “Fragments” system gives more permanent progress alongside permanent death tension.
One of the most interesting features of the game is the Adaptive Biome which changes according to player skill. Players will find many more resources and fewer higher-level enemies and good players will find higher-level and proportionally better rewards.
To be released on PS5 & PC November 18, 2025
Developer: Housemarque.
12. Spectre Line
A supernatural thriller with Japanese horror, Tango Gameworks incorporates a great third-person combat system. The new third-person shooter game has players taking on the role of a gifted medium who can shift between the material and a nightmarish spirit realm.
“We wanted to create combat that feels genuinely different depending on which realm you’re in,” says Creative Director John Johanas in a Gamespot developer interview. In the physical world, you are weak, and resources are scarce. In the spirit world, you are strong, but the enemies here are far and Numerous.
The game is believed to require powerful technical accomplishment is “Dual Rendering”, which keeps two different versions of the environment at the same time. This avoids loading when travelling between realms. According to Digital Foundry’s analysis, this is achieved through innovative memory management techniques never before seen in console gaming.
Coming out on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Oct 31, 2025.
Developer: Tango Gameworks.
13. Tomb Raider: Ancient Secrets
The new entry in the Lara Croft series develops the character further while combining the survival elements of the reboot trilogy with some more traditional tomb raiding. This new third person shooter game has a more seasoned Lara who is skilled in combat and archaeological exploration.
“We’ve created what we call ‘combat puzzles’ where enemies and environments can be manipulated in tandem,” explains Design Director Will Kerslake in an Edge Magazine feature. It’s not just about the enemy you defeat; it’s how you defeat them and the order in which you do so.
The game features a new “Destruction Physics” system, which allows you to damage most structures to create new paths and options. According to GameRant’s technical analysis, this system runs on a voxel-based architecture that allows for unprecedented detail in how materials break, splinter, and collapse.
The game comes out in August May 5, 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Developer: Crystal Dynamics.
14. Extraction Point
In this Deviation Games shooter, you play as special forces abandoned behind enemy lines. For military survival, it’s shoot to kill. Unlike other third-person shooter games, this one focuses on resource management and realistic injury systems. This makes it different from the rest of the games in the genre.
“We wanted to create a shooter where each bullet matters and injuries have lasting consequences,” says Game Director Dave Anthony in a PlayStation Experience panel. When we say ”Trauma System”, this means that an injury to a specific part of the body will affect your functioning unless treated properly. This creates a major strain in every interaction within our Stress System.
The most impressive part of the game is the “Tactical AI Director,” which monitors how players tackle the game before adapting its own enemies. If you like to use sneakiness, enemy patrols will become more alert and counter-sneaky. The more you use a certain weapon, the more enemies appear wearing the appropriate gear.
Release Date: September 16, 2025. Platforms: PS5, PC.
Developer: Deviation Games.
15. Bioshock: Ascension
The famous immersive shooter series is back, with a new offering from Cloud Chamber. Players will now get to take a vertical city in the clouds. The new third person shooter game retains the defining first person shooter role-playing game of the series but shifts to a third person view.
“The shift to third-person wasn’t made lightly,” explains Creative Director Kelley Gilmore in an IGN First exclusive. “We designed a new camera perspective to better capture the vertiginous environments and new traversal mechanics of our game.”
The game introduces a novel mechanic called the Quantum Plasmid; allowing players to combine vigors and plasmids in real-time to create unique effects. According to Game Informer’s cover story, there are over 700 possible combinations, each with unique visual effects and tactical applications.
PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC. Release Date: December 10, 2025.
Developer: Cloud Chamber.
Innovations Driving New Third Person Shooter Games in 2025
What’s particularly exciting about the new third person shooter game releases of 2025 is how they’re collectively pushing the genre forward. According to GamesIndustry.biz market analysis, several key technological and design trends are emerging.
- Many games are introducing adaptive difficulty systems that change depending on how the user is playing. Examples would include Horizon: Machine Dawn and Returnal: Abyss.
- Environmental Interaction’ – For example, Tomb Raider: Ancient Secrets and The Division: Collapse are elevating environmental design from mere backdrop to active gameplay element, with destruction physics and weather systems that fundamentally alter how encounters play out.
- Narrative Integration” games like Phantom Protocol and Bloodlines: Corporate Warfare are integrating narrative and gameplay more closely than ever. As we saw in Sifu, the story already impacted gameplay and combat mechanics. But now, we will start to see story consequences affect core mechanics and not only in cutscenes.
- A new entry is Warframe: New Genesis, which adds new character progression systems with oodles of depth. Outriders: Frontier also implements a new character progression before it even comes out. You will be able to make some impressive specialisations and later reconfigure them if needed.
The Bright Future of Third Person Shooters
In 2025, the landscape of third person shooter games is going to undergo dramatic evolution, which has been one of the stable genres for ages. Modern hardware has enabled developers to incorporate systems that were not possible before, including seamless transitions between worlds and complicated physics systems.
The experiences on offer are particularly encouraging, due to the variety. New third-person shooter games are coming in 2025. It does not matter whether you enjoy tactical military missions, sci-fi adventures, horror-tinged action-thrillers, or anything in between. The genre has never been more vibrant or varied.
Looking to the future in late 2025 and beyond, we see third-person shooter games becoming better and better than ever before. The refined gameplay, improved storytelling, and advanced technology result in experiences that simply could not have been created in the past.
Among the newly debuted third-person shooters, which are you excited to play in 2025? Share your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to subscribe for more gaming coverage throughout the year!
If you feel nostalgic, we have crafted some games in 2020 that you might want to check out here.