New competitive games mean a new competitive scene for us to sink our teeth into.
We’ve already got a packed year of competition ahead of us, but we’ve also got some new esports in 2025 that are guaranteed to make a splash this year.
Here are the three games that we’re keeping a close eye on this 2025.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
The fighting game scene has been waiting with bated breath for a sequel 26 years in the making. Now, the latest entry in the Fatal Fury series is finally arriving this April 24.
Following the events of the 1999 cult classic Garou: Mark of the Wolves, City of the Wolves is looking to keep the flashy style and mechanical depth that its predecessor is known for. Details about the game have been sparingly released since its reveal in 2022. However, every bit of information has only made the game look better and better, increasing everyone’s hype.
Developers SNK are also committed to supporting the game’s competitive scene, making it one of the most anticipated upcoming esports in 2025.
Marvel Rivals
Of course, we can’t forget about the talk of the town, Marvel Rivals. Ever since its release last December, Marvel Rivals has been taking the gaming world by storm, and developers NetEase are looking to capitalize on that momentum.
The Marvel Rivals Championship, an official quarterly tournament, is already underway with season 0 just recently concluding. We already got to see some interesting strats from the best players from North America, Europe, and Asia and we can’t wait to see what else they’ll cook up for the remainder of the year.
2XKO
While it’s still unknown if it’ll be released this year, there’s no doubt that Riot’s League of Legends fighting game is going to be one of the biggest upcoming esports in 2025. Specifically due to the second round of Alpha Labs playtests later this year.
Even in an incomplete state, players were absolutely crazy about 2XKO that online tournaments were popping up everywhere. If people were that excited in just the first playtest, imagine the hype when the second starts. And with Riot taking in the feedback from the previous playtest, we can be sure that we’ll be getting a different and likely better version of the game this time around.
Banner photo from Steam and Alienware / Unsplash.