It would seem that February is slowly but surely becoming one of the busiest months in the games industry. This February has been an interesting one, to be sure, astop-selling games likeKingdom Come: Deliverance 2andAvowedhave made some big waves, but how does it measure up against last year’s month of love?
Perhaps the greatest difference between this February and last is consistency: there haven’t been as many genre-defining or record-breaking games in the past month when compared to February 2024, but there haven’t been any colossal flops either. This is decidedly different from what the gaming community experienced around this time last year, whenmind-blowing crowd-pleasers likeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthfought with beleaguered disasters likeSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguefor players' attention.
February 2024 Was Defined by Ambition and Disaster
Biggest Releases of February 2024
February 2024 was certainly an emotional rollercoaster for gamers.Final Fantasy 7 RebirthandPersona 3Reload, for instance, are widely hailed as some of the best JRPGs of the past several years, despite being remakes. Then there wasHelldivers 2, a breakout live-service cooperative shooter whose inventiveness helped it skyrocket in popularity.Penny’s Big Breakawayrapidly achieved cult status as well thanks to its frenetic and satisfying platforming, andMario vs. Donkey Kongwas another successful, albeit less electrifying, remake of a beloved classic.
But the industry also got ugly in February 2024.Foamstars, although garnering some positive buzz during previews, was ultimately dead on arrival, with Square Enix shutting the game down just last month.Skull and Boneswas also an unceremonious failure, though many would argue that the writing had long been on the wall for Ubisoft’s bizarre pirate live-service game. But both of these flops pale in comparison toSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which would have been the uncontested biggest flop of 2024 were it not forConcord’s historically bad rollout. All in all, last February was a month of tremendous highs and crushing lows.
February ‘25 Was Strong, but Relatively Conservative
Biggest Releases of February 2025
This past month has certainly not disappointed: the only somewhat contentious game from the above list isCivilization 7, though it’s been receiving the same mixed reception asCivilization 6did upon launch. In other words, games likeCivilizationarguably need a bit more time on the market before firm conclusions can be drawn about their quality.Avowedalso landed to a mixed reception, but the range of opinions has been relatively small: very few love it, and very few hate it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, andMonster Hunter Wildsdominated the month as some of the best-reviewed games of 2025 thus far. But what’s interesting about these games is that, for the most part, their success was easy to predict.LaD: Pirate Yakuza in HawaiiandMonster Hunter Wildsare both great, but they are great in the way that fans of the series have come to expect. And whileKCD2has garnered more attention than its predecessor, it’s still a fairly linear progression from it. These games are a far cry from the likes ofHelldivers 2andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which far exceeded almost everyone’s expectations.
Monster Hunter Wilds
WHERE TO PLAY
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
