New RPG Giants: Divinity Returns and Star Wars Fate of the Old Republic
The Game Awards 2025 might officially be about trophies, but for PC players it is really about the world premieres. This year delivered a surprisingly strong batch of new game reveals that PC gamers will want to keep on their radar for the next few years.
One of the biggest moments was Larian Studios confirming its next major RPG. After the massive success of Baldur's Gate 3, there was endless speculation about whether the team would go back to the world of Divinity. Now we know they are.
The new game is called simply Divinity. It is not Divinity Original Sin 3 and it is not a remake of Divine Divinity. It is a fresh entry that clearly wants to reboot or reframe the series in a big way. Details are extremely thin right now, but the cinematic reveal trailer made a strong impression, leaning into disturbing body horror that is even stranger than Baldur's Gate 3's original mind flayer trailer.
One key image is a huge statue in the desert called the hellstone, which looks like it is going to be central to the story and world. Geoff Keighley described Divinity as Larian's biggest game yet, even larger in scope than Baldur's Gate 3. Coming from a studio known for huge, reactive RPGs, that is a bold promise that should catch the attention of any PC role playing fan.
Larian boss Swen Vincke previously teased that the team was deep in the trenches on a crazy ambitious project codenamed Excalibur, and stressed that it would not be Baldur's Gate 4. He also said the studio wanted to focus on its own original IPs. All signs now point to that secret project being this new Divinity, meaning we are in for another complex story driven PC RPG built on Larian's strengths. There is no release window yet, so expect a long wait before we see gameplay.
Another huge announcement for RPG players is Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. It is not officially titled Knights of the Old Republic 3, but it is clearly pitched as a spiritual successor to the classic KotOR games. It is being developed by Arcanaut Studios, led by Casey Hudson, who previously headed up both KotOR and the original Mass Effect at BioWare.
Fate of the Old Republic is described as a single player narrative driven action RPG where your decisions shape a path toward the light side or the dark side. The reveal trailer shows what looks like a crashed Sith capital ship that fans will recognize from the original KotOR era, suggesting the old games still exist somewhere in this continuity even if the lore gets reshuffled.
There is still a big mystery around where exactly this game sits in the Star Wars timeline, since there are huge gaps between KotOR, The Old Republic MMO, and the films. What we do know is that Arcanaut is going for an action RPG design, likely something closer to Mass Effect blended with the more agile combat you see in games like Jedi: Fallen Order, rather than the D20 dice rolling systems of the classic KotOR titles.
Fate of the Old Republic is in early development, so it will be a while before it lands on PC, but for players who grew up with BioWare style RPGs, this could be one of the most important Star Wars releases in years.
Horror and Control: Ontos and Control Resonant
Horror fans did not get left out either. Frictional Games, the studio behind Amnesia and Soma, revealed its next narrative horror project called Ontos. It is pitched as a science fiction thriller that pushes you to the edge of existence and is planned for a 2026 release.
Ontos is described as a spiritual successor to Soma’s underwater existential horror. The story follows a character searching for answers while digging through fragments of their father's past. As you go deeper, you uncover disturbing revelations about the nature of reality and your place in it. The reveal trailer highlights unsettling imagery like a head wired into machinery, exposed tendons, and clinical tools that promise the kind of slow burn dread Frictional is known for. Actor Stellan Skarsgård is also involved, which should give the performances extra weight.
On the more action focused side, Remedy offered a first look at its follow up to Control. The sequel is called Control Resonant and it significantly changes the formula. Instead of the confined brutalist maze of The Oldest House, the game is set in an open world version of Manhattan. Rather than Jesse Faden, you play as her brother Dylan.
Resonant is no longer just a third person shooter either. Remedy describes it as an action RPG, hinting at deeper progression and build choices layered on top of its signature reality bending combat. The footage shown featured New York folding in on itself in wild Inception style setpieces, while Dylan uses a magical pair of metal fragments that can transform into a large hammer among other weapons. The tone remains surreal and cosmic, but with a broader city scale. Control Resonant is currently planned for 2026.
Total War Marches Into Warhammer 40K
Strategy fans got one of the most exciting reveals of the night with Total War: Warhammer 40,000. Creative Assembly is finally bringing its large scale real time battles to the grim darkness of the far future. If you have ever imagined the spectacle of Dawn of War mixed with the battlefield scale of Total War, this is essentially that dream project.
The game launches with four playable factions: Space Marines, Orks, Astra Militarum, and the Aeldari space elves. The reveal trailer teases massive conflicts featuring orbital strikes, armored columns, huge walkers, and swarms of infantry all clashing at once. The user interface shown looks very different from past Total War entries, likely redesigned to manage the added complexity of futuristic artillery, vehicles, and air or orbital support.
Creative Assembly has already proven with the fantasy focused Total War: Warhammer trilogy that it can handle otherworldly armies and over the top abilities on a huge scale. Those games now feel like a testing ground for something even larger. In many ways Warhammer 40K is the perfect fit for the Total War formula. The universe is built on endless campaigns, colossal armies, and apocalyptic battles where the phrase total war finally feels literal.
There is no release date yet, but the game already has a Steam page where PC players can wishlist it and watch for more details. With this announcement, strategy enthusiasts and Warhammer fans have a major new title to look forward to on PC.
The Game Awards 2025 might have crowned Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as Game of the Year, but for PC players the real story is the future lineup. Between a new Divinity from Larian, a fresh Old Republic era Star Wars RPG, Frictional’s next horror experience, Remedy’s reimagined Control sequel, and Total War’s jump into Warhammer 40K, the next few years of PC gaming are looking stacked.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/the-game-awards-2025-announcements-trailers/
