In July 2025, Microsoft announced the cancellation of its Perfect Dark reboot and Everwild, which was part of extensive layoffs affecting over 9,000 positions, including the closure of The Initiative studio.

Additionally, Microsoft canceled an unannounced MMO from ZeniMax Online Studios, codenamed Blackbird, with the studio's director stepping down amid the layoffs.

Earlier in the year, on January 22, 2025, Extremely OK Games canceled Earthblade, a highly anticipated follow-up to Celeste, citing disputes over IP rights and lack of progress after three years of development.

Overall, 2025 has seen the cancellation of 17 video games, reflecting significant industry challenges such as market shifts, corporate restructuring, and high development costs.

In March 2025, Respawn Entertainment canceled an early-stage multiplayer FPS project, continuing a trend of project cancellations at the studio.

Hypixel Studios' ambitious sandbox game Hytale was canceled in June 2025, with the developer citing an inability to meet its lofty vision, leading to the studio's closure.

EA also canceled an unannounced Titanfall game in April 2025 during company-wide layoffs affecting around 300 employees, including those at Respawn.

Techland canceled two in-development games on July 4, 2025, but confirmed that no layoffs occurred as a result of these cancellations.

Overall, these cancellations highlight the industry's ongoing challenges, including market dynamics, rising development costs, and creative hurdles.

EA canceled its Black Panther game on May 28, 2025, and closed Cliffhanger Games, but confirmed plans to develop other Marvel titles.

Square Enix canceled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link on May 14, 2025, due to concerns about delivering a satisfactory long-term service, despite ongoing mainline Kingdom Hearts development.

Splash Damage canceled Transformers: Reactivate on January 8, 2025, without providing a specific reason, marking a difficult decision for the studio.

Warner Bros. canceled the Wonder Woman game in February 2025 amid corporate restructuring, resulting in the closure of Monolith Productions.

Battle Aces, an action RTS game, was canceled on May 23, 2025, after poor early testing feedback.

The Football Manager series skipped a release for the first time in 21 years, with Football Manager 25 canceled on February 6, 2025, after delays and quality concerns.

In January, Sony canceled two unannounced PlayStation live-service games from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, indicating a downsizing of their live-service plans, though no studio closures occurred.