[UPDATE - January 20, 2026] We have now posted the final results of the staff and community polls. You can find out which shooter game we enjoyed the most in our full Wccftech Awards '25 Winners recap.
[ORIGINAL STORY] Without a doubt, 2024 was a solid year for shooter games thanks to releases like Helldivers 2, Space Marine 2, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and Marvel Rivals, but 2025 can be argued to be even superior now that the calendar is wrapping up.
From medieval melee-infused demon slaying to post-apocalyptic extraction PvPvE mayhem, the shooter landscape has thrived with innovation, technical excellence, and heart-pounding gameplay that demands skill and strategy in equal measure, propelling the genre to new heights.
Other Best Games of 2025 per Category: Fighting Games, Sports & Racing Games, Role-Playing Games, Horror Games, Platformers, Indie Games, Action, DLC/Expansion
DOOM: The Dark Ages (8.5)
id Software has never been a studio content with resting on laurels, and DOOM: The Dark Ages proves that the legendary franchise still has a lot to offer. The Texas-based studio decided to take players back chronologically, with the events taking place before either 2016's reboot or 2020's DOOM Eternal. Moreover, the setting is vastly changed: the Slayer fights in the techno-medieval world of Argent D'Nur, so the developers reimagined him as a heavily armored warrior. This, in turn, led them to modify the pacing from the relentless, ever-forward-pushing gameplay of Eternal into a slower, more deliberate action experience that relies heavily on the new shield mechanics.
Players can deploy a Shield Saw to parry incoming demon attacks, then either riposte with a melee strike or unleash a charging bash attack to close distances. What makes this system brilliant is that, while inevitably slowing down the combat slightly compared to the previous entry, it remains balanced in a way that forces players to stay in constant motion, thus adhering to the franchise's core formula.
Melee combat also received a complete overhaul with three distinct options: brutal punch combos, a devastating hammer attack, and an armor-shattering flail. All these are genuine tactical choices: ammunition is obtained through successful melee executions, creating a direct link between close-quarters and ranged combat that highlights good decision-making throughout firefights. Finally, DOOM: The Dark Ages features more variety than the series' previous shooter games, thanks to the interspersed mech segments and dragon-riding sequences, which added some perfectly fitting epic setpieces to the game.
Battlefield 6 (8.5)
Battlefield 6 doesn't just return to the franchise's core identity; it doubles down on the philosophy that made the series legendary in the first place: player-driven destruction and large-scale environmental storytelling. After the mixed reception of Battlefield V and the sheer debacle of Battlefield 2042, Electronic Arts and the teams at Battlefield Studios desperately needed a win. To achieve it, they went back to basics and focused on what fans have always loved about this shooter games franchise.
It could be argued that Battlefield 6 doesn't really include any major innovations, but it didn't need to. The developers just had to bring their A-game to all areas of the game, which they did, starting with the saga's most refined gunplay mechanics to date. Overhauled weapon behavior, revised recoil patterns, and tactile feedback provide a highly satisfying shooting experience that rewards precision without being too hardcore. Every shot, every movement input feels intentional and responsive, especially when played with a DualSense Controller, where Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers elevate immersion (though you might want to turn them off in the settings when playing in truly competitive matches).
The Tactical Destruction system is also back, allowing squads to weaponize their surroundings in ways that directly impact gameplay outcomes. Collapsing a ceiling onto an enemy squad, demolishing cover to create new attacking opportunities, or using vehicle-as-wrecking-ball tactics are all viable choices depending on the situation. Furthermore, the developers demonstrated that they had learned their lesson from the limitless destruction featured in Battlefield 4's Levolution, as letting players turn entire buildings to dust ultimately harms gameplay; therefore, they removed that option in BF6.
Ultimately, fans vote with their wallets, and there's no question that they chose Battlefield 6 this year over Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The former, according to Alinea Analytics estimates, is the most popular new game released in 2026, having registered over 23.8 million players across all platforms as of November 20.
ARC Raiders (9)
Whereas Battlefield 6 was by far the most hyped shooter game going into 2025, ARC Raiders didn't really have a similar level of anticipation, especially after the middling reception of the studio's first game release, the arena FPS The Finals. The launch of ARC Raiders was a veritable revelation in the already crowded subgenre of the extraction shooter. Originally, the game was supposed to be a free-to-play co-op (PvE only) shooter. However, Embark decided to change it to a premium PvPvE extraction shooter, even if that meant delaying the game.
This strategy change proved to be extremely effective. First of all, there aren't many third-person extraction shooters in the first place. The main distinction, though, is that ARC Raiders successfully straddles the line between PvP and PvE action, a key balancing act that many games in this subgenre struggle with. Rely too much on PvP, and you lose the cooperative soul that made early extractions appealing; focus too much on PvE, and the game suddenly lacks the unique unpredictability of human behavior.
The game features optional soloing (deliberately harder) but emphasizes 2-3 player squads, where communication is paramount for a team determined to extract with all the loot still in their pockets. The titular ARCs are machine invaders with individual behavioral profiles, weak points that matter, and physics-based destruction that affects their combat capability. Shooting a rotor off a drone causes momentum-dependent spin-outs; removing additional armor sends them careening into environmental hazards or other ARC units.
Like in all the best PvPvE games, the greatest moments in ARC Raiders occur when the two elements suddenly mix, such as when two teams engaged in firefights over loot suddenly face roaming ARC reinforcements. Do they push the engagement and risk mutual destruction, or is it better to coordinate a temporary ceasefire via voice chat against the common machine threat? These dynamic situations are the true reason players keep coming back to it.
ARC Raiders was a smash hit for Embark Studios and Nexon, beating all other games this November on Steam's best-selling chart and even becoming Google's most searched videogame of the year.
Borderlands 4
After the narrative missteps of Borderlands 3, Gearbox sought to return to its roots with grounded tone, apocalyptic humor, and mechanical depth.
Arguably, the game's most noticeable improvement is the movement overhaul. Traditional double-jumps, dashes, and weapon-swap speed have been replaced with an extensive traversal toolkit: gliding, mid-air hovering, grappling hooks for both exploration and combat, and dodge-rolls for evasion. Each traversal option serves specific tactical purposes: the hover enables mid-air shots while keeping momentum; the grapple accelerates repositioning; the dash provides split-second emergency maneuvers. Ahead of the launch, the developers described this as the most significant franchise evolution yet. It has never been more fun to move around in Borderlands, that's for damn sure, and the gunplay itself is still as brilliant as ever, ensuring that the new game can be considered among the best shooter games in this area.
The Licensed Parts System elevates the loot loop. Weapons are now composed of manufacturer-agnostic components, so that an assault rifle might sport Maliwan elemental parts, a Torgue magazine, and Hyperion shielding. Rarity directly correlates with component variety, making the hunt for specific part combinations as compelling as chasing rarity.
The four Vault Hunters feature ability sets that meaningfully diverge in playstyles. Vex, the Siren, conjures manifestations to aid in battle; Rafa, the Exo-Soldier, crafts on-the-fly tools like armor-piercing blades. Choosing and specializing the character is, however, only the beginning of build crafting. The existence of several secondary gear systems (Rep Kits offering revives/combat buffs, Ordnances providing cooldown heavy weapons, Enhancements replacing Artifacts) provides plenty of room for loadout variety.
Multiplayer has been significantly streamlined. The improved lobby system, crossplay infrastructure, the return of split-screen couch co-op (albeit only on consoles), and instance-based loot (meaning that every player receives their own drops) provided features that the community had long requested. The dynamic difficulty scaling lets friends play together even if their respective characters are at vastly different power levels. Finally, the ability to fast travel to a teammate eliminates the tedious "someone got lost" moments that plagued previous entries.
The main criticism levied at Borderlands 4 at launch was its performance, particularly on the PC platform, which led to 'slightly softer' sales than the parent company, Take-Two, would have liked. However, the game has since received several patches to improve PC performance.
Metal Eden
By far the smallest game on this shortlist in terms of budget, Metal Eden, the new game from Reikon Games (the studio behind 2017's Ruiner), is a sci-fi FPS that weaponizes mobility, timing, and tactical resource management into something distinctly elegant. As an android named Aska in the artificial city of Moebius, players harvest Cores (consciousness containers) from mechanical enemies, then leverage those Cores for tactical advantage.
Core Ripping is the game's defining mechanic. Players charge their Multitool's Gravity Beam to extract Cores from unarmored enemies. Once extracted, Cores can either be consumed (providing temporary buffs to melee damage, mobility, or survivability) or thrown as explosives. This creates a feedback loop where killing efficiently generates resources that further enhance Aska's combat capability.
Beyond traditional movement, players unlock several traversal options: hovering via jet pack, grapple-rails for acceleration, wall-running, and eventually a "Ball Mode" that transforms Aska into a rolling projectile capable of dealing damage on its own. Combat, which also includes a bullet-time mechanic, is a thrilling experience that is never really frustrating, because enemy behavior is readable; telegraphed attacks provide decision windows for parries, dodges, or counterattacks. The excellent art direction drives Ruiner's aesthetics with neon-soaked environments, distinctive enemy designs, and visual clarity that never sacrifices style for utility.
With its average playthrough runtime of five and a half hours, Metal Eden is shorter than most recent single player shooter games, but it's also available at budget price. Moreover, every level is meaningful, teaching new mechanics or challenging the player's mastery of them. The boss encounters require an understanding of Aska's mobility toolkit and Core resource management, and the pacing is spot-on.
Metal Eden arrived without much fanfare, but it proved that a tight, focused shooter can succeed thanks to design clarity and innovation borne out of constraints.
Honorable Mentions
We could only pick five shooter games for the shortlist, but we do recommend checking out the following games, too, if you're a fan of the genre:
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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