December is usually a quiet month, with very few high-profile releases. It's not hard to see why, as with October and November traditionally being the busiest time of the year for big releases, the final month of the year traditionally keeps a low profile so that people can dive into their backlog, score a few deals, and catch their breath for the year ahead. This December? Tradition is being tossed out of the airlock, as multiple big-name games look to end the year in style.

First up, there's the stuff that we already knew about. Fortnite is still a juggernaut in the gaming scene, but it's about to get even bigger with two new modes. Fortnite Rocket Racing--a Rocket League-inspired mode--is available starting December 8 and the game is also dipping its toes into Minecraft-influenced waters with Lego Fortnite this month.

On the AAA side, there's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Out now, this is one of Ubisoft's big games of the year and is set on the alien planet of Pandora. It makes ample use of the company's formula for open-world exploration, but with a few twists to liven up the experience. It's big, faithful to the source material, and it slots into the wider Avatar universe.

Alongside Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, a new expansion for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Born of Bread, and Kingpin Reloaded, December was looking restful in comparison to the last couple of months. But at the Game Awards, multiple studios and developers dropped a few reveals at that show, taking people completely by surprise.

We'd known that Baldur's Gate 3 was coming to Xbox Series X|S before the end of the year, but developer Larian capped off an incredible night with the announcement that the game is available on those consoles right now. The Finals--a first-person multiplayer shooter from Embark Studios--surprise-launched today, Alan Wake 2 fans can replay the award-winning survival-horror in New Game Plus mode on December 11, God of War Ragnarok is getting free roguelike DLC next week, and Square Enix revealed that the first DLC episode for Final Fantasy 16 is available right now.

That's a healthy mix of new game releases and fresh content for existing titles, all arriving with no warning whatsoever. On top of that, January and February are already shaping up to start the 2024 gaming year with a bang. There's Tekken 8, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth to look forward to in January, while February is headlined by Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Helldivers 2, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.