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In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage (partially from post-COVID-19 effects) and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components. [1]
Metacritic is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.
According to market research firm Newzoo, the global video game market reached total revenues of US$180.3 billion, a 1.4% growth from 2020. Of this, 52% of the revenue was attributed to the mobile game market and the larger growth over the prior year, 28% to the console games market (including hardware and software), and 20% to the personal computer market. [5]
According to market research firm Newzoo, the following countries were the largest video game markets in 2021. [6]
| Rank | Country | Revenue | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $46,010,000,000 | 685,480,000 |
| 2 | United States | $40,540,000,000 | 191,120,000 |
| 3 | Japan | $22,090,000,000 | 75,620,000 |
| 4 | South Korea | $7,550,000,000 | 33,010,000 |
| 5 | Germany | $5,870,000,000 | 46,120,000 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $5,310,000,000 | 37,660,000 |
| 7 | France | $4,130,000,000 | 38,080,000 |
| 8 | Canada | $3,690,000,000 | 20,980,000 |
| 9 | Italy | $3,290,000,000 | 36,550,000 |
| 10 | Spain | $2,330,000,000 | 29,730,000 |
The following titles are the top ten highest-grossing mobile games of 2021. [7] [8]
| Rank | Game | Revenue | Publisher(s) | Genre(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PUBG Mobile / Game for Peace | $2,900,000,000 | Tencent / Krafton | Battle royale |
| 2 | Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor | $2,800,000,000 | Tencent | MOBA |
| 3 | Genshin Impact | $1,900,000,000 | miHoYo | Action RPG |
| 4 | Roblox Mobile | $1,400,000,000 | Roblox Corporation | GCS / MMO |
| 5 | Coin Master | $1,400,000,000 | Moon Active | Casual / Casino |
| 6 | Pokémon Go | $1,300,000,000 | Niantic | Augmented reality |
| 7 | Candy Crush Saga | $1,300,000,000 | King (Activision Blizzard) | Puzzle |
| 8 | Garena Free Fire | $1,200,000,000 | Garena | Battle royale |
| 9 | Uma Musume Pretty Derby | $990,000,000 | Cygames | Simulation / Social |
| 10 | Three Kingdoms Tactics | $931,000,000 | Alibaba Group / Koei Tecmo | Strategy (4X) |
The following titles were 2021's top six highest-grossing video games in China. [9]
| Rank | Game | Revenue | Genre | Platform(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honor of Kings | $2,600,000,000 | MOBA | Mobile | Tencent |
| 2 | PUBG Mobile / Peacekeeper Elite | $1,700,000,000 | Battle royale | ||
| 3 | League of Legends | $1,100,000,000 | MOBA | PC | |
| 4 | Dungeon Fighter Online | $876,000,000 | Beat 'em up | ||
| 5 | Crossfire | $795,000,000 | Shooter | ||
| 6 | Fantasy Westward Journey | $713,000,000 | MMORPG | Mobile | NetEase |
The following titles were 2021's top ten best-selling premium games by region (excluding microtransactions and free-to-play titles) on PC and console platforms, for Japan, the United States, and Europe.
| Month | Day(s) | Event |
|---|---|---|
| January | 4 | Nintendo purchased Canadian video game developer Next Level Games, with the finalizations of the deal being done by March 1. [13] |
| 13 | Lucasfilm revived the Lucasfilm Games brand and announced a new Star Wars game from Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment, terminating the exclusive license held by Electronic Arts for the property. [14] | |
| 15 | YoYo Games, the developers of the GameMaker software, were acquired by Opera to help establish an Opera Gaming division. [15] | |
| 22 | Vicarious Visions was merged into Blizzard Entertainment with its staff of over 200 becoming employees of Blizzard. [16] | |
| 25 | The Carlyle Group completed its acquisition of Jagex. [17] | |
| February | 1 | Google shuttered its internal Stadia Games and Entertainment division, with plans to refocus the service as a publisher for third-party games. [18] |
| 2 | Embracer Group acquired Gearbox Software, Aspyr Media, and Easybrain. [19] [20] [21] | |
| 9 | The Pokémon Company announced that the World Championships has been canceled due to concerns of COVID-19. [22] | |
| 18 | Electronic Arts completed its estimated $1.2 billion acquisition of Codemasters. [23] | |
| 19–20 | Blizzard Entertainment held its virtual BlizzCon event. [24] | |
| March | 2 | Epic Games acquired Tonic Games Group, including developer Mediatonic. [25] |
| 9 | Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios completed its acquisition of ZeniMax Media and its subsidiary studios. [26] | |
| tinyBuild offered its initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. [27] | ||
| 10 | The Roblox Corporation held its direct public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. [28] | |
| 16 | Take-Two Interactive acquired HB Studios, which became a part of 2K. [29] | |
| 18 | Sony Interactive Entertainment and Endeavor jointly acquired the Evolution Championship Series. [30] | |
| Super Nintendo World opens to the public in Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. [31] | ||
| April | 2 | Focus Home Interactive acquired Streum On Studio. [32] |
| 22 | Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosted the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, held as an online livestreamed event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [33] | |
| 25 | Colette , a short documentary film co-produced by Oculus and Respawn Entertainment for Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond , won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject), making it the first Oscar awarded to a video game-related project. [34] | |
| 29 | Electronic Arts completed its estimated $2.1 billion acquisition of mobile game developer Glu Mobile. [35] [36] | |
| May | 3–24 | The trial for the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit was held. [37] [38] |
| June | 12–15 | E3 2021 was held as an online event. [39] |
| 29 | Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Housemarque, which became a part of PlayStation Studios. [40] | |
| July | 1 | Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Nixxes Software, which became a part of PlayStation Studios. [41] |
| 15–18 | PAX Online was held after cancelling the planned in-person PAX East event from June. [42] | |
| 19 | Tencent announced its acquisition of Sumo Group for $1.3 billion. [43] | |
| 19–23 | The Game Developers Conference and Independent Games Festival was held as an online event. [44] [45] | |
| 20 | The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) initiated a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard following a two-year investigation asserting the company maintained a hostile workplace that discriminated and harassed female employees, leading to thousands of employees signing onto an open letter and performing a walkout, demanding management take appropriate reaction. [46] [47] | |
| August | 3 | Blizzard Entertainment President J. Allen Brack left the company in the wake of the DFEH lawsuit. [48] |
| 5 | Embracer Group acquired eight additional studios, including 3D Realms, Ghost Ship Games and Slipgate Ironworks. [49] | |
| Focus Home Interactive acquired Dotemu. [50] | ||
| 6–8, 13–15 | Evolution Championship Series 2021 was held as an online event. [51] | |
| 10 | Krafton completed its initial public offering on the Korea Exchange, with an initial valuation of around $19 billion. [52] | |
| 19–21 | Quakecon 2021 was held as an online event. [53] | |
| 25–27 | Gamescom 2021 was held as an online event. [54] | |
| 30 | China announces a law that restricts people under the age of 18 to play video games only up to 3 hours a week. [55] [56] | |
| September | 8 | Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Firesprite, which became a part of PlayStation Studios. [57] |
| 10 | In Epic Games v. Apple, Apple was given a permanent injunction preventing them from blocking apps that included links to third-party payment systems. [58] | |
| 28 | Netflix acquired Night School Studio as its first game studio. [59] | |
| 30 | Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Bluepoint Games, which became a part of PlayStation Studios. [60] | |
| 30– | Tokyo Game Show 2021 was held as an online event. [61] | |
| October | 3 | |
| 7–17 | The International 2021, the tenth iteration of the annual Dota 2 global esports tournament, was held in Bucharest, Romania. It holds the record for the largest esports prize pool of all time at $40 million. [62] | |
| 21 | NetEase acquired Grasshopper Manufacture from GungHo Online Entertainment. [63] | |
| 28 | Mark Zuckerberg rebrands Facebook as Meta Platforms. Zuckerberg announced that "The Metaverse" will be a hybrid of social media, fitness, gaming, and more. [64] [65] [66] | |
| 29 | Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds Entertainment. [67] | |
| November | 2 | Netflix launched its video game service via its mobile app for subscribers. [68] |
| 4 | Devolver Digital went public on the Alternative Investment Market and acquired Dodge Roll, Nerial and Firefly Studios. [69] [70] | |
| 15 | Take-Two Interactive acquired Roll7, which became a part of Private Division. [71] | |
| 16 | G4, the gaming-focused TV network that shut down in 2014, was relaunched on various linear TV and streaming services. [72] | |
| 23 | Epic Games acquired Harmonix. [73] | |
| December | 9 | The Game Awards 2021 was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. [74] [2] |
| 10 | Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Valkyrie Entertainment, which became a part of PlayStation Studios. [75] | |
| 15 | Embracer Group acquired board game publisher Asmodee. [76] | |
| 17 | Tencent acquired Turtle Rock Studios. [77] | |
| 21 | Embracer Group acquired Perfect World Entertainment along with its publishing group and Cryptic Studios, [78] as well as Dark Horse Media, the parent company of Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Entertainment. [79] | |
| 27 | Riot Games agreed to settle its workplace gender discrimination lawsuit with two former employees for $100 million. [80] |
The list of game-related hardware released in 2021.
| Month | Day | Console |
|---|---|---|
| June | 15 | Atari VCS [b] [103] |
| October | 8 | Nintendo Switch (OLED model) [104] |
| November | 3 | Evercade VS [105] |
| 12 | Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda [106] | |
| December | 13 | Analogue Pocket [107] |
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Series with new installments include Age of Empires , Alex Kidd , Alien , Angelique , Aragami , A-Train , Baldur's Gate , Battlefield , Big Brain Academy , Blaster Master , Blue Reflection , Bus Simulator , Bravely Default , The Caligula Effect , Call of Duty , Chivalry: Medieval Warfare , Cookie Run , Cut the Rope , The Dark Pictures Anthology , Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba , DC Super Hero Girls , Diablo , Disgaea , Doctor Who , Dragon Quest , Drakengard , Dynasty Warriors , Everspace , Evil Genius , Far Cry , Final Fantasy , Five Nights at Freddy's , Forza , Ghosts 'n Goblins , Guardians of the Galaxy , Guilty Gear , Halo , Hitman , Hot Wheels , The House of the Dead , The Idolmaster , King's Bounty , Jurassic Park , League of Legends , The Legend of Heroes , Life Is Strange , Little Nightmares , Little Tail Bronx , Lone Echo, Mario Golf , Mario Party , Megami Tensei , Metroid , Monster Hunter , No More Heroes , Oddworld , Pac-Man , Psychonauts , Ratchet & Clank , Resident Evil , Rune Factory , R-Type , Samurai Warriors , Sniper: Ghost Warrior , Star Wars , Stronghold , Story of Seasons , Subnautica , Super Mario , Syberia , System Shock , Tales , Vampire: The Masquerade , Wario , Werewolf: The Apocalypse , The World Ends with You , Wonder Boy , and Yakuza .
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In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
In the video game industry, 2020 saw the launch of the next generation of video game consoles, with both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment having released the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, respectively, in November 2020. The industry was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which had begun in March and was characterized by COVID-19 lockdowns and remote work. While this caused numerous delays in software and hardware releases and the cancellation of live conferences and events in favor of virtual shows, it also created a boom for the industry as people turned to gaming as a means to pass the time. The industry also reacted to various political/cultural events.
In the video game industry, 2022 saw the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, slowing hardware sales for most of the year as well as development delays for major titles. The industry continued its trend of acquisitions and mergers, highlighted by Microsoft announcing its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion. The industry as a whole continued to deal with issues such as workplace harassment and discrimination, alongside crunch periods, leading to at least the quality assurance staff at three separate studios to vote to unionize.
In the video game industry, 2023 saw significant changes within larger publishers and developers. Microsoft, after having satisfied worldwide regulatory bodies, completed its US$69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, making them the third largest game publisher in the world. Embracer Group, which had been in an acquisition spree over the previous few years, had an estimated $2 billion deal fall through, causing many of the studios under Embracer to either lay off staff or close entirely. Similar layoffs were seen at Unity, Amazon, ByteDance, Epic Games, Bungie, and Ubisoft, leading to over 9,000 jobs lost in the industry in 2023 and part of a larger trend of layoffs at technology companies in 2023.
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In the video game industry, 2024 saw many events including job losses extending from 2023, including large cuts from Microsoft Gaming, Electronic Arts, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, with over 10,000 jobs cut by May.
In the video game industry, 2025 is expected to see the release of many new video games.
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Sword and Fairy 7 first launched for PC via Steam on October 21, 2021.
The remastered version launched for iOS and Android on December 10, 2021 worldwide.
New Pokémon episodes premiere on February 24.
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