Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It was published for Windows on Valve's digital distribution service, Steam. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds new features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. The player controls Gordon Freeman, who joins a resistance to liberate Earth from the Combine, an interplanetary alien empire.
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through the eyes of the main character. This genre shares multiple common traits with other shooter games, and in turn falls under the action games category. Since the genre's inception, advanced 3D and pseudo-3D graphics have proven fundamental to allow a reasonable level of immersion in the game world, and this type of game helped pushing technology progressively further, challenging hardware developers worldwide to introduce numerous innovations in the field of graphics processing units. Multiplayer gaming has been an integral part of the experience, and became even more prominent with the diffusion of internet connectivity in recent years.
Hi-Rez Studios is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was established in 2005 by Erez Goren and Todd Harris. Hi-Rez Studios' games include the squad-based shooter Global Agenda, the critically acclaimed Tribes: Ascend, the third-person MOBA Smite, the hero shooter Paladins, and the third-person shooter Rogue Company. In 2012, Hi-Rez Studios was recognized as a Top 30 Video-Game Developer by Game Developer Magazine and Gamasutra. Hi-Rez are the current owners of the Metaltech license, including Battledrome, Earthsiege, Starsiege, the CyberStorm series, and the Tribes series. With the exception of Battledrome and CyberStorm, the games were released as freeware by Hi-Rez on October 30, 2015.
Yager Development GmbH is a German video game developer based in Berlin.
Verdun is a squad-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game set during World War I. It was released on 28 April 2015 on Steam, after more than a year in Steam Early Access. The console versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released between August 2016 and June 2021.
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as Stardew Valley. The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.
Game Pass is a subscription service as part of Xbox and offered by Microsoft Gaming. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games for Xbox video game consoles or Microsoft Windows PCs from a rotating library, with the games remaining accessible as long as the user has an active subscription. Game Pass subscribers also receive discounts on purchases of games from the service's library and their respective downloadable content (DLC).
Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. In the game, the player character joins a group of space explorers who must venture to various corners of the galaxy to acquire mysterious artifacts. The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is an action role-playing game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, based on the Dragon Ball franchise. It was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows in January 2020, Nintendo Switch in September 2021, Stadia in October 2021, PlayStation 5 in January 2023, and Xbox Series X/S in February 2023. The game follows the main protagonist Goku and the Z-Fighters throughout the events of the Dragon Ball Z anime, including anime-original storylines and moments.
Rogue Company is a free-to-play multiplayer tactical third-person hero shooter video game developed by First Watch Games and published by Hi-Rez Studios. The game was released in open beta on October 1, 2020 for Microsoft Windows via the Epic Games Store, Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, with an Xbox Series X/S release following on November 25, 2020, and a PlayStation 5 release on March 30, 2021. The game features full support for cross-platform play and cross-progression. The game takes inspiration from the Counter-Strike series of tactical shooters. The game came out of the Beta on May 23, 2022.
Splitgate is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed and published by 1047 Games. It was released in early access on May 24, 2019, for Linux and Microsoft Windows on Steam, and on Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on July 27, 2021. A PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version came in 2022. On August 25, 2021, the developers announced that the game would stay in beta indefinitely and at the same time released Season 0. The game revolves around Halo-inspired sci-fi combat in battle arenas where players can create wormhole portals between two points on the map that have been compared to those of the Portal series, and fire weapons or travel through those portals.
Valorant is a free-to-play first-person tactical hero shooter developed and published by Riot Games. The game's development started in 2014 and was teased under the codename Project A in October 2019. A closed beta period began with limited access on April 7, 2020, followed by a release on June 2, 2020. It was originally designed for Windows only, but support for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 was added in June 2024, albeit without crossplay between PC and console clients. Valorant takes inspiration from the Counter-Strike series, borrowing several mechanics such as the buy menu, spray patterns, and inaccuracy while moving.
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.
Pixel Gun 3D is a 2013 first-person shooter game developed by Lightmap and published by Cubic Games for iOS and Android. Players choose from a variety of single-player and multiplayer modes, with single-player revolving around fighting enemies and multiplayer putting several players up against each other in competitions. These competitions range from attempting to get the most kills, to being the last person standing in battle royale. A single-player campaign is available, which puts the player in the role of an unnamed protagonist investigating the sudden "square-ification" of the world and the outbreak of numerous monsters.
Second Extinction was a cooperative first-person shooter developed and published by Systemic Reaction for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. In the game, mutated dinosaurs have taken over the Earth, and players must work together in fighting a war against the animals. The game received an early access release through Steam on October 13, 2020, and through Xbox Game Preview on April 28, 2021. Originally scheduled to leave early access and Game Preview on October 20, 2022, the full launch was delayed several times due to critical issues, and was eventually cancelled due to the lack of necessary resources to do so. The game is scheduled to shut down in 2024.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is a free-to-play digital collectible card game based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, developed and published by Konami for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS.
Gunfire Reborn is a 2021 roguelite first-person shooter video game developed by Duoyi Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows in November 2021. It was followed by mobile ports in May 2022, then released on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in October of the same year, and released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in June 2023. A Nintendo Switch port is also in the works.
Isonzo is a first-person shooter video game. It is a team-based multiplayer game set on the Italian Front during World War I. It was released on Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on September 13, 2022. It is the sequel to Verdun and Tannenberg.
Brotato is a 2023 top-down arena shooter roguelite video game created by French independent developer Thomas Gervraud under the studio name Blobfish. It was first released via Steam early access in 2022, during which it sold over one million copies. Brotato received positive reviews from critics and players, and it was later ported to multiple platforms.
In video games, aim assist is a gameplay feature designed to help players with their aiming. It is commonly found in first-person shooter (FPS) games, and is an element particularly designed for players who use controller inputs, as opposed to a mouse and keyboard (MnK).
