Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related materials.
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NBA Live 19, WWE 2K19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.
Just Dance is a rhythm game series developed and published by Ubisoft. The original Just Dance game was released on the Wii in 2009 in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is a 2015 tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software, and part of the Disgaea series. It was initially released for PlayStation 4 in Japan in March 2015, and by NIS America in North America and Europe in October 2015. A port for the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan in March 2017, as a launch title for the system, and worldwide in May 2017, under the title Disgaea 5 Complete, containing all DLC content from the original, but no new content. This version of the game was released on Microsoft Windows through Steam in October 2018, albeit without network compatibility.
Nier: Automata is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix. It is a sequel to Nier (2010), itself a spin-off of and sequel to the Drakengard series. Nier: Automata was originally released for the PlayStation 4 and Windows via Steam, and an Xbox One port was published the following year. A Nintendo Switch port was released in 2022.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a role-playing video game by Square Enix. The eleventh entry in the long-running Dragon Quest video game series, it was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 in July 2017 and worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in September 2018. An enhanced version, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, was released for Nintendo Switch by Nintendo in September 2019; for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2020; and for Stadia in March 2021. Taking place in a world called Erdrea, the game follows the hero's quest to save the world from an impending darkness. Throughout the game, he explores challenges related to his prophesied Luminary identity as he endures persecution from those who demonize him.
God Wars: Future Past is a tactical role-playing game developed by Kadokawa Games, and published by NIS America outside of Japan. The original version of the game was released in June 2017 for the PS4 and PS Vita. An expanded version of the game, God Wars: The Complete Legend, was released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch on September 4, 2018. The expanded version was also released on PS4 and PS Vita exclusively in Japan.
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is an action video game developed and published by Marvelous. The game is the third installment in the universe that began with Fate/Extra and the second one to be released outside of Japan. It was first announced in March 2016 and released in Japan in November 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita consoles; its release in North America and Europe occurred in January 2017. Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows versions were released in July 2017 for all three regions. The game's plot involved the conflict between two factions led by Nero and Tamamo from Fate/Extra fighting each other over control of the Moon Cell and the Holy Grail. They are soon joined by a third faction led by Altera who has the intent of destroying civilization as well as Saber from Fate/stay night who wishes to stop the conflict between the three factions. A direct sequel titled Fate/Extella Link was released for PS4 in Japan in 2018, and later worldwide for PS4, Switch and PC in 2019.
Super Bomberman R is an action-maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive and published by Konami. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, and later for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2018. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the sixth installment of the Super Bomberman series and the first game in the series to be released in twenty years. It is also the first Bomberman entry in the franchise to be developed for consoles following the dissolution of original series owner Hudson Soft in 2012.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a 2017 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and serves as a direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II.
SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is a fighting game developed for PS4 by SNK and for Nintendo Switch and PC by Abstraction Games. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in September 2018 and was published in Japan and Asia by SNK and SEGA and in International version by NIS America. An arcade version was released the following October and the Microsoft Windows version arrived in February 2019. It is a spiritual successor to SNK Gals' Fighters and features a 2v2 tag-team gameplay system, which was also used in Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle.
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 and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.
