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.
Blackhole, stylized in all-caps, is a puzzle-platform game developed and published by independent Czech company FiolaSoft Studio. The developers worked with Let's Players and YouTubers on the script for the story and for building the characters. It was first released on February 27, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, followed by Linux and OS X on May 11, 2015.
Nacon is a French video game publisher, holdings company and gaming peripherals manufacturer based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for various platforms. In 2020, Bigben Group was consolidated to form Nacon.
Someday You'll Return is a psychological horror video game developed by Czech company CBE Software. The game follows the protagonist Daniel in the search for his daughter in Moravian forests. The game features Czech realities, such as tourist signs, the Czech landscape and natural monuments. It is dubbed in English, with Czech or English subtitles.
Prodeus is a first-person shooter game developed by Bounding Box Software and published by Humble Games. The game was crowdfunded by a Kickstarter campaign in April 2019. An early access version was released on November 9, 2020. The full game was released on macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in September 2022. A DLC was announced for the game in 2023.
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.
Returnal is a 2021 roguelike third-person shooter video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game was released for the PlayStation 5 on 30 April 2021 and for Windows on 15 February 2023. It follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut who lands on the planet Atropos in search of the mysterious "White Shadow" signal and finds herself trapped in a time loop.
Graven is a 2024 first-person shooter game developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing. Graven incorporates elements of the action role-playing game and immersive sim genres to create an "action-adventure puzzler".
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.
The Quarry is a 2022 interactive drama horror game developed by Supermassive Games and published by 2K. Players assume control of nine teenage counselors who must survive their last night at Hackett's Quarry summer camp amongst supernatural creatures and violent locals. Players make many choices throughout the game which may significantly affect character development, relationships, the story's plot, and its ending. All nine playable characters may survive or die, depending on the player's decisions.
Goat Simulator 3 is an action video game and the sequel to Goat Simulator. The game was announced by Coffee Stain Studios during Summer Game Fest and was released on November 17, 2022. The game features a four-player cooperative mode, and it is set on the fictional island of San Angora.
The Finals is a free-to-play first-person shooter, developed and published by Nexon subsidiary Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on maps with a destructible environment, where players are encouraged to use the dynamic environment to their advantage.
Silica is a 2023 science fiction real-time strategy shooter video game developed by Martin "Dram" Melichárek and published by Bohemia Interactive, released for Microsoft Windows in early access exclusively through the Steam distribution platform. Set in the 24th century on the exoplanet Baltarus, Silica follows a three-sided resource war over Balterium, a valuable mineral capable of power manipulation. The game features a hybrid of shooter gameplay and strategy gameplay, with both modes accessible based on the player's role in their faction.
The Legend of Tianding is a side-scrolling platform beat 'em up video game developed by Creative Games & Computer Graphics (CGCG) and published by Neon Doctrine for Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S; and personal computers running Windows and iOS. It was released initially for Switch and Steam on November 1, 2021, and ported to additional platforms approximately a year later.
