2024 in video games: The big successes, new consoles, and the death of blockbusters
Left to right: Palworld took PC gaming by storm, breaking records in the process and No Man’s Sky, developed by Corkman Sean Murray, which was completely transformed since its release in 2016.
Proof that a simple idea can go far, Palworld released in January and took PC gaming by storm, breaking records in the process. It posed the question: What if Pokemon had guns, in a survival game? Appealing to adults who had grown up as Poke fans, Palworld has sold more than 15m copies to date and attracted over 25m players. Not bad for a small independent developer.
When No Man’s Sky was first released in 2016, developed by Corkman Sean Murray and his team in Brighton, it failed to live up to promises made in marketing. Since then, Murray and Hello Games have worked tirelessly to update the game for free, completely transforming it. While the redemption was complete years ago, No Man’s Sky recently achieved a ‘Very Positive’ average rating in Steam, meaning 80% of 250,000 reviews are positive.
Nobody would have bet 2024 would come and go without seeing Nintendo announce its successor to the hugely successful Nintendo Switch. We know that developers already have their hands on the early kits and Nintendo confirmed the console will release in 2025, but no official reveal in 2024 was a big surprise. Current estimates point to a May 2025 release date.
Meanwhile, Sony and PlayStation did release their new console in October, called the PlayStation Pro, an expensive but interesting iteration on the base PS5. In short, the PS5 pro is mainly for technical purists. Certain games will run in higher frame rates, resolutions and with better effects, but most consumers won’t notice the difference. It does hint at what might PlayStation 6 might bring in a few years.
The third wheel of console manufacturers, Microsoft, is looking to reinvent itself. In a highly unusual move, in 2024 Microsoft started to publish their exclusive games on PlayStation and other formats. The Microsoft team are heavily rumoured to be developing a platform-agnostic strategy where ‘everything is an Xbox’. Only time will tell what next steps they take, but 2024 will be seen as the beginning of a new era.
It’s been a hard year for the larger gaming companies. Thousands of workers in the industry were laid off as costs ballooned for the biggest of games. Much like Hollywood, there isn’t much room for failure with so-called AAA games, with investors growing wary. Gaming continues to flourish, overall, but expect high-budget blockbusters to drop off in the years to come.
Case in point was Sony’s Concord, likely to go down as one of gaming’s biggest ever ‘flops’. Styled after Overwatch and Guardians of the Galaxy, this was a live service game that cost a rumoured $400m-plus to acquire, develop and market. A week after launch, it had just a few hundred active players and Sony cancelled it permanently just weeks later. Ouch.
Meanwhile, ironically, the Helldivers soared. Helldivers 2, the sequel to a relatively obscure online shooter, exploded upon release to become one of the year’s biggest sleeper hits. Starship Troopers meets Left4Dead, this mid-budget game kept things simple and made shooting aliens fun again. Sony have a new franchise on their hands.
Some incredible games released this year, but many were sequels or reboots. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Elden Ring’s expansion, Silent Hill 2’s remake, Tears of the Kingdom were all superb, but also part of existing franchises. Thankfully, efforts like the enigmatic Animal Well, stylish Stellar Blade, action-packed Wukong, plus the incredible RPG Metaphor ReFantazio illustrated there’s plenty of room for new work too.
Fortnite is still one of gaming’s biggest products, churning out chapter after chapter, to the delight of its community. Nonetheless, on December 6, creators Epic caved to demand for the original map to be released permanently as an optional mode. Although the gameplay won’t all revert to day one status, this effectively makes ‘Fortnite nostalgia’ official, which would even make Santa feel old.
