2016 in video games


Numerous video games were released in 2016. New hardware came out as well, albeit largely refreshed and updated versions of consoles in the PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 4 Slim, and Xbox One S. Commercially available virtual reality headsets were released in much greater numbers and at much lower price points than the enthusiast-only virtual reality headsets of earlier generations. Augmented reality also became mainstream with Pokémon Go. Top-rated games originally released in 2016 included , Inside, Overwatch, Forza Horizon 3, NBA 2K17, Dark Souls III, and Battlefield 1. The top five highest-grossing video games of 2016 were League of Legends, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Monster Strike, Clash of Clans, and Dungeon Fighter Online.

Major awards

1These awards are sometimes given as one or two awards.

Financial performance

Analysis firm SuperData estimated that the global video game software market brought in $91 billion in revenues in 2016; this was an increase over the $74 billion estimated for 2015, but SuperData noted that their 2016 estimates included a larger data set. Of the $91 billion, $41 billion was attributed to mobile gaming, particularly the titles Clash Royale and Pokémon Go, with the largest mobile gaming section in Asia with total revenues near $25 billion. Personal computer video games made up $34 billion, with $19 billion contributed from free-to-play games, and console games, retail and downloadable, were $26 and $6.6 billion, respectively. The firm also identified that virtual reality, professional video game sports, and streaming were still growing markets in the year. DFC Intelligence reported similar numbers for revenues in the various sectors, and noted that mobile gaming revenues overtook both console and personal computer revenues in 2016.
Newzoo estimated that $70.4 billion of video game revenues were made by the top 25 publicly-trading companies, led by Tencent, Sony, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft and Apple, Inc.. The top ten companies brought in more than 54% of total revenues during 2016, up from 43% in 2015.
IHS Markit estimated that worldwide revenue related to console hardware, software, and services was $34.7 billion, down about 2.5% from 2015; hardware sales were down from $12.8 billion to $10.5 billion, while software and service revenues were up. Sony held about 57% of the market share during 2016, followed by Microsoft and Nintendo.
Within the United States, revenues from the video game industry in 2016 was estimated at $30.4 billion by the Entertainment Software Association and NPD Group, slightly up from 2015's $30.2 billion. Of that, $24.5 billion was spent on video game software, an increase of 6% from 2015. Digital purchases, which included full game purchases, downloadable content, game subscriptions, and mobile game microtransactions, made up 74% of this number, continuing a steady increase of digital sales over retail since 2010. Sales were driven by the introduction of VR, Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sun and Moon, and the games Battlefield 1, , Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17 and Tom Clancy's The Division.

Highest-grossing games

The following were 2016's top ten highest-grossing video games worldwide in terms of digital revenue across all platforms. Six of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent.
RankGameRevenuePublisherGenrePlatform
1League of Legends$1,700,000,000Riot Games / TencentMOBAPC
2Honor of Kings / Arena of ValorTencentMOBAMobile
3Monster Strike$1,300,000,000MixiPhysicsMobile
4Clash of Clans$1,200,000,000Supercell / TencentStrategyMobile
5Dungeon Fighter Online$1,100,000,000Nexon / TencentBeat 'em upPC
6Clash Royale$1,100,000,000Supercell / TencentRTSMobile
6CrossFire$1,100,000,000Smilegate / TencentFPSPC
8Puzzle & DragonsGungHo Online EntertainmentPuzzleMobile
9Pokémon Go$950,000,000Niantic / The Pokémon CompanyAugmented realityMobile
10$910,000,000MZStrategyMobile

Series with new entries and new intellectual property

Additional entries were released in numerous series in 2016, including new installments for the franchises Ace Attorney, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Civilization, ', Dark Souls, Dead Rising, Deus Ex, Dishonored, Digimon, Doom, Far Cry, FIFA, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Forza Horizon, Gears of War, Hearts of Iron, Hitman, Homefront, Homeworld, Kirby, Mafia, Mario Party, Master of Orion, Metroid, Mirror's Edge, Persona, ', Pokémon, Ratchet & Clank, Shadow of the Beast, Shadow Warrior, Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Fox, Star Ocean, Street Fighter, Titanfall, Total War, Uncharted, Watch Dogs, XCOM and Zero Escape.
New and successful intellectual properties included Overwatch, Quantum Break, Tom Clancy's The Division and The Last Guardian, and indie titles such as Abzû, Hyper Light Drifter, Inside, No Man's Sky, Owlboy, Stardew Valley and The Witness.

Events

Hardware releases

The list of game-related hardware released in 2016 in North America.
MonthDayConsole
March28Oculus Rift
April5HTC Vive
August2Xbox One S
September15PlayStation 4 Slim
October13PlayStation VR
November10PlayStation 4 Pro

Game releases

The list of games released in 2016 in North America.

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Video game-based film releases

Cancelled games

Cancelled

and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
GamePublisherRelease DatePlatformMC scoreGR score
'CD ProjektMay 31, 2016Xbox One94/10094%
TumblestoneThe Quantum Astrophysicists GuildJuly 12, 2016Microsoft Windows91/10093.75%
Persona 5AtlusSeptember 15, 2016PlayStation 493/10093.3%
InsidePlaydeadJune 29, 2016Xbox One93/10092.81%
'Sony Interactive EntertainmentMay 10, 2016PlayStation 493/10092.71%
Odin Sphere LeifthrasirAtlusJanuary 14, 2016PlayStation Vita93/10089.25%
Forza Horizon 3Microsoft StudiosSeptember 27, 2016Xbox One91/10092.14%
'CD ProjektMay 31, 2016Microsoft Windows92/10091.58%
Out of the Park Baseball 17Out of the Park DevelopmentsMarch 22, 2016Microsoft Windows92/10091.25%
SteamWorld HeistImage & FormJune 7, 2016PlayStation Vita90/10092%
InsidePlaydeadAugust 23, 2016PlayStation 491/10091.38%
OverwatchBlizzard EntertainmentMay 24, 2016Microsoft Windows91/10091.26%
Stephen's Sausage RollIncrepare GamesApril 18, 2016Microsoft Windows90/10091.25%
OverwatchBlizzard EntertainmentMay 24, 2016Xbox One91/10090.58%
'CD ProjektMay 31, 2016PlayStation 491/10090%
OverwatchBlizzard EntertainmentMay 24, 2016PlayStation 490/10090.87%
Dark Souls IIIBandai Namco EntertainmentMarch 24, 2016Xbox One87/10090.4%
OwlboyD-Pad StudioNovember 1, 2016Microsoft Windows88/10090.39%
Tadpole TrebleBitFinityMay 6, 2016Microsoft Windows90/10090%
NBA 2K172KSeptember 20, 2016Microsoft Windows90/10090%
N++Metanet SoftwareAugust 25, 2016Microsoft Windows90/10089.75%
Kentucky Route Zero – Act IVCardboard ComputerJuly 19, 2016Microsoft Windows90/10088.17%
NBA 2K172KSeptember 20, 2016Xbox One90/10087.5%
Stardew ValleyChucklefishFebruary 26, 2016Microsoft Windows89/10089.53%
Titanfall 2Electronic ArtsOctober 28, 2016PlayStation 489/10089.36%
Stardew ValleyChucklefishFebruary 26, 2016Xbox One89/10089.29%
Titanfall 2Electronic ArtsOctober 28, 2016Microsoft Windows89/10089.08%
DoomBethesda SoftworksMay 13, 2016Xbox One87/10089.04%
Rez InfiniteEnhance GamesOctober 13, 2016PlayStation 489/10089%
Dark Souls IIIBandai Namco EntertainmentMarch 24, 2016PlayStation 489/10088.93%
Dark Souls IIIBandai Namco EntertainmentMarch 24, 2016Microsoft Windows89/10088.51%
Axiom VergeThomas Happ GamesSeptember 1, 2016Wii U89/10088%
Battlefield 1Electronic ArtsOctober 21, 2016PlayStation 489/10087.91%
'ActivisionNovember 4, 2016Xbox One89/10087.5%
Zen Pinball 2: Bethesda PinballZen StudiosDecember 6, 2016Xbox One89/10080%
Dishonored 2Bethesda SoftworksNovember 11, 2016Xbox One88/10088.94%
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year CelebrationSquare EnixOctober 11, 2016PlayStation 488/10088.69%
Stardew ValleyChucklefishFebruary 26, 2016PlayStation 486/10088.33%
Rocket LeaguePsyonixFebruary 17, 2016Xbox One87/10088.11%
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive EditionMicrosoft StudiosMarch 11, 2016Xbox One88/10087.85%
Battlefield 1Electronic ArtsOctober 21, 2016Microsoft Windows88/10087.52%
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive EditionMicrosoft StudiosMarch 11, 2016Microsoft Windows88/10087.5%
Civilization VI2KOctober 21, 2016Microsoft Windows88/10087.2%
'Blizzard EntertainmentAugust 30, 2016Microsoft Windows88/10087.19%
Dishonored 2Bethesda SoftworksNovember 11, 2016PlayStation 488/10086.94%
XCOM 22KFebruary 5, 2016Microsoft Windows88/10086.44%
Keep Talking and Nobody ExplodesSteel Crate GamesOctober 13, 2016PlayStation 488/10086.43%
NBA 2K172KSeptember 20, 2016PlayStation 488/10086.1%
Pokémon SunNintendoNovember 18, 2016Nintendo 3DS87/10087.94%
SeveredDrinkBox StudiosSeptember 22, 2016Wii U83/10087.83%
Pokémon MoonNintendoNovember 18, 2016Nintendo 3DS87/10087.74%

Footnotes