In the

video game industry The video game industry is the tertiary industry, tertiary and quaternary industry, quaternary sectors of the entertainment industry that specialize in the video game development, development, marketing, distribution (marketing), distribution, ...

, 2024 saw job losses that continued from

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, including large cuts from

Microsoft Gaming Microsoft Gaming is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment division of Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington, established in 2022. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Soft ...

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

, and

Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

, with nearly 15,000 jobs cut through the entire year.

Top-rated games

Major awards

Critically acclaimed titles

The following table lists the top-rated games released in 2024 based on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which generally considers expansions as separate entities.

Financial performance

Best-selling premium games by region

The following titles were 2024's top ten best-selling premium games by region (excluding

microtransactions Microtransaction (mtx) refers to a business model where users can purchase in-game virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransactions ...

and

free-to-play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...

titles) on PC and

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

platforms, for Japan, the United States, and Europe.

Major events

Notable deaths

* January 10 –

Jennell Jaquays Jennell Allyn Jaquays (born Paul Jaquays; October 14, 1956 – January 10, 2024) was an American game designer, Game art design, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). Her notable works include the ''Dungeons & ...

, 67, tabletop and video game designer, with contributions for ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' and at

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...

. * February 1 –

Carl Weathers Carl Weathers (January 14, 1948 – February 1, 2024) was an American actor, director and gridiron football player. His prominent roles included boxer Apollo Creed in the first four ''Rocky'' films (1976–1985), Colonel Al Dillon in ''Predat ...

, 76, actor, best known for portraying

Apollo Creed Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' franchise, portrayed by Carl Weathers. He appears in the first four '' Rocky'' films, serving as the main antagonist in '' Rocky'' and '' Rocky II'', and later becoming one of the pr ...

in the ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

'' films and providing voice work in '' Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction'', ''

Mortal Kombat X ''Mortal Kombat X'' is a 2015 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the tenth main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' s ...

'' and ''

The Artful Escape ''The Artful Escape'' is a platform video game developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was originally released on September 9, 2021 for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and for PlayStation 4, ...

''. * February 5 – Laralyn McWilliams, 58, game designer, lead designer of '' Full Spectrum Warrior'' and creative director of ''

Free Realms ''Free Realms'' was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) set in a fantasy-themed world called Sacred Grove. The game was first released on April 28, 2009 for Microsoft Windows. Ve ...

''. * February 6 –

Yoshitaka Murayama was a Japanese game designer, game director and game producer. He was best known for his career at Konami, where he created of the '' Suikoden'' series of role-playing video games, for which he produced and directed major installments until ...

, 55, game designer, creator of the ''

Suikoden is a series of role-playing video games developed and published by Konami. Created by Yoshitaka Murayama, the games are loosely based on the classical Chinese novel '' Water Margin'', whose title is rendered as in Japanese. Each individual g ...

'' series. * March 1 –

Akira Toriyama was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential and important authors in the history of manga, authoring highly influential and popular series, particularly Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dra ...

, 68, manga creator of ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

'', and character designer for games including the ''

Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing video games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii (Armor Project), character designer Akira Toriyama (Bird Studio), and composer Koi ...

'' series, ''

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first entry in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dr ...

'' and '' Blue Dragon''. * March 10 –

Mutsumi Inomata was a Japanese illustrator and animator. Biography Mutsumi Inomata was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on December 23, 1960. An anime fan, Inomata began working for Ashi Productions, working as an animator, key animation director and character d ...

, 63, illustrator, character designer for the '' Tales'' series. * March 14 - Lee Woo-ri, 24, South Korean actor who voiced Cyno from

Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is a 2020 action role-playing game produced by MiHoYo, MiHoYo/HoYoverse. The game features an anime-style open world environment and an action-based Role-playing battle systems, battle system using Classical element, element ...

and Lord Oyster from Cookie Run: Kingdom. * March 27 –

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

, 82, U.S. senator who led the congressional investigation of violent video games in 1993. * March 29 –

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett co ...

, 87, stage and screen actor who voiced the Vortigaunts in ''

Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter 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'' is played ent ...

''. * May 5 –

Bernard Hill Bernard Hill (17 December 1944 – 5 May 2024) was an English actor. He was known for his versatile roles in both television and film, and his career spanned over fifty years. Hill first gained prominence as the troubled hard man Yosser Hughes ...

, 79, voice actor who voiced Sir Walter Beck in ''

Fable III ''Fable III'' is a 2010 action role-playing video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the ''Fable'' series, the story focuses on the player charact ...

'', and actor best known for portraying King Théoden in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' sequel film adaptations of ''

The Two Towers ''The Two Towers'', first published in 1954, is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''. The volume's t ...

'' and ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...

''. * June 27 –

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (, August 18, 1943 – June 27, 2024) was an American actor, musician, and painter. He became known on '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' its spin-off '' Fernwood 2 Night,'' and '' America 2 Night.'' Other notable roles included ...

, 80, actor who voiced Vlad Plasmius in ''

Nicktoons Unite! ''Nicktoons Unite!'' (also known as ''SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends: Unite!'' in PAL regions) is a 2005 action-adventure video game featuring characters and levels from ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''Danny Phantom'', '' The Adventures of Jimmy ...

''. * July 28 –

Erica Ash Erica Chantal Ash (September 19, 1977 – July 28, 2024) was an American actress, comedian, singer, and model. She was a cast member on the sketch comedy programs ''MADtv'' and ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'', and she later starred in the Starz sit ...

, 46, actress who voiced Nagi Kirishima in ''

Bloody Roar 4 ''Bloody Roar 4'' is a fighting game developed by Eighting and Hudson Soft in 2003. It is the fifth and final of the ''Bloody Roar'' games as well as the second game in the series to appear on the PlayStation 2. Gameplay Like the previous games ...

''. * August 10 –

Rachael Lillis Rachael Lillis (July 8, 1969 – August 10, 2024) was an American voice actress. She was best known for her performances as Misty, Jessie, and Jigglypuff in the first eight seasons of the English dub of the TV series ''Pokémon''. In additio ...

, 55, actress who voiced Jessie,

Misty In cryptography, MISTY1 (or MISTY-1) is a block cipher designed in 1995 by Mitsuru Matsui and others for Mitsubishi Electric. MISTY1 is one of the selected algorithms in the European NESSIE project, and has been among the cryptographic tech ...

, and Jigglypuff in ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

''. * August 20 – Atsuko Tanaka, 61, actress who voiced

Bayonetta is a science fantasy action-adventure video game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is developed by PlatinumGames, owned by Sega, and, since the release of Bayonetta 2 in 2014, published by Nintendo. The franchise was introduced in 2009 w ...

in the ''

'' series and ''

Super Smash Bros. is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...

'' and

Lara Croft Lara Croft is a character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British adventurer and archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins arou ...

in ''

Tomb Raider II ''Tomb Raider II'' (also known as ''Tomb Raider II: Starring Lara Croft'') is a 1997 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released on Windows and PlayStation. Later releases came ...

Tomb Raider III ''Tomb Raider III'' (also known as ''Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft'') is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows platform ...

,'' and '' Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.'' * August 30 – Andrew C. Greenberg, 67, co-creator of the ''

Wizardry Wizardry may refer to: * ''Wizardry'' (video game series), role-playing video game series, originally published by Sir-Tech ** '' Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord'', the first game of the series, released in 1981 * ''Wizardry'' (The ...

'' series. * September 9 –

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

, 93, voice actor in ''

Under a Killing Moon ''Under a Killing Moon'' is a 1994 point-and-click adventure interactive movie video game. It is the third installment in the '' Tex Murphy'' series of adventure games produced by Access Software. In it, the detective Tex Murphy finds himself u ...

'', '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun'', and '' Simba's Mighty Adventure''. * September 29 –

Nobuyo Ōyama , known professionally as , was a Japanese language, Japanese actress, voice actress, screenwriter, singer, essayist, and television personality affiliated with Actors Seven. Her husband was the television personality Keisuke Sagawa. She is bes ...

, 90, actress who voiced the

titular character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in the ''

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...

'' games and

Monokuma is a fictional identity adopted by several characters in the Danganronpa, ''Danganronpa'' series, serving as the mascot and main antagonist of the series. Monokuma first appears in ''Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc'' as a disguise used by Junko ...

in ''

Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high-school students who are forced into murdering each oth ...

''. * November 6 –

Tony Todd Anthony Tiran Todd (December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024) was an American actor known for his distinctly deep and gravelly voice. He amassed several credits on screen and in video games since the 1980s, including the Candyman (character), titl ...

, 69, actor who voiced

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

in ''

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 ''Marvel's Spider-Man 2'' is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, and features a narrative inspired by its long-running ...

'' and Locus from ''

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ''Indiana Jones and the Great Circle'' is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is based on the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and features an original narrative that draws from the film ser ...

''. * December 15 – Masayuki Kato, 78, founder of

Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and '' Trails'' series. They are credited with pioneering the action role-playing and Japanese role-playing game genres, as well as popularizing the u ...

. * December 22 – Gordon Mah Ung, 58, tech and video games journalist for ''

Maximum PC ''Maximum PC'', formerly known as ''boot'', was an American magazine and website published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs. Compon ...

'' and ''

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online-only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tec ...

''. * December 27 –

Olivia Hussey Olivia Hussey (; 17 April 1951 – 27 December 2024) was a British actress. Her awards included a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spen ...

, 73, actress from various ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' games circa 1998-2011. * December 28 – Martyn Brown, 57, co-founder of

Team17 Team 17 Digital Limited (Team17) is a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish dev ...

Hardware releases

Game releases

January – March

April – June

July – September

October – December

Video game-based film and television releases

Cancelled games

*''Astropulse: Reincarnation'', Imagendary Studios *'' Blue Protocol'',

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

( Win,

PS5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

, XSX/S) *''Codename Kestrel'',

Remedy Entertainment Remedy Entertainment Oyj, trading internationally as Remedy Entertainment Plc, is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Notable games the studio has developed include the first two entries in the ''Max Payne'' franchise, '' Alan Wake' ...

( Win, console) *'' Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland'',

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

( Win, PS4,

XBO The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

, XSX/S) *''

Life by You ''Life by You'' was a cancelled life simulation game developed by the now-closed Paradox Tectonic studio for Paradox Interactive. Gameplay Some gameplay elements were demoed before the game's early access release. ''Life by You'' would have ...

'',

Paradox Interactive Paradox Interactive AB is a video game publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company started out as the video game division of Target Games and then Paradox Entertainment (now Cabinet Entertainment) before being spun out into an independ ...

( Win) *'' Concord'', Firewalk Studios ( Win,

) *''Nekoparaiten!'', Yostar Games (

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, Droid) *'' Paragon: The Overprime'',

Netmarble Netmarble Corp. (Korean: 넷마블 주식회사) is a South Korean game developer and publisher, which was founded in 2000 by Bang Jun-hyuk. History Netmarble has its origins in the video game developer Ipopsoft (). Around the late 1990s, that ...

( Win,

) *''Project Archipelago'',

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford. Founded by Jason Kingsley (businessman), Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for ''Sniper Elite'' and multiple games in the ''Lis ...

( Win) *''Project T'',

Behaviour Interactive Behaviour Interactive Inc. (stylized as "bEHAVIOUR", sometimes shortened to "BHVR") is a Canadian video game developer and publisher based in Montreal. The studio is best known for the multiplayer horror game '' Dead by Daylight''. History The co ...

( Win) *''Project KV'', Dynamis One and Studio Alaya *Untitled science fiction RPG game, Humanoid Origin *''Warhaven'',

Nexon Nexon Co., Ltd. (formerly ) is a South Korean video game developer and publisher. It develops and publishes titles including ''MapleStory'', ''Crazyracing Kartrider'', ''Sudden Attack'', ''Dungeon & Fighter'', ''The First Descendant'', and ''Bl ...

( Win,

, XSX/S) *''Project M and BATTLE CRUSH'',

NCSoft NCSoft Corporation (stylized as NC, formerly stylized as NCSOFT; ) is a South Korean video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea, primarily known for the distribution of massively multiplayer online role-pl ...

( Win,

, XSX/S) (

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

, Win,

, Droid) * Untitled Electronic Arts Star Wars first-person shooter game

Notes

References

{{History of video games, chronology Video games by year