# 2020s in video games

* 2010s
* 2020s in video games
* Comics
* Fashion
* Music
* Science and technology
* Television
The 2020s is the sixth decade in the industry's history. The industry remains heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, but it remains unforeseen how their dominance will be affected by cloud gaming and the smartphone and tablet market. Virtual reality headsets are expected to become more popular over the course of the decade. The industry was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ninth generation of video game consoles went on sale, beginning with the Xbox Series X and Series S and the PlayStation 5. Notable games released in the 2020s included Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Fall Guys, Hades, Genshin Impact, Cyberpunk 2077, It Takes Two, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village, Metroid Dread, Valorant, Forza Horizon 5, Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, Stray, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Cult of the Lamb, God of War Ragnarök, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Tekken 8, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers 2, Black Myth: Wukong, Astro Bot, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Grand Theft Auto VI. Game development companies have come under increasing criticism for "crunch" practices, forcing workers to work long hours in the build-up to release.

## Consoles of the 2020s
### Eighth generation consoles (2012–present)

The eighth generation of video game consoles, including the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, remain in widespread use. Cloud gaming services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna are also part of the eighth generation. The Xbox One and Nintendo 3DS were both discontinued in 2020 with the Stadia also shutting down in 2023.

### Ninth generation consoles (2020–present)

The ninth generation of video game consoles has begun in the 2020s, with the release of the Xbox Series X and Series S and PlayStation 5 in 2020. The ninth generation offers faster computation and graphics processors, support for real-time ray tracing graphics, output for 4K resolution, and in some cases, 8K resolution, with rendering speeds targeting 60 frames per second (fps) or higher. Internally, both console families introduced new internal solid-state drive (SSD) systems to be used as high-throughput memory and storage systems for games to reduce or eliminate loading times and support in-game streaming. Standalone virtual reality headsets have also emerged with new entries in the Meta Quest line, HTC Vive XR Elite, and Apple Vision Pro all being introduced in the decade. A successor to the Switch was announced in January 2025.

## History

At the beginning of decade many events were severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 through 2022. One early example in 2020 was the cancellation of that year's edition of E3. Summer Game Fest would emerge as a successor to E3, as the brand was retired in 2023. Competitive gaming continued to gain mainstream appeal in the decade as the IOC announced the creation of the Olympic Esports Games and Saudi Arabia held the 2024 Esports World Cup. There were setbacks however, as both the Overwatch League and MLG ceased operations.

### 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic—which saw rapid spread in 2020—significantly impacted the video game industry. Most video game development studios shifted to remote work in order to continue production through pandemic lockdowns. Many games were delayed as a result of changed working conditions, though delays increased in the years following The lockdowns also caused increased interest and participation in online gaming, player spending on microtransactions, viewership of video game live streaming, a general spike in video game sales, and served as an introduction to video games as a whole for many. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended video games as both a distraction from the pandemic and a method to connect with friends and family while practicing social distancing, and roughly half of those who play video games reported increased playtime during the pandemic and considered the activity a source of stress relief and distraction. Games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons were praised for offering an "escape" from the pandemic, and the rises in popularity for games such as Among Us were credited to the pandemic shutdowns.

## Notable video games of the decade
### Notable franchises established in the 2020s

* Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
* Fall Guys (2020)
* Genshin Impact (2020)
* Ghost of Tsushima (2020)
* Hades (2020)
* Valorant (2020)
* Omori (2020)
* Deathloop (2021)
* Inscryption (2021)
* It Takes Two (2021)
* Kena: Bridge of Spirits (2021)
* Returnal (2021)
* The Artful Escape (2021)
* Unpacking (2021)
* Cult of the Lamb (2022)
* Elden Ring (2022)
* Stray (2022)
* Tunic (2022)
* Cocoon (2023)
* Hi-Fi Rush (2023)
* Pizza Tower (2023)
* Satisfactory (2024)
Notes:
* $^1$Game franchises that also accompany major film or television franchises.
* $^2$Game franchises that are considered spin-offs of previously established franchises.

### Highest-grossing games
## In popular culture
### Film

Films based on video games in the decade include:
* A trilogy of films (2020, 2022, 2024) based on Sonic the Hedgehog.
* Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2020), based on the Pokémon franchise.
* Monster Hunter (2020), based on the Monster Hunter franchise.
* Mortal Kombat (2021), based on the Mortal Kombat franchise.
* Werewolves Within (2021), based on Werewolves Within, a 2016 multiplayer social-deduction VR game.
* Deemo: Memorial Keys (2021), based on the rhythm game Deemo.
* Dynasty Warriors (2021), based on the Dynasty Warriors franchise.
* Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), based on the Resident Evil franchise.
* Uncharted (2022), based on the Uncharted franchise.
* Gran Turismo (2023), based on the Gran Turismo franchise.
* The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), animated film based on the Super Mario franchise.
* Tetris (2023), a biopic will explore the rights battle that surrounded Tetris.
* Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), a supernatural horror film based on the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.

### Television

Television series based on video games in the decade include:
* Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021–2022), animated series based on Dota 2.
* Arcane (2021–2024), animated series based on League of Legends.
* Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022), animated series based on Cyberpunk 2077.
* The Cuphead Show! (2022), animated series based on Cuphead.
* Tekken: Bloodline (2022), animated series based on the Tekken series.
* Sonic Prime (2022–2024), animated series.
* The Last of Us (2023–present), live-action series based on The Last of Us.
* Fallout (2024–present), live-action series based on Fallout
* Halo (2022-2024), live-action series based on Halo

## Hardware timeline

The following gallery highlights hardware used to predominantly play games throughout the 2020s.
* Quest 2 (2020)
* Xbox Series S (2020)
* Xbox Series X (2020)
* PlayStation 5 (2020)
* Nintendo Switch OLED (2021)
* Steam Deck (2022)
* PICO 4 (2022)
* NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (2022) one the most popular video cards used for gaming PC's during the decade
* Asus ROG Ally (2023)
* Tablets and smartphones (Samsung Galaxy S23 series pictured) would be widely used to play mobile games which now form the largest sector in the gaming industry
* Apple Vision Pro (2024)
* A 2020s custom built gaming PC with MSI manufactured hardware