2017 in video games

2017 in video games
2017 saw the release of numerous video games as well as other developments in the video game industry. The Nintendo Switch console was released in 2017, which sold more than 14 million units by the end of the year, exceeding the under-performing Wii U lifetime sales. This has helped to revitalize Nintendo, with the "retro" Super NES Classic Edition console, the refreshed New Nintendo 2DS XL handheld and a strategy for mobile gaming. Microsoft also released the higher-powered Xbox One X targeted for 4K resolutions and virtual reality support.
Top-rated games in 2017 included Madden NFL 18, NBA 2K18, NBA Live 18, WWE 2K18, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Persona 5, Divinity: Original Sin II and Horizon Zero Dawn. One of the most influential games of 2017 was PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which was released in early access for personal computers in March 2017 and by the end of the year had sold 30million units, breaking several concurrent player count records and established the battle royale genre. The highest-grossing game of the year was the mobile game Honor of Kings, known as Arena of Valor internationally. Considerable debate was held over the use of loot boxes in video games and whether they constituted gambling, coming to a head with the release of Star Wars Battlefront II.
Top-rated games
Major awards
Critically acclaimed games
Metacritic is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.
Financial performance
According to analyst firm Newzoo, the video game industry had in global revenues, a 10% growth from 2016. This growth was primarily driven by mobile gaming, as 43% of those revenues came from this sector, a growth of 23.3% from 2016. Of the remaining, 29% came from consoles hardware and games, and 28% from personal computer games. SuperData similarly estimated the global video game market in 2017 was around , driven heavily by free-to-play mobile and computer games. Analyst firm Sensor Tower, which tracks revenue within the mobile industry, reported that of the in total revenues in 2017, came from mobile games.
Within the United States, the video industry grew from 2016 by 18% to a total revenue of , with from hardware sales (gaining 19% from 2016) and (18%) from software and microtransactions, according to NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association. Further, was spent on mobile gaming in 2017 in the United States, according to Sensor Tower.
Highest-grossing games
The following were 2017's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms). Six of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent, including the top three titles.
Highest-grossing free-to-play games
The following were the top ten highest-grossing free-to-play games in 2017. Six of the top ten titles were published or owned by Tencent, including the top three titles.
Sensor Tower reported that the highest-grossing mobile games were the free-to-play titles Monster Strike, Honor of Kings, Fate/Grand Order, Clash Royale, and Candy Crush Saga. The top-grossing mobile games in the United States were Candy Crush Saga, Game of War: Fire Age, Clash of Clans, Mobile Strike, and Clash Royale.
Best-selling premium games
The following were the top ten best-selling premium games (including buy-to-play titles) in 2017. Four of the top ten titles were published by Nintendo.
Best-selling games by country
The following were 2017's top ten best-selling video games by country, in terms of software units sold (excluding microtransactions and free-to-play titles) on PC and console platforms, for the United States, Japan, and United Kingdom.
Events
Notable deaths
June 9 – Adam West, 88, voice actor best known for the voice of Mayor Adam West in the "Family Guy" franchise.
July 26 – June Foray, 99, voice actress best known for the voice of villainess Magica De Spell in the original "Ducktales" series, as well as the 2013 video game "DuckTales: Remastered", which is a remaster of the original 1989 video game.
December 10 – Angry Grandpa, 67, youtuber known for destroying video game consoles.
Hardware releases
The list of game-related hardware released in 2017 in North America.
Game releases
Series with new entries
Series with new installments in 2017 include Assassin's Creed, Bomberman, Bubsy, Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Danganronpa, Dawn of War, Destiny, Digimon, Dragon Quest, Doom, Dynasty Warriors, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, Gravity Rush, Halo Wars, Injustice, Kingdom Hearts, Kirby, Life Is Strange, Marvel vs. Capcom, Mass Effect, Metroid, Need for Speed, Nier, Persona, Planescape: Torment, Pokémon, Prey, Professor Layton, Resident Evil, Sniper Elite, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, Sonic the Hedgehog, Splatoon, Star Wars Battlefront, Super Mario, Tekken, The Evil Within, The Legend of Zelda, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Uncharted, Wipeout, Wolfenstein, WWE 2K, Xenoblade Chronicles, Yakuza and Yoshi.
In addition, 2017 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Arms, Cuphead, Doki Doki Literature Club!, ELEX, Fortnite, Hellblade, Hollow Knight, Horizon, Nioh, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.
January–March
April–June
July–September
October–December
Video game-based film and television releases
Cancelled games
Cancelled
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (WiiU)
Scalebound (Win, XBO)
Titanfall: Frontline (iOS, Droid)
MetaWorld (VR)
Unavailable
Club Penguin
Firefall
The Tomorrow Children
Marvel Heroes
See also
2017 in games
References
Notes
The release date is slated for Japan only.
A western or worldwide release of previously regional exclusive games.
Footnotes
Video games by year
2017-related lists