2015 in video games
The year 2015 saw releases of numerous video games as well as a follow-up to Nintendo's portable 3DS console, the New Nintendo 3DS. Top-rated games originally released in 2015 included Madden NFL 16, NBA 2K16, NBA Live 16, WWE 2K16, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Bloodborne, Undertale, and Fallout 4. Sales of video games in 2015 reached $61 billion, according to analysis firm SuperData, an 8% increase from 2014. Of this, the largest sector was in computer game sales and subscription services, accounting for $32 billion. Mobile games revenues were at $25.1 billion, a 10% increase from 2014. Digital sales on consoles made up the remaining $4 billion.
Series with new installments in 2015 include Anno, Assassin's Creed, Batman: Arkham, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Disgaea, Dirt, Fallout, Fatal Frame, Five Nights at Freddy's, Forza Motorsport, Guitar Hero, Halo, Heroes of Might and Magic, Hotline Miami, Just Cause, King's Quest, Kirby, Magicka, Mario Party, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Mario & Luigi, Metal Gear, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat, Need for Speed, OlliOlli, Resident Evil, Rock Band, StarCraft, Star Wars: Battlefront, Tales, The Witcher, Tomb Raider, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Total War, ''Toy Soldiers, Xenoblade Chronicles, Yakuza and Yoshi.
In addition, 2015 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Bloodborne, Dying Light, Evolve, Life Is Strange, Ori, Rocket League, Splatoon, Undertale, and Until Dawn''.
Legend
Hardware release
The following is a list of game-related hardware released in 2015.The New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL made their launches in North America & Europe after initially releasing in Japan, Australia, & New Zealand the previous year.
| Date | Console | |
| January 6 | New Nintendo 3DS | |
| February 13 | New Nintendo 3DS XL/ | |
| April 29 | Razer Forge TV | |
| May 28 | Nvidia Shield TV | |
| November 27 | Samsung Gear VR | |
| September 10 | New Nintendo 3DS | |
| September 25 | New Nintendo 3DS | |
| November 10 | Steam Controller | |
| November 10 | Steam Link | |
| November 10 | Steam Machine |
Financial performance
In the United States, the Entertainment Software Association and the NPD Group estimated total video game market revenues at $23.5 billion, a 5% increase from 2014. Of this, the total software market was $16.5 billion, with the NPD Group estimating retail sales subset at $13.1 billion. The ESA reported that there were 2,457 companies in the United States involved in developing or publishing video games that directly supported 65,678 workers with about another 154,000 indirectly supporting the industry, such as through contracting or video game journalism. The total contribution to the US's gross national product from the industry was $11.7 billion.In the United Kingdom, the total video game market was valued at nearly 4.2 billion, according to figures from Ukie and MCV. The largest segments were in digital software and mobile games, while sales of consoles dropped to £689 million.
Highest-grossing games
The following were 2015's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue across all platforms. Three of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent, including the top-grossing title League of Legends.| Rank | Game | Revenue | Publisher | Genre | Platform | Business model | |
| 1 | League of Legends | $1,628,000,000 | Riot Games / Tencent | MOBA | WIN | Free-to-play | |
| 2 | Monster Strike | $1,557,800,000 | Mixi | Physics | MOBI | Free-to-play | |
| 3 | Clash of Clans | $1,345,000,000 | Supercell | Strategy | MOBI | Free-to-play | |
| 4 | Puzzle & Dragons | GungHo Online Entertainment | Puzzle | MOBI | Free-to-play | ||
| 5 | Crossfire | $1,110,000,000 | Smilegate / Tencent | FPS | WIN | Free-to-play | |
| 6 | Dungeon Fighter Online | $1,052,000,000 | Neople / Tencent | Brawler | WIN | Free-to-play | |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | $1,000,000,000 | Activision | FPS | Buy-to-play | ||
| 8 | World of Warcraft | $814,000,000 | Blizzard Entertainment | MMO, RPG | WIN | Subscription | |
| 9 | Game of War: Fire Age | $799,000,000 | MZ | Strategy | MOBI | Free-to-play | |
| 10 | Fallout 4 | $750,000,000 | Bethesda Softworks | Action RPG | Buy-to-play |
Best-selling games
Top-rated games
Critically acclaimed titles
and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | MC score | GR score |
| Grand Theft Auto V | Rockstar Games | April 14, 2015 | WIN | 96/100 | 95.07% |
| Out of the Park Baseball 16 | Out of the Park Developments | March 23, 2015 | WIN | 91/100 | 95.25% |
| Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Konami | September 1, 2015 | XOne | 95/100 | 90.38% |
| Journey | Sony Computer Entertainment | July 21, 2015 | PS4 | 92/100 | 94.8% |
| Undertale | Toby Fox | September 15, 2015 | WIN | 92/100 | 94.11% |
| Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition | Larian Studios | October 27, 2015 | WIN | 94/100 | 90% |
| Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 | Nintendo | April 23, 2015 | WiiU | 90/100 | 93.5% |
| The Swapper | Curve Studios | June 5, 2015 | XOne | 92/100 | 93.33% |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | CD Projekt | May 19, 2015 | WIN | 93/100 | 92.11% |
| Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Konami | September 1, 2015 | PS4 | 93/100 | 91.59% |
| Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Konami | September 1, 2015 | WIN | 91/100 | 92.75% |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | CD Projekt | May 19, 2015 | PS4 | 92/100 | 92.23% |
| Bloodborne | Sony Computer Entertainment | March 24, 2015 | PS4 | 92/100 | 90.66% |
| Shovel Knight | Yacht Club Games | April 21, 2015 | PSV | 92/100 | 90.4% |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stone | CD Projekt | October 13, 2015 | PS4 | 90/100 | 91.19% |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | CD Projekt | May 19, 2015 | XOne | 91/100 | 90.7% |
| Shovel Knight | Yacht Club Games | April 21, 2015 | PS4 | 90/100 | 91% |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stone | CD Projekt | October 13, 2015 | XOne | 90/100 | 91% |
| 80 Days | Inkle | September 29, 2015 | WIN | 84/100 | 91% |
| Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows | Yacht Club Games | September 17, 2015 | WIN | 89/100 | 90.5% |
| Nuclear Throne | Vlambeer | December 5, 2015 | WIN | 88/100 | 90.43% |
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D | Nintendo | February 13, 2015 | 3DS | 89/100 | 90.39% |
| Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 5 – The Vault of the Traveler | Telltale Games | October 20, 2015 | PS4 | 90/100 | 89.89% |
| Broken Age | Double Fine Productions | April 28, 2015 | PSV | 90/100 | 89% |
| Roche Fusion | amulware | January 23, 2015 | WIN | 85/100 | 90% |
| Odallus: The Dark Call | Joymasher | July 15, 2015 | WIN | 80/100 | 90% |
Major awards
Video game-based film and television releases
| Title | Date | Type | Distributor | Franchise | Original game publisher | |
| Dead Rising: Watchtower | Feature film | Crackle | Dead Rising | Capcom | ||
| Persona 3 The Movie: No. 3, Falling Down | April 4, 2015 | Anime film | Aniplex | Persona | Atlus | |
| Talking Tom & Friends | April 30, 2015 | 3D animated webseries | YouTube | Talking Tom & Friends | Outfit7 | |
| Hoopa and the Clash of Ages | July 18, 2015 | Anime film | Toho | Pokémon | Game Freak | |
| Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything | July 22, 2015 | Television series | Disney XD | |||
| Pixels | July 24, 2015 | Feature film | Sony Pictures | Pixels | ||
| Game Shakers | September 12, 2015 | Television series | Nickelodeon | |||
| The Lost Arcade | November 14, 2015 | Documentary film | 26 Aries |