2018 in video games


Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NBA Live 19, WWE 2K19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.
Among major trends in 2018 included the explosive growth of battle royale games such as Bluehole's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Epic Games' Fortnite Battle Royale, the resurgence of Pokémon Go, ongoing governmental review of loot boxes in light of national gambling restrictions, Sony Interactive Entertainment agreeing to allow cross-platform play between PlayStation 4 and other console users, and the entry of Fortnite-related internet memes into popular culture. With Fortnites success, Epic was able to establish the Epic Games Store for personal computers as a strong competitor to the dominant but criticized position held by Valve's Steam digital storefront by significantly increasing the revenue split it gave to developers. Additionally, with a number of major sudden studio closures, including Telltale Games, there was an increasing call for video game developers to unionize. A nearly year-long freeze on video game approvals by the Chinese government had a major impact on publishers Tencent and NetEase, and was anticipated to impact future revenues in the industry.
Series with new installments in 2018 include Anno, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield, Bloons Tower Defense, Bayonetta, Bit.Trip, BlazBlue, Bomberman, Call of Duty, Darksiders, Digimon, Donkey Kong, Dragon Ball, Dynasty Warriors, Earth Defense Force, Fallout, Far Cry, Forza, God of War, Hitman, Just Cause, Kirby, Life Is Strange, Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mega Man, Monster Hunter, Ni no Kuni, Persona, Pillars of Eternity, Pokémon, Red Dead, Sakura Wars, Science Adventure, Shantae, Soulcalibur, Spider-Man, Spyro, State of Decay, Super Smash Bros., The Bard's Tale, The Crew, The Walking Dead, Tomb Raider, Tropico, Valkyria Chronicles, WarioWare, Warhammer, Wolfenstein, and Yakuza.
In addition, 2018 saw the introduction of several new properties, including, Among Us, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, A Way Out, Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning, Celeste, Dead Cells, Deltarune, Detroit: Become Human, Firewall, Frostpunk, InnerSpace, Just Shapes & Beats, Marvel's Spider-Man, Moss, Octopath Traveler, Overload, Paladins: Champions of the Realm, Past Cure, The Persistence, Rust, Sea of Thieves, Subnautica, and Vampyr.

Legend

Hardware releases

DateConsole
May 1Oculus Go
MayGPD Win 2
July 20Phoenix One
July 24NEOGEO mini
October 9THEC64Mini
October 24Atari Flashback 9
November 15Atari Flashback 9 Gold
November 30Go! Retro Portable
December 3PlayStation Classic

Financial performance

According to industry analysis firm NewZoo, the video game industry was worth by revenues in 2018, a 10.9% growth over 2017. Of this, 47% of the revenues were generated from mobile gaming, with consoles taking 28% and personal computers taking the remaining 25%. The top five largest video game markets of 2018 were China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.
According to the NPD Group, total revenue from the video game industry, including hardware, software, and accessories, in the United States grew by 17% to, nearly matching revenues for the American film industry for 2018. Of that, were from software sales, digital content, and subscriptions. Hardware sales, at, were up 15% from 2017, as despite the fact that there was no new hardware releases, several system-exclusive titles helped to drive hardware sales.
Licensed merchandise based on video game franchises generated $20.68 billion in 2018 retail sales, a rise of 6.1% compared to 2017.

Highest-grossing games

The following were 2018's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide digital revenue across all platforms. Six of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent, including the top five titles.
RankGameRevenuePublisherGenreBusiness model
1Fortnite$5,477,000,000Epic Games Battle royale, SurvivalFree-to-play
2Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor$2,510,000,000TencentMOBAFree-to-play
3League of Legends$1,900,000,000Riot Games / TencentMOBAFree-to-play
4Dungeon Fighter Online$1,700,000,000Nexon / TencentBrawlerFree-to-play
5Crossfire$1,453,000,000Smilegate / TencentFPSFree-to-play
6Monster Strike$1,387,419,755MixiPhysicsFree-to-play
7Pokémon Go$1,300,000,000Niantic / Nintendo / The Pokémon CompanyARFree-to-play
8PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds $1,224,800,000Bluehole / TencentBattle royaleBuy-to-play / free-to-play
9Fate/Grand Order$1,200,000,000Aniplex RPGFree-to-play
10Candy Crush Saga$1,100,000,000King PuzzleFree-to-play

The video game franchise that has generated the highest licensed merchandise sales is Pokémon. Other video game franchises with significant licensed merchandise sales include Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Roblox, Halo, Fortnite and Minecraft.

Best-selling games by region

The following were 2018's top ten best-selling video games by region, in terms of software units sold on PC and console platforms, for the United States, Japan, and Europe.
RankEuropeJapanUnited States
1FIFA 19Monster Hunter: WorldRed Dead Redemption 2
2Red Dead Redemption 2Super Smash Bros. UltimateCall of Duty: Black Ops 4
3Spider-ManPokémon: Let's GoNBA 2K19
4Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Splatoon 2Madden NFL 19
5Mario Kart 8 DeluxeMario Kart 8 DeluxeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
6God of WarSuper Mario PartySpider-Man
7Far Cry 5Kirby Star AlliesFar Cry 5
8Super Smash Bros. UltimateMinecraft: Nintendo Switch EditionGod of War
9Super Mario PartyCall of Duty: Black Ops 4Monster Hunter: World
10Super Mario OdysseySuper Mario OdysseyAssassin's Creed: Odyssey

Top-rated games

Critically acclaimed games

is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.
TitlePublisherReleasePlatformMC score
Red Dead Redemption 2Rockstar GamesOctober 26, 2018PS4, XBO97
God of WarSony Interactive EntertainmentApril 20, 2018PS494
CelesteMaddy Makes GamesJanuary 26, 2018XBO94
Undertale8-4September 18, 2018NS93
Super Smash Bros. UltimateNintendoDecember 7, 2018NS93
Forza Horizon 4Xbox Game StudiosOctober 2, 2018XBO92
Divinity: Original Sin II - Definitive EditionLarian StudiosAugust 31, 2018PS4, XBO92
CelesteMaddy Makes GamesJanuary 25, 2018NS92
Bayonetta 2NintendoFebruary 16, 2018NS92
InsidePlaydeadJune 28, 2018NS91
Sonic Mania PlusSegaJuly 17, 2018NS91
Dead CellsMotion TwinAugust 7, 2018XBO91
Shadow of the ColossusSony Interactive EntertainmentFebruary 6, 2018PS491
CelesteMaddy Makes GamesJanuary 25, 2018PS491
Nier: Automata Become As Gods EditionSquare EnixJune 26, 2018XBO90
BastionSupergiant GamesSeptember 13, 2018NS90
Monster Hunter: WorldCapcomJanuary 26, 2018PS4, XBO90
Hollow KnightTeam CherryJune 12, 2018NS90
Into the BreachSubset GamesFebruary 27, 2018WIN90
Astro Bot Rescue MissionSony Interactive EntertainmentOctober 2, 2018PS490
Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2NintendoFebruary 16, 2018NS90