2015 marked a huge year for gaming. Finally, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were worth their hefty price tags, as heavy-hitting third-party titles and exclusives alike seemed to release every week. This year alone saw the return of Halo, Tomb Raider and Fallout, while also heralding new IP like Until Dawn, Bloodborne and more. Nintendo entered the multiplayer arena to great success with Splatoon, as gamers everywhere mourned the loss of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. It was a big year for independent developers, too, as long-promised games were delivered and long-dead franchises were resurrected thanks to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Fig.
But 2015 wasn't without its share of controversy, either. The debate over video game DLC, preorder bonuses, microtransactions and season passes still raged on. Full-price multiplayer-only shooters like Star Wars Battlefront and Rainbow Six Siege raised the question as to how little content gamers were willing to pay $60 for, while split screen multiplayer seemed to have been forgotten entirely when Halo 5 dropped the feature in favor for better visuals.
Yes, a lot has changed in the world of gaming this past year, and even more changes will come in 2016. What might those be? We think we have an idea. By looking at what we know so far, as well as current trends in the industry, here are some of the gaming headlines we expect you might be reading in the year to come.
Witcher 3's Blood And Wine Expansion Is Just As Great As The Full Game
Witcher 3 is great. Witcher 3's first expansion, Hearts of Stone, is great. We can only assume that the game's second expansion, Blood and Wine, will be just as good, if not better. CD Projekt Red promises the expansion will feature more than 30 hours of content, with Geralt embarking on a deadly new adventure. With so many games doing DLC and season passes wrong, expect Witcher 3's final expansion to show the gaming industry how to do it right.
Star Wars Battlefront Season Pass Disappoints
More than a few gamers have a love/hate relationship with EA's Star Wars Battlefront. On one hand it's gorgeous, bringing to life the look and sound of Star Wars like no game has ever done before. On the other hand, it's a (mostly) multiplayer-only shooter with far too few maps, heroes, vehicles and weapons. The game's season pass only served to make the problem even worse, as EA is currently selling the pass for $50, almost as much as the game itself. We already know each expansion will feature a new planet, new weapons and a new hero/villain character. If that's the case, we're going to go ahead and assume players aren't going to be happy with the amount of content they're getting for the price of a brand-new game.
Legend Of Zelda Is The Wii U's Swan Song
The Wii U is dying. This is known. Though sales for the console have picked up in recent months, Nintendo is ready to move on to the NX, which is slated to release in 2017. That being said, there is still one major Nintendo game coming in 2016: The Legend of Zelda. We know almost nothing about the title, other than what little we've seen already looks like the Zelda game of our dreams. Much like Twilight Princess for the GameCube, expect Legend of Zelda on Wii U to be the last major release on the Wii U, and a great one at that. Oh, and don't be surprised if the game releases on the NX as well. What better way to entice all the gamers that skipped the Wii U to pick up Nintendo's latest machine?
Overwatch Proves Blizzard Is Still One Of The Best Developers Around
Blizzard may be known for World of Warcraft, but the developer is capable of so much more. One only has to look at its upcoming shooter Overwatch to see the evidence. Blizzard, a company known for crafting MMOs and strategy games, is crafting a shooter for the first time, and so far it has all the staples of a classic. Featuring some of the most unique characters ever seen in a FPS and sporting Blizzard's signature level of polish, style and accessibility, Overwatch is set to take shooter fans by storm when it arrives next year.
No Man's Sky Falls Short
Hype for No Man's Sky is reaching Star Wars: The Force Awakens-levels of excitement. Combine the crafting elements of Minecraft with a nearly infinite sci-fi universe to explore, complete with space ships and dinosaurs, and you have what would appear to be an instant recipe for success. But despite always stealing the show whenever a new trailer is debuted, we honestly don't know all that much about the title. While it could certainly be a huge hit, we wouldn't be surprised if more than few players find themselves burned by the hype machine when it finally does release in 2016.
Final Fantasy XV Is The Comeback The Franchise Desperately Needs
Final Fantasy has had it rough. After the disappointing trilogy of games sharing the name Final Fantasy XIII, players have longed for a return to greatness for the granddaddy of JRPGs. Final Fantasy XV might just make that happen. What we've seen and played of the game so far is certainly promising, with the game's unique cast of characters and satisfying action gameplay piquing our interest. It looks like the long-delayed game will finally arrive in 2016, and with it the hopes and dreams of fans everywhere. We think it will deliver the goods.
Cuphead Becomes The Best Looking Game Of The Year
There is only one way to say it: Cuphead looks incredible. Seriously, look at it. The game's visuals look as if they were ripped straight out of a 1950s-era cartoon. It's a moving work of art, and is unlike anything we've ever seen before in gaming. Even if the title's gameplay doesn't match its jaw-dropping art style, people will be talking about Cuphead's unique look for years to come.
Nintendo's NX Gets A Name That Makes Sense
For the past two console generations, Nintendo's hardware naming conventions have been baffling, to say the least. While the original "Wii" name worked well enough, the decision to dub the console's successor as the Wii U only confused customers who assumed Nintendo's new hardware to simply be a tablet add-on for their existing Wii instead of a brand-new console. Then there is the Nintendo 3DS. The decision to name a product the 2DS (even though it's still a 3DS) and slap the word "New" on the latest 3DS handhelds has no doubt puzzled many a parent shopping for their kids. It sounds like Nintendo's new code-named NX console will finally be leaving the Wii behind when it's formally unveiled in 2016. We can only hope the storied game company can come up with a name that actually makes sense.
Ubisoft's The Division Builds On Destiny's Strengths
The era of the "shared world shooter" has begun. Bungie introduced players to a shared-world experience in 2014 with Destiny, but in 2016 Ubisoft looks to be taking its own stab at a persistent RPG/shooter hybrid with The Division. From daily missions to hub worlds, fire teams to PvP, expect The Division to take plenty of inspiration from Bungie's popular multiplayer shooter. Let's just hope it avoids some of Destiny's pitfalls.
VR Headset Sales Don't Meet Expectations
Much has been said about the potential of virtual reality, and 2016 is certainly shaping up to be the year when the technology hits it big. Nearly every VR headset, including the Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR and the HTC Vive, will see release next year, finally allowing for gamers everywhere to take the hardware for a spin. That being said, there are still huge hurdles VR needs to overcome if it's going to be as successful as the tech's creators seem to think it should be. The first is price. How many gamers are going to shell out another $200 or $300 dollars for a piece of equipment that, at launch, won't have many games to go along with it? The other is getting people comfortable with the idea of strapping a TV to their face for hours on end. We'll have to see how it plays out, but we don't expect these to be flying off the shelves at first.
Uncharted 4 Sweeps The Game Awards
CD Projekt Red's Witcher 3: Wild Hunt conquered The Game Awards this year, but look for Naughty Dog's juggernaut franchise to bring home multiple awards at next year's show with Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Its previous game, The Last of Us, won numerous Game of the Year awards when it released back 2013. With many of same creators from The Last of Us working on Nathan Drake's next (and possibly final) adventure, we're expecting an action-packed, emotional journey that is guaranteed to be the game to beat when it releases in March.
Half-Life 3 Still Isn't Out
Sorry. Maybe in 2017.
What are your gaming industry predictions for 2016? Let us know in the comments below.
