The best events of 2018 in the gaming industry (Topic)

Yesterday we talked about the main disappointments of 2018 in the gaming industry, but we still admit that the new year should be greeted with optimism and faith in the best. And even despite the high-profile failures, the outgoing year was remembered primarily by positive events, reminding that the gaming industry is now at its peak and can regularly please even gamers with thirty years of experience.

Valve is re-developing games

As if the title may sound fantastic, but the fact is the fact - Gabe Newell's studio remembered its roots and again started developing video games. This year we even saw Valve's first new project in 6 years - the card game Artifact. Of course, this is a slightly different game with the number three in the title, but the ice is broken. The studio's further plans are not currently being announced, but in 2019 we will be able to play In the Valley of Gods - an adventure in the Egyptian setting from the creators of Firewatch, who were bought by Valve this year.

Also on the Internet, there was a rumor that Gabe Newell and Co. have grandiose plans for the development of the VR segment and have been working on a new project in the Half-Life series for several years. Insiders claim that we are waiting for a revolutionary VR game and at the same time a spinoff of the popular series, where the main character will be Gordon Freeman's partner, Alex Vance.

Cyberpunk 2077 Demo

This year we have witnessed the announcements and gameplay demonstrations of numerous projects that will surely make the list of the best games in history, but most of all we were impressed by the first trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. We have been waiting for this moment for almost 6 years since the announcement of the game. After all, how can you remain indifferent when the creators of The Witcher trilogy are preparing their most ambitious, complex role-playing game, and at the same time swinging at the setting of cyberpunk from the universe of the Cyberpunk 2020 board game?

CD Project did not let us down again and the first trailer had the effect of a thermonuclear bomb, becoming a new Internet meme and spawning dozens of parodies, thanks to which even people far from the gaming industry learned about Cyberpunk 2077. The Poles decided to consolidate the success with a 50-minute demonstration of live gameplay, which collected 475 thousand likes on YouTube against 8 thousand dislikes - what is not a visual proof of people's love? At the moment, Cyberpunk 2077 looks like the main contender for the best game of the year. But the main question is what year? Hopefully not 2077, as Cyberpunk 2077's release date has yet to be announced.

Singles are still not dead

No matter how alarmists (and we, too) shout loudly about the dominance of loot boxes and multiplayer games, the past year has clearly proved that single-coil projects are not just not extinct, but on the contrary, are experiencing a renaissance. We have witnessed the release of both large single blockbusters and many projects of a slightly smaller scale, and there is nothing to say about indie at all - most of the independent developers still believe that gamers are interested in projects designed for a single playthrough.

And this opinion is confirmed by the record sales of projects such as God of War, Spider-Man or Red Dead Redemption 2, in which, although there is multiplayer, but rather in the form of a defective stump compared to the single player campaign. But what can I say, if a purely niche role-playing game Kingdom Come Deliverance stormed the top sales with enviable regularity and for several months was among the most popular games on PSN.

2018 has proven that if a single player game is really high-quality and the developers have not forgotten about a competent advertising campaign, then it will successfully sell even in conditions when Fortnite is the most popular game in the world. Do not forget about 2019, at one beginning of which several major single-game games have already been announced: Metro Exodus, Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 2. So no, Electronic Arts, you're wrong, singles don't die.

Players Riot

Legends can be made about the greed of modern publishers. No, we understand that blockbusters are becoming increasingly expensive to develop and publishers are looking for additional ways to monetize their own games. However, when absolutely non-playable projects are dumped onto the market and lose touch with their own audience, then the players' patience is expected. Gamers finally realized that they were not guinea pigs and began to voice their outrage in the most effective way - to boycott sales.

For example, Fallout 76 has failed sales compared to its predecessors. Or remember Battlefield V, from which some of the planned content was cut, and the developers presented the public with controversial phrases. The players decided to heed the advice of the former shooter designer: "Don't like the game - don't buy", which is why Battlefield 5 is selling 60% worse than its previous game in the face of Battlefield 1.

Don't forget about the big scandals with Command and Conquer Rivals and Diablo Immortal. The developers paid for the controversial decisions not only with their reputation, but also with a decrease in the value of their own shares. Popular revolt, which at the same time painfully hits the wallet of greedy publishers, is an effective way to change the modern way of things in the gaming industry.

See also other materials with game results of 2018: Top 10 best and worst games of the outgoing year.

The Topic of Article: The best events of 2018 in the gaming industry.
Author: Jake Pinkman