Summary
- 2024 saw the release of many successful titles like Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Astro Bot, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Helldivers 2, and early-access games like Hades II and Path of Exile 2.
- Notable gaming hardware releases include the PlayStation 5 Pro, ASUS Rog Ally X, NVIDIA’s 4000 Super GPUs, and AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series.
- Fresh game teasers like The Witcher 4, Light No Fire, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond generated excitement among gamers for what’s to come in 2025 and beyond.
2024 has been a rollercoaster for gamers. From surprise releases that took the industry by storm and predictable hardware launches to multi-million-dollar flops and bizarre controversies, last year had it all.
The Biggest Game Releases
Indie game popularity is at an all-time high, and you don’t have to look further than the poker-style roguelite Balatro, which won three awards at The Game Awards 2024. Rightfully so, we can’t get enough of Balatro at How-To Geek, as we’ve all been hooked on it over the past couple of months.
As for triple-A titles, Black Myth: Wukong (one of the first high-budget Chinese games) might have lost the Game of the Year award to Astro Bot, but it still snagged two other awards as consolation—Best Action and Player’s Voice. As for Astro Bot, the Game marks a notable comeback for old-school 3D platformers, offering a fun experience that even non-gamers love.
Another excellent release is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and the only reason it didn’t get any awards is because it was released after The Game Awards’ November 22 cut-off date. It’s an epic immersive sim that you’ll enjoy even if you’re not a fan of the Indiana Jones franchise. The same can be said about the new Overwatch-style online shooter, Marvel Rivals.
Alongside these, a few other titles have been making waves throughout 2024. We saw a bunch of popular new games and sequels, including Helldivers 2, Path of Exile 2, Hades II, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Tekken 8, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and others.
Lots and Lots of Controversies
2024 was also marred by headline-making controversies. The devastating wave of industry-wide layoffs that began in 2022 continued well into 2024, with an estimated 14,600 jobs lost, the highest on record.
Additionally, several popular game studios were shut down. Microsoft closed Arkane Austin, the team behind the Dishonored series, after pressuring them to develop 2023’s live-service flop Redfall. Microsoft also shut down Tango Gameworks following the success of Hi-Fi Rush, a studio best known for The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo.
As for the games themselves, Sony poured a whopping $400-million into live service shooter Concord, which flopped so hard that it was shut down after just 12 days. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also flopped hard, which sounded like a promising title that was ruined by the live service model. It’s currently at a 95% discount on Steam, priced at only $3.49.
We’ve also seen some legal controversies, with Nintendo leading the charge. The company filed lawsuits against the developers behind Palworld, a Pokémon-style multiplayer action adventure, and Yuzu, a popular Nintendo Switch emulator.
A Bunch of New Gaming Hardware
While 2024 didn’t bring anything major, like an entirely new console generation, we still saw significant improvements in video game hardware across the board. The most high-profile piece of hardware was the PlayStation 5 Pro, whose $700 price tag and lack of disc drive certainly raised some eyebrows.
It was also a big year for handhelds, with the release of the well-received ASUS ROG Ally X and the less-than-impressive MSI Claw A1M.
While 2024 was packed with exciting releases, it’s the teasers for upcoming games that really get our hearts racing. One of the most high-profile ones is The Witcher 4 trailer (which was rendered on an unreleased NVIDIA GPU), which highlights Ciri as the next main character, with Geralt taking a back seat.
We also got some exciting gameplay previews of Light No Fire and trailers for upcoming games like Borderlands 4, Turok: Origins, Mafia: The Old Country, Monster Hunter Wilds, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and many, many others.
Fans have also been theorizing about the potential release of a second GTA VI trailer before the end of the year, but it seems like that won’t be happening with mere hours left in the year. It’s weird to see this much hype over a trailer for a game, but then again, it’s a long overdue Rockstar game.
2024 was an unforgettable year, filled with both highs and lows. We got a bunch of fantastic games, along with some surprise indie hits. If the high-quality trailers and pending hardware releases from Nintendo and NVIDIA are any indication, 2025 is shaping up to be another excellent year for gaming!
