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Despite Corona: 2020 was an amazing year for video games - but what can we expect from 2021?

Ragona

Ragona

Member
Oct 26, 2017
423
2020 was a pretty shitty year for almost everyone - but for video games it was pretty amazing.
We got plenty of great games, 2 powerful new consoles, record sales across the industry (obviously because of circumstances), huge headline news etc. etc.

But looking at the currently announced shedule - will 2021 be a massive downer?
Usually March is stacked as it marks the end of the fiscal year for the big boys -- but that doesnt seem to be that way this year.

Obviously the Corona crisis didnt impact most games that released mid - mid/late last year that much, but towards the end of the year we saw more and more big games struggling to reach the quality standards we came to expect - most noticably Cyberpunk 2077 (tho that seems to have had more issues than just corona). But also other games like AC: Valhalla, Dirt 5, Console OS all had and have major QA issues.

So it's quite safe to say, that games, which had most of the heavy production still ahead, seems to be impacted the most.
What does that mean for 2021? Will this year mainly consist of (internally) delayed 2020/ early 2021 games? Will late 2021 games see massive cuts?

Personally, I dont see Horizon 2 release this year if they want to keep their original ambition as an example.
 
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Spine Crawler

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,228
I mean what else could you do... it was basically the only thing that was available for entertainment. That and streaming.

We will see about 2021.
 
Papercuts

Papercuts

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,010
I think 2021 is going to be hit way harder with delays, and I noticed the same as you regarding a ton of Q4 quality issues with games. I'm fine with bigger gaps this year as long as things release in a solid state, it's going to be especially silly if more things try to creep up to a $70 launch but still are on fire. It is easier and easier to wait for price drops when you see massive patch notes within a month post launch that just drastically improve games.
 

Deleted member 68874

Account closed at user request
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May 10, 2020
10,441
As someone who wasnt a huge fan of all the games this year, I'm expecting a better year this year.

Excited for games like Halo, WH 40K Darktide, RE8, Elden Ring, ME remaster, Starfield(please) and Stalker 2(lol).
 
affeinvasion

affeinvasion

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,948
2020 allowed a lot of games that were almost finished to be released. The effects of COVID on game development will be felt for years. I don't think there will be a huge amount of games coming out this year.
 
Arta

Arta

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,445
It'll be better this year. A lot of the games people wanted in 2020 got delayed till 2021 and it will be good to see those, as well as next gen games.

Most of the games coming out this year were started before 2020. I actually think it'll be 2021-2023 that will see delays from projects that were recently started.
 
SammyJ9

SammyJ9

Member
Dec 22, 2019
3,956
2021 may be a bit of a down year - if you don't have a Switch. Nintendo is looking to have a KILLER 2021.
 
Equanimity

Equanimity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,991
London
There are a lot of games to look forward to this year. Just get out of your comfort zone and try new genres, and indies.
 
NightShift

NightShift

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,998
Australia
2021 looks to be a lot better than 2020 IMO. There are seven (maybe nine?) games I'm really looking forward to and they're all spread within the first five months.
 
Okabe

Okabe

Is Sometimes A Good Bean
Member
Aug 24, 2018
19,892
2021 might be lacking in the first half. Corona ain't over yet.
 

Deleted member 1839

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
11,625
I expect delays for some major games, and a lot of games that people hope will appear this year will not.
 
VeePs

VeePs

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,357
Gonna be a good year. Looking forward to GoW, Halo infinite, Mario 3D World, and I'm sure there's more.
 
Fridaynightcatlady

Fridaynightcatlady

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,582
2020 was a great year. As for 2021, I'm looking forward to:

- Shin Megami Tensei V
- The World Ends With You 2
- Maybe Digimon Survive (unless it's delayed again) ???
- Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2
- Eastward (I think...)

So all in all, a fantastic year (for me, at least).
 
Redcrayon

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
Most of the games I'm looking forward to this year are smaller titles/indies, and like every year now there's hundreds of games releasing and a ton of surprise hits out of that. I don't really look at it that a year is a good one if a ton of AAA/first party sequels release in it any more.
 

lost7

Member
Feb 20, 2018
2,750
Unless most things get delayed, this should be a pretty great year. REVIII, Horizon Forbidden West, Halo 5, MH Rise should make it one of the best for me and that's without taking into consideration that BOTW2, GOW2 and FF16 could also make it. Could be an insane year.

Also I have to say I'm very excited for Returnal, I think it's gonna be a sleeper hit of the year
 

TitanicFall

Member
Nov 12, 2017
8,262
As a Playstation Owner:

-3-4 Sony exclusives
-A better Cyberpunk
-Delayed games like Vampire: The Masquerade and Dying Light 2
-New third party games like Batman: Gotham Knights and RE8

I think it will be a good year.
 

VG Aficionado

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,385
I think it'll be quite a weak year for many people expecting big games. Developers have most certainly fallen behind schedule due to covid-19 and we will see the consequences over the next few months.
 
Equanimity

Equanimity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,991
London
SammyJ9 said:
Playstation looks decent too. It's just looking like it'll be a great year for Switch, one of the best yet, although most of the 1st party stuff hasn't been announced yet, granted. We'll see!
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Do you realise that these PlayStation exclusives are officially scheduled for 2021? Returnal, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok, Kena Bridge of Sprits, Deathloop, Ghostwire Tokyo, etc.

And then we've got third party software like; Hitman 3, Resident Evil Village, Far Cry 6, Gotham Knights, Little Nightmares 2, etc.

I haven't even mentioned Xbox yet.
 

Deleted member 3017

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
17,653
2021 is the year I hope to score a PlayStation 5. Outside of that, I have no real expectations for the year. I'll probably spend most of it playing through my backlog.
 
snausages

snausages

Member
Feb 12, 2018
10,336
Obviously I've no real insight but it also felt to me like QA seemed to take a hit this year, or that certain realities made it impossible to delay games past a certain point. Stuff like Avengers and Cyberpunk comes to mind.

Some 21 stuff will definitely get delayed into 22, but as a first year for a new gen goes it seems like it will be kinda alright. Better than 2014, provided that the games meet expectations unlike Cyberpunk this year. It won't be the next 2017 or anything but that just makes it easier to forgo buying a PS5 (until they support 1440 or I decide to go 4K, hopefully former tbh cause I like my gsync monitor and dont want to replace it)
 
VeePs

VeePs

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,357
Schierke Mori said:
Weaker year I think - not a lot on the horizon, and not betting on Sony holding all of those 2021 dates.
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Only ones I could see difficulty with is God of War Ragnorak, and maybe GT7. And if those those hit late 2021, they'll hit early 2022. Besides that, Ratchet and Clank, Horizon Forbidden West, Returnal, All-Stars, Kena, Death Loop, etc. should all hit. There's something for everyone.

I also expect a Last of Us Part II patch or remaster along with Factions. I still haven't played it yet because I'm waiting on a 60 FPS update.
 
Masagiwa

Masagiwa

Member
Jan 27, 2018
9,899
My list is huge of games I wanna play this year. A bunch of games from third-party publishers got delayed into 2021. You also have the potential 2021 games like Elden Ring, BotW2 and Final Fantasy XVI
 
Protoman200X

Protoman200X

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
8,553
N. Vancouver, BC, Canada
For my favourite games of 2020, in no particular order:

-Ooblets
-Persona 5: Royale
-Crusader Kings III
-Call of the Sea
-Ori and the Will of the Wisps
-SpiritFarer
-Yakuza: Like A Dragon
-Streets of Rage IV
-A Short Hike
-Huntdown

I'm down to see what next year has in-store for video game software.
 
rntongo

rntongo

Banned
Jan 6, 2020
2,712
I'm hoping for more third person AAA games in 2021. But those are most likely coming from Sony. Horizon 2, God of War, Returnal are most likely going to be the biggest hits. And yes I think they'll be able to hit their goals to ship them this year. remember they have only one SKU. I tried playing Halo 5 but couldn't stomach it at all. The marketing videos were good but the actual game was wack. I'm hoping for Halo Infinite to be good though.

So since I'm in the Xbox ecosystem:
I'm looking forward to :
Ryse 2 announcement for 2023 release date?
Quantum Break 2 announcement for 2023 release date?
Injustice 3 announcement for 2022 release date
More details on the James Bond game from IO interactive.

So yes 2021 is going to be a great year for gaming especially if your on the PS5.
 
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Sesha

Sesha

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,808
Was it? I didn't play a single 2020 release, and probably never will. In fact, 2020 was very much the opposite experience for me to most people. Decent year personally (not any worse than the last 7 years), poor year for gaming. 2021 already looks way more interesting to me, both based on confirmed and prospective releases.
 
rntongo

rntongo

Banned
Jan 6, 2020
2,712
lost7 said:
Unless most things get delayed, this should be a pretty great year. REVIII, Horizon Forbidden West, Halo 5, MH Rise should make it one of the best for me and that's without taking into consideration that BOTW2, GOW2 and FF16 could also make it. Could be an insane year.

Also I have to say I'm very excited for Returnal, I think it's gonna be a sleeper hit of the year
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Returnal is definitely going to be one of the break out games. It looks so good. I wish it was coming to Xbox as well.
 
Navidson REC

Navidson REC

Member
Oct 31, 2017
3,422
Not gonna lie, my backlog alone could tide me over until Halo Infinite. By that metric alone, this year is gonna be fantastic.
 
Coolsambob

Coolsambob

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Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,267
From what we already know 2021 sounds pretty damn good already.

I'm guessing a couple of games expected for late 2020 will have been quietly pushed to 2021 that we haven't heard about so I think we'll get some solid releases through to end of q1 2022 and after that is when we'll start to see pushes with next gen tech.

Hopefully they don't do the same as movies and just throw everything out in the same year and work out a more spread out release pattern. Nintendo will probably have a fair bit coming though.
 

Deleted member 68874

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10,441
rntongo said:
I'm hoping for more third person AAA games in 2021. But those are most likely coming from Sony. Horizon 2, God of War, Returnal are most likely going to be the biggest hits. And yes I think they'll be able to hit their goals to ship them this year. remember they have only one SKU. I tried playing Halo 5 but couldn't stomach it at all. The marketing videos were good but the actual game was wack. I'm hoping for Halo Infinite to be good though. But Halo as a franchise needs a serious rest.

So since I'm in the Xbox ecosystem:
I'm looking forward to :
Ryse 2 announcement for 2023 release date?
Quantum Break 2 announcement for 2023 release date?
Injustice 3 announcement for 2022 release date
More details on the James Bond game from IO interactive.

So yes 2021 is going to be a great year for gaming especially if your on the PS5.
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Why you gotta say Halo got to rest?

Us Halo fans will have waited 6 years for a new game lol.

If anything Halo has been resting too long.
 
Jencks

Jencks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,450
Gonna be a good year for Nintendo. Hopefully some Japanese exclusives come to PlayStation as well. FFXVI would be nice.
 
Magic Mushroom

Magic Mushroom

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,434
Considering all the potentially awesome games in the first half alone, like Returnal, Ratchet & Clank, Hitman 3 and Resident Evil Village, I'd say it looks pretty promising.
 
rntongo

rntongo

Banned
Jan 6, 2020
2,712
Shellshock said:
Why you gotta say Halo got to rest?

Us Halo fans will have waited 6 years for a new game lol.

If anything Halo has been resting too long.
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VeePs said:
6 years isn't "a serious rest"?
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Honestly, my bad guys. I forgot to take that out. If anything it shows why Halo Infinite really needs to be great. The original Halo is probably the best fps game I ever played. Otherwise I guess the Halo Infinite reveal just killed the hype for me. I'm looking forward to playing the campaign. But Halo 5 campaign really disappointed me as well. Come to think about it, I think I just need to play Halo 2 and 3 in the mean time.
 

Deleted member 68874

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10,441
rntongo said:
Honestly, my bad guys. I forgot to take that out. If anything it shows why Halo Infinite really needs to be great. The original Halo is probably the best fps game I ever played. Otherwise I guess the Halo Infinite reveal just killed the hype for me. I'm looking forward to playing the campaign. But Halo 5 campaign really disappointed me as well. Come to think about it, I think I just need to play Halo 2 and 3 in the mean time.
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It's all good my guy, I'm just joking around.

Halo 5 campaign disappointed us all my friend.

As for big 3rd person games, hopefully Fable is that for MS. Really want to see what Playground is doing with the IP.
 
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