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The 2020s is the sixth decade in the industry's history. The industry remains heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, but it remains unforeseen how their dominance will be affected by cloud gaming and the smartphone and tablet market. Virtual reality headsets are expected to become more popular over the course of the decade. The industry was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ninth generation of video game consoles went on sale, beginning with the Xbox Series X and Series S and the PlayStation 5. Notable games released in the 2020s included Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Fall Guys, Hades, Genshin Impact, It Takes Two, Forza Horizon 5, Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, Stray, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Cult of the Lamb, God of War Ragnarök, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Tekken 8, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Grand Theft Auto VI. Game development companies have come under increasing criticism for "crunch" practices, forcing workers to work long hours in the build-up to release.

Consoles of the 2020s

Eighth generation consoles (2012–present)

The eighth generation of video game consoles, including the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, remain in widespread use. Cloud gaming services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna are also part of the eighth generation. The Xbox One and Nintendo 3DS were both discontinued in 2020 with the Stadia also shutting down in 2023.

Ninth generation consoles (2020–present)

The ninth generation of video game consoles has begun in the 2020s, with the release of the Xbox Series X and Series S and PlayStation 5 in 2020. The ninth generation offers faster computation and graphics processors, support for real-time ray tracing graphics, output for 4K resolution, and in some cases, 8K resolution, with rendering speeds targeting 60 frames per second (fps) or higher. Internally, both console families introduced new internal solid-state drive (SSD) systems to be used as high-throughput memory and storage systems for games to reduce or eliminate loading times and support in-game streaming. Standalone virtual reality headsets have also emerged with new entries in the Meta Quest line, HTC Vive XR Elite, and Apple Vision Pro all being introduced in the decade.

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At the beginning of decade many events were severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 through 2022. One early example in 2020 was the cancellation of that year's edition of E3. Summer Game Fest would emerge as a successor to E3, as the brand was retired in 2023.

Notable video games of the decade

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Notable franchises established in the 2020s

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

• Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
• Fall Guys (2020)
• Genshin Impact (2020)
• Ghost of Tsushima (2020)
• Hades (2020)
• Valorant (2020)
• Omori (2020)
• Deathloop (2021)
• Inscryption (2021)
• It Takes Two (2021)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (2021)
• Returnal (2021)
• The Artful Escape (2021)
• Unpacking (2021)
• Cult of the Lamb (2022)
• Elden Ring (2022)
• Stray (2022)
• Tunic (2022)
• Cocoon (2023)
• Hi-Fi Rush (2023)
• Pizza Tower (2023)
• Satisfactory (2024)

Notes:

• Game franchises that also accompany major film or television franchises.
• Game franchises that are considered spin-offs of previously established franchises.

Highest-grossing games

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

In popular culture

Film

Films based on video games in the decade include:

• A trilogy of films (2020, 2022, 2024) based on Sonic the Hedgehog.
• Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2020), based on the Pokémon franchise.
• Monster Hunter (2020), based on the Monster Hunter franchise.
• Mortal Kombat (2021), based on the Mortal Kombat franchise.
• Werewolves Within (2021), based on Werewolves Within, a 2016 multiplayer social-deduction VR game.
• Deemo: Memorial Keys (2021), based on the rhythm game Deemo.
• Dynasty Warriors (2021), based on the Dynasty Warriors franchise.
• Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), based on the Resident Evil franchise.
• Uncharted (2022), based on the Uncharted franchise.
• Gran Turismo (2023), based on the Gran Turismo franchise.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), animated film based on the Super Mario franchise.
• Tetris (2023), a biopic will explore the rights battle that surrounded Tetris.
• Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), a supernatural horror film based on the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.

Television

Television series based on video games in the decade include:

• Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021–2022), animated series based on Dota 2.
• Arcane (2021–2024), animated series based on League of Legends.
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022), animated series based on Cyberpunk 2077.
• The Cuphead Show! (2022), animated series based on Cuphead.
• Tekken: Bloodline (2022), animated series based on the Tekken series.
• Sonic Prime (2022–2024), animated series.
• The Last of Us (2023–present), live-action series based on The Last of Us.
• Fallout (2024–present), live-action series based on Fallout
• Halo (2022-2024), live-action series based on Halo

Hardware timeline

The following gallery highlights hardware used to predominantly play games throughout the 2020s.

• Quest 2 (2020)
• Xbox Series S (2020)
• Xbox Series X (2020)
• PlayStation 5 (2020)
• Nintendo Switch OLED (2021)
• Steam Deck (2022)
• PICO 4 (2022)
• Asus ROG Ally (2023)
• Apple Vision Pro (2024)

Notes

References

1. "4 trends that could shake up the gaming world in 2023". Digital Trends. January 1, 2023.
2. "The consoles of our lives. Nine generations of machines". freegametips.com.
3. Staff, Game Rant (October 26, 2021). "Best Games Of The Decade So Far (2020-)". Game Rant.
4. "Best of 2022: Elden Ring, and James' other GOTY picks". VG247. December 21, 2022.
5. Williams, Leah J. (January 9, 2023). "Naughty Dog aims to avoid crunch with later game announcements". GamesHub.
6. Warren, Tom (2020-07-16). "Microsoft discontinues Xbox One X and Xbox One S digital edition ahead of Series X launch". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
7. "Nintendo 3DS discontinued after almost a decade". 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
8. Cranz, Alex (2022-09-29). "Google is shutting down Stadia". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
9. "What Is Ray Tracing? Here's What It Means For PS5 And Xbox Scarlett – GameSpot". www.gamespot.com. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
10. Andrew Williams 17 March 2020 (March 17, 2020). "What is frame rate? And how will it change for next-gen consoles?". gamesradar. Retrieved 2021-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. Martindale, Jon. "Gear Up Your VR Game: The Best Meta Quest 3 Accessories". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
12. Katie Wickens (2023-04-12). "HTC Vive XR Elite". pcgamer. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
13. "Apple Ramps Up Vision Pro Production, Aiming for Launch by February". Bloomberg.com. 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
14. Sprung, Shlomo. "Overwatch League Moves Matches To Live Online Format Because Of Coronavirus". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
15. McWhertor, Michael (2020-09-23). "Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards returns Dec. 10". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
16. "San Francisco's Game Developers Conference canceled over coronavirus fears". Los Angeles Times. 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
17. Valentine, Rebekah (2022-03-31). "E3 2022 – Digital and Physical – Has Officially Been Canceled". IGN. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
18. Young, Rory (2020-04-16). "Gamescom 2020 Officially Canceled". Game Rant. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
19. "Pokémon World Championships 2020 Canceled". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
20. Liao, Shannon (2020-03-11). "E3, America's biggest video game conference, is canceled because of coronavirus | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
21. Farokhmanesh, Megan (2020-05-01). "Summer Game Fest, a new digital celebration, promises months of gaming news and events". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
22. "Legendary E3 Gaming Convention Is Over. Here's What That Means for Gamers". CNET. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
23. Grobar, Matt (August 9, 2022). "Paramount Sets 'Sonic The Hedgehog 3' Release, Pushes Date For Smurfs Animated Musical". Deadline. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
24. Jennings, Collier (July 23, 2020). "Tetris Movie Casts Taron Egerton as Its Lead". Comic Book Resources.

History of video games

v t e Chronology of video games Early history 1947–1972 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Near future v t e Video game history by platform By platform Early mainframe games History of arcade video games Golden age Timeline History of video game consoles Crash of 1983 Console war History of mobile games By console generation First (1972–1980) Second (1976–1992) Third (1983–2003) Fourth (1987–2003) Fifth (1993–2005) Sixth (1998–2013) Seventh (2005–2017) Eighth (2012–) Ninth (2020–) v t e Video game genres List of video game genres Action Platformer Endless runner Platform fighter Shooter Arena First-person Hero Light gun Shoot 'em up Bullet hell Rail Twin-stick Tactical Third-person Survival Battle royale Survival horror Other Beat 'em up Hack and slash Fighting Platform fighter Maze Pac-Man clone Snake Stealth Action-adventure Grand Theft Auto clone Metroidvania Adventure Escape room Graphic adventure Interactive fiction Interactive film Visual novel Walking sim Digital tabletop Deck-building Roguelike deck-building Digital collectible card Puzzle Hidden object Sokoban Tile-matching Role-playing Action role-playing Looter shooter Soulslike Dungeon crawl MMORPG Monster-taming Roguelike Roguelike deck-building Tactical role-playing Simulation Life Dating Farming God Social Virtual pet CMS Business City-building Government Sports Fishing Racing Kart racing Sim racing Vehicle Flight simulation Combat Lunar Lander Space Submarine simulator Train simulator Vehicular combat Other Falling-sand Immersive sim Strategy 4X Auto battler MOBA Real-time strategy Time management Real-time tactics Tactical role-playing Tower defense Turn-based strategy Turn-based tactics Artillery Wargame Grand strategy Other genres Cozy Fitness Horror Survival horror Incremental Music Rhythm Non-game Party Photography Programming Typing Related concepts Themes Advergame Bishōjo Christian Comedy Educational Girls Licensed Otome Sexual Eroge Nonviolent Personalized Sci-fi Serious Art Climate change News Player modes Multiplayer Co-op MMO PVP Single-player Production AAA Indie Doujin soft Fan game Design Casual Hypercasual Emergent gameplay FMV Gacha Kaizo Masocore Nonlinear gameplay Open world Sandbox Side-scrolling Twitch gameplay Vertically scrolling Other Minigame Toys-to-life Video game clone Video game modding Video game remake v t e Video games by country Africa Ghana Kenya Nigeria South Africa Americas Latin America Brazil Colombia Canada United States Asia Bangladesh China India Indonesia Iran Japan South Korea Malaysia Philippines Russia Thailand Turkey Europe Belgium Czech Republic Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Lithuania Netherlands Norway Poland Russia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Oceania Australia New Zealand

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