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2017 saw the release of numerous video games as well as other developments in the video game industry. The Nintendo Switch console was released in 2017, which sold more than 14 million units by the end of the year, exceeding the under-performing Wii U lifetime sales. This has helped to revitalize Nintendo, with the "retro" Super NES Classic Edition console, the refreshed New Nintendo 2DS XL handheld and a strategy for mobile gaming. Microsoft also released the higher-powered Xbox One X targeted for 4K resolutions and virtual reality support.
Top-rated games in 2017 included Madden NFL 18, NBA 2K18, NBA Live 18, WWE 2K18, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Persona 5, Divinity: Original Sin II and Horizon Zero Dawn. One of the most influential games of 2017 was PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which was released in early access for personal computers in March 2017 and by the end of the year had sold 30 million units,[1] breaking several concurrent player count records and established the battle royale genre. The highest-grossing game of the year was the mobile game Honor of Kings, known as Arena of Valor internationally. Considerable debate was held over the use of loot boxes in video games and whether they constituted gambling, coming to a head with the release of Star Wars Battlefront II.
Top-rated games
Major awards
Critically acclaimed games
Metacritic is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.
| Game | Developer | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | Average Score out of 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | March 3, 2017 | NS | 97 |
| Super Mario Odyssey | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | October 27, 2017 | NS | 97 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | March 3, 2017 | Wii U | 96 |
| Divinity: Original Sin II | Larian Studios | September 14, 2017 | Win | 93 | |
| Persona 5 | P-Studio | Atlus | April 4, 2017 | PS4 | 93 |
| What Remains of Edith Finch | Giant Sparrow | Annapurna Interactive | July 19, 2017 | XBO | 92 |
| Undertale | 8-4 | August 15, 2017 | PS4 | 92 | |
| Ōkami HD | Capcom | December 12, 2017 | Win | 92 | |
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Nintendo EPD | Nintendo | April 28, 2017 | NS | 92 |
| SteamWorld Heist: Ultimate Edition | Image & Form | December 28, 2017 | NS | 91 | |
| Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove | Yacht Club Games | March 3, 2017 | NS | 91 | |
| Retro City Rampage DX | Vblank Entertainment | August 3, 2017 | NS | 91 | |
| Bayonetta | PlatinumGames | Sega | April 11, 2017 | Win | 90 |
| Opus Magnum | Zachtronics | December 8, 2017 | Win | 90 | |
| Pinball FX 3: Universal Classics Pinball | Zen Studios | September 26, 2017 | XBO | 90 | |
| Linelight | My Dog Zorro | January 30, 2017 | Win | 90 | |
Financial performance
According to analyst firm Newzoo, the video game industry had $116.6 billion in global revenues, a 10% growth from 2016. This growth was primarily driven by mobile gaming, as 43% ($50.4 billion) of those revenues came from this sector, a growth of 23.3% from 2016. Of the remaining, 29% (US$33.3 billion) came from consoles hardware and games, and 28% ($32.3 billion) from personal computer games.[8] SuperData similarly estimated the global video game market in 2017 was around $108.4 billion, driven heavily by free-to-play mobile and computer games.[9] Analyst firm Sensor Tower, which tracks revenue within the mobile industry, reported that of the $58.6 billion in total revenues in 2017, $48.3 billion came from mobile games.[10]
Within the United States, the video industry grew from 2016 by 18% to a total revenue of $36 billion, with $6.9 billion from hardware sales (gaining 19% from 2016) and $29.1 billion (18%) from software and microtransactions, according to NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association.[11] Further, $10.7 billion was spent on mobile gaming in 2017 in the United States, according to Sensor Tower.[10]
Highest-grossing games
The following were 2017's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms). Six of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent, including the top three titles.