After Summer Games Fest, what are the biggest games left of 2023?
It's been a bit of an unusual year for the AAA games industry.
It has been ladened with blockbuster, record-breaking releases, including Hogwarts Legacy, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Diablo 4. And those have come alongside other big IP, such as Resident Evil 4, Dead Island 2, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Final Fantasy 16, and Street Fighter 6.
New IP has fared less well, with Forspoken and Redfall missing in terms of quality and popularity. But there have been a handful of new indie games that have broken through, and Hi-Fi Rush found an audience via Xbox Game Pass.
It has been a big year but, outside of the many thousands of indie games, there have also been these gaps in the schedule. And that is set to continue. The release slate is spotty right up until October when, for some reason, everyone seems to be releasing their games within the same two-week period. And then it goes quiet again. As of right now, June has a stronger line-up than November.
Gamers aren't complaining about gaps in the schedule
Business that are still reliant on a strong, regular and deep slate of AAA releases – areas such as the media and retail – will feel the pressure to grow alternative revenue streams. A few interviews I've conducted recently have been precisely on this topic, with Ubisoft talking about its push into mobile, and GAME explaining its plans around toys.
There's an argument that things will become more consistent as the business recovers from the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns. But I remain unconvinced. Gamers are not exactly bereft of things to play. Live-service titles, an endless stream of great indie releases, subscription services filled with legacy games, and the fact that AAA titles are
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