2021 Games that should be on your radar
Some games that brands should consider and gamers will play.
Hello,
Following up on some of the video game characters that I think will have a big year, I wanted to share some 2021 games that brands should be aware of. It may be a fool’s errand to predict what the gaming zeitgeist will be for 2021, but you can make some pretty educated guesses based off of franchise sales and review scores.
Monster Hunter Rise
Release date: 3/26/2021
The game in a sentence: Hunt dinosaurs and cook great meals with your pet cat and dog.
What will make it successful: The last Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter World, sold over 15.7 million copies worldwide. It turned a relatively niche franchise into a massive hit. Now with an exclusive game on the world’s most popular console, the Nintendo Switch, it’s poised to keep growing in popularity.
Something brands can take into consideration: Despite the fierce looking monsters, this game isn’t afraid to get goofy. Try to watch this video of Monster Hunter World’s swole cat cooking the player a meal without smiling. I’m sure Monster Hunter Rise will have similar quirks that players will love. If a brand can find and leverage them it can do something great.
I’d also think of environmental angles for the game. The core gameplay loop is hunting monsters, scavenging their corpses, making more weapons out of their body parts, and fighting stronger monsters with weapons made from the weaker monsters killed earlier. In a lot of ways it’s a zero waste lifestyle simulator.
Grand Theft Auto V
Release date: Second half of 2021.
The game in a sentence: One of the most popular games of the past decade now with shinier graphics.
What will make it successful: This game has sold 120 million copies worldwide, putting it behind only Tetris and Minecraft for the best selling game of all time. It’s now heading to it’s third generation of consoles. As it heads to the PS5 and Xbox Series X I’m sure people are going to rebuy it to try it on newer hardware.
Something brands can take into consideration: This game is one big satire about the West Coast. They poke fun at the Southern California lifestyle pretty hard, so if your brand can fit in that space it can probably find a place in Grand Theft Auto V.
Brands also need to be okay with the risk that Grand Theft Auto brings. One does not need to go far in the game to find some violent and sexual themes. I’m in the camp that if 120 million people can get over it, it’s probably okay for a brand to overlook it too.
Halo Infinite
Release date: Fall 2021.
The game in a sentence: Master Chief makes a bombastic entrance on the new Xboxes to fight aliens.
What will make it successful: The Halo franchise is a system seller for Microsoft. The franchise protagonist, Master Chief, is synonymous with Xbox. That’s why it was such a blow for the company when Halo Infinite was delayed from November of last year to Summer 2021. Their new console doesn’t have its hero. Microsoft is going to do everything in it’s power to remedy that as soon as possible.
Something brands can take into consideration: Pre-launch collaborations would lend themselves well to this game. All the momentum Microsoft built for this game was lost when it was delayed. They’re going to have to ramp back up to that level fast as they try to make up for lost time. Collaborations with brands is a great way to do that.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Release date: Summer 2021.
The game in a sentence: Fly planes on a beautifully rendered, real-time world map.
What will make it successful: This game released on PC with stellar reviews last year. Its release on the Xbox Series X will open up the experience to a lot of gamers. The laid back nature of the game will lend itself well to having more casual gamers pick up a controller. It will also be a great way to show case the Xbox Series X's power.
Something brands can take into consideration: The game has a robust mod marketplace. It remains to be seen if they’ll add that functionality to the XBOX version, but if it does brands could make all sorts of things for players to fly in and find on their maps.
God of War: Ragnarok
Release date: Some time in 2021.
The game in a sentence: Slaughter Norse gods during a loving romp with a father and son.
What will make it successful: In 2018, Sony rebooted the God of War franchise and made Kratos, their bloody anti-hero, a bloody anti-hero with a son. That small change added a ton of humanity to him and led too more than a couple people calling it one of the defining games of the decade. I doubt the sequel, God of War Ragnarok, is going to change that formula too much.
Something brands can take into consideration: Sony is open to licensing out their characters if the right opportunity presents itself. He’s been seen in Fortnite, and has had a high fashion line inspired by him in the past six months.
What to take away:
Finding the next big game isn’t impossible. There are indicators like past review scores, sales, and community engagement that can clue people in to what will sell well. There will be way more than five games that get popular in 2021, but these games are safe ones to bet on.
Gaming news that caught my eye:
Youtube: Someone added 2021 NBA rosters to NBA Jam, a 90s gaming classic. The modding community never ceases to amaze me.
Kotaku: Kotaku is running a series of character analysises about key characters in the Mario franchise. If you’re interested in the humanity behind Wario’s grunts give this one a read.
IGN: Apparently Apple has a VR headset in the works. Forgive me if this is common knowledge, but it’s news to me. I wonder if they’ll make it more than a gaming headset.
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