The Weekly Raid: A Look Back At 2017
Welcome to 2018! Last week we discussed what MMOs & MMORPGs we were looking forward to, so its only fitting that we take some time this week to look back.
As we stated in our 2017 Game of the Year Awards, 2017 has been a great year for gaming, perhaps one of the best in recent memory! Nintendo's new console was a smash hit that saw two of the best rated games of all time release on its inaugural year (Super Mario Odyssey & The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.) Bitcoin, Etherium, and many other crypto coin copycats soared in value, undoubtedly enriching many gamers along the way (Gaming GPUs are among the best ways to mine many of these coins, after all.)
Many of the longest running free to play titles saw huge improvements throughout 2017. Warframe and Path of Exile got massive new expansions, and League of Legends simplified its Runes & Mastery system, making it much easier for new players to jump in and catch up.
Then there was the ascent of a relatively new genre to the top of the gaming industry. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds was, in our view, the biggest story of the year. With over 30 million copies sold across PC & Xbox One, PUBG finally cracked the 3,000,000 concurrent players milestone on Steam two days before the end of the year.
Despite all that disruption, its also worth taking a moment to recognize how traditional publishers and consoles remain prominent in the gaming industry. Despite its 30+ million sales figure, PUBG was surpassed by Call of Duty: WWII on a revenue basis. Activision has stated that the new CoD brought in over $1 billion since its early November release.
Speaking of numbers, let's also take a moment to look at where the global games industry stands at the end of 2017:
Valve has once again released their 100 Top Sellers list, grouping games into Platinum, Gold, and Silver categories rather than revealing any specific figures. I've embedded the Platinum sellers below, but the whole list is well worth checking out!
If you have any other interseting trends, statistics, or roundups share them below!
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Lifelong gamer always looking for the next virtual adventure. I'm still waiting for the next big MMORPG. Until then, you can find me hopping between multiple games.
