8 Best-Selling Video Games of 2016 So Far

Dark Souls III

Not every big title intended for 2016 has been released yet (Where are you, No Man’s Sky?!), but there’s been plenty of great video games coming out this year, topping the charts, competing with strong titles going well from the not too distant past.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Genre: Third-person shooter,action-adventure,platform

If this is the last game in the Uncharted series, it’s a great one, getting perfect, or close to perfect scores from almost every ranking reviewer or aggregator. Nathan Drake comes out of retirement for one last job, and finds out it’s a lot bigger and darker than he was initially told. The game is only available on the PlayStation 4

Tom Clancy’s The Division

Genre: Third-person shooter

An online-only game, The Division is set in a pretty messed up New York City following a smallpox pandemic, and your job is to help rebuild the city, investigate where the disease came from, and fight the rampaging criminal activity, in a game that combines RPG and PVP elements. It’s available on the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Ratchet & Clank

Genre: Platform, shooter

The lovable, ongoing series is still strong among kids and adults, with the 2016 version doing very well in both sales and reviews. The game is basically a re-imagining of the original (2002), but borrowing different elements from other games in the series. It’s only available on the PS4.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Genre: First person shooter

The hugely successful series by Activision keeps popping out titles, with this one taking place in 2065, fighting the war of the future, instead that of the past or present. It’s available on the Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4.

Pokken Tournament

Genre: Fighting

Basically, a Pokemon fighting game, in which two fighters battle against each other using various Pokémon, with gameplay shifting between “Field Phase” where the Pokémon move freely around the arena, and “Duel Phase” where they move relative each other similar to the Tekken games. The game initially came out in an arcade version, and is only available on the Nintendo Wii U.

Dark Souls III

Genre: Action role-playing

The next installment in the game that loves to frustrate you, with more badass enemies who change their tactics and battle style during combat. It’s been a huge hit among gamers and critics, and probably brings a fitting conclusion to the series. It’s available on the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

GTA V

Genre: Third-Person shooter, action adventure

GTA games are a genre of their own, and long after being released, they remain very successful, in the standard version, or the online version everyone loves to complain about, but keep playing it. This time, it’s back to Los Santos, or Los Angeles, this time playing three different characters. It’s available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Overwatch

Genre: First person shooter

Another way for Blizzard to take over the world, bringing this game out in May and doing very well since. It’s a multiplayer game, featuring a squad-based combat with two opposing teams of six players each. Most of the game’s maps are inspired by real-world locations: “King’s Row”, “Hanamura”, “Temple of Anubis” are inspired by London, Tokyo and Egypt. It’s available on the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

For a different style of video games, check out the best Telltale has to offer, or check out the incredible Banner Saga, which is special in its own way.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Best Selling Game of 2015

Call of Duty Black Ops III

The numbers are in, and they’re not very surprising: Call of Duty: Black Ops III, is the best selling video game in 2015 across all platforms.

The Activision first person shooter series, now into its 12th installment, keeps on shattering records. the franchise has sold over 250 million copies thanks to its latest release, which came out in November 6 on the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and XBox One.

The title made more than $550 million only three days after its initial release according to Activision, who celebrated the achievement on a blog post. Overall video game sales last year, more and more focusing on Xbox One and PS4 titles, made $13.1 billion, pretty similar to 2014 numbers.

In Black Ops III, the player is taken to the future, specifically 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II. Climate change has spawned fierce competition over scarce resources. Highly effective anti-aircraft systems mean fighting takes place on the ground, often in covert or “black” operations. The campaign in Black Ops III is designed to support 4-player cooperative gameplay, allowing for bigger, more open level design and less corridor shooting. The multiplayer introduced a new momentum-based movement system, which utilizes thruster packs to allow players to perform slow boosts into the air, as well as perform wall running and sliding, all the while giving players complete gun control.

Besides Black Ops III, the top 5 in sales is made out of Madden NFL 16 (EA Sports), Fallout 4 (Bethesda), Star Wars Battlefront (Electronic Arts) and GTA V (Rockstar), mostly thanks to its late release on the PC. The console version was released back in 2013 for the older generation and 2014 for the latest generation of consoles.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter and check out some more cool stuff about gaming, like the time David Bowie made an appearance in a video game or this Xbox One controller charger that will change your life.