As 2024 draws to a close, we took a step back to see what significant moments in the video game industry occurred, and it was a busy year. Filled with the good, bad, and the ugly, we hope to take these lessons and shape a better 2025.
10. A Playable Princess Zelda
There are some know-it-alls out there beating their chests and screaming about the CDI games, but let’s be real and say that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first mainline Zelda game where you play as the princess herself.
Princess Zelda finally joins the ranks amongst strong female protagonists, of which, we are still looking for more representation. And no, this isn’t a “DEI” issue, but rather a wonderful addition to diverse playable characters. The best thing about it is that Nintendo did a great job with her design and gameplay, so it doesn’t feel like pandering either. Of course, we have to mention Princess Peach as well, who got her own game in Princess Peach: Showtime.
9. Nintendo Provides a Timeline for the Switch Successor
Short and sweet, Nintendo President Furukawa sent a “Tweet” that the successor to the Switch will be announced by the end of this Fiscal year. This comes as a relief as images and spec rumors continue to leak.
The Nintendo Switch has been around for seven years and amassed success of epic proportions. As of September 2024, 146.04 million units of hardware have sold.
8. PlayStation Turns 30
Each year, various franchises and publishers celebrate a milestone, and a major one this year was PlayStation. This console has turned 30 years old, and Sony celebrated it with various merchandise and a Limited Edition 30th Anniversary console that sold out (likely to bots) in seconds. Even Geoff Keighley acknowledged the Father of PlayStation, Ken Kutagari , at the 2024 Game Awards.
7. Concord Debacle
Firewalk’s Concord was a highly anticipated multiplayer shooter. It was a massive investment by Sony, and yet, upon launch, the game only hit an all-time peak of just 697 players on Steam. The game shut down within two weeks of launch, and refunds were offered. RIP Concord.
6. Is This an Xbox? Are You Sure?
Microsoft launched its latest campagin to promote their Xbox. In this approach, the team must of felt that we, the consumer, do not know what an Xbox is. So, they opted for a back-to-basics approach:
5. Nintendo versus Palworld
Palworld became a wildly popular game, which drew divisive attention. Fans of the Pokémon franchise didn’t take to this IP, given the oddly similar creature designs and the concept of collecting them. Palworld fans disagree and insist that the gameplay structure is different than Pokémon. In September, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed for patent infringement against developer Pocketpair. Further details on this case are still in the air, and we surely will stay tuned for advancements in the case in 2025.
4. Disney Invests in Epic
The Disney/Epic partnership continues to grow. Investing $1.5 billion dollars, Disney looks to integrate their IPs into Epic’s uber-successful Fortnite universe. Disney hopes to leverage the cultural phenomenon to keep their stories relevant. Makes sense. Only time will tell to see how this pans out.
3. Astro Bot Astonishes All
Astro Bot is a platformer from Team ASOBI, who played massive tribute to Sony franchises throughout the years. It was highly rated and loved by players, but we weren’t sure how it would fare in The Game Awards. It blew the competition out of the water with four wins, including Game of the Year.
2. RIP Game Informer
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Game Informer after GameStop finally shut them down in August. After 33 years, the magazine was retired, and the entire staff was laid off. It hurts to see continued disappearance of physical media and increasing body count in the video game industry list of layoffs. We at Boss Rush love you.
1. Continued Layoffs in the Industry
I hate to leave on a downer, but it is of utmost importance that we continue to recognize the ever-growing issue with layoffs in the video game industry. We witnessed many layoffs in 2023; however, the trend continued to snowball this year–totaling well over 10,000 jobs.
The following are a small sampling of companies that laid off workers this year (this is not an all-inclusive list):
- Microsoft/Xbox
- Unity
- PlayStation
- Riot Games
- EA
- Take-Two
- Eidos Montreal
- Avalanche Studios
- Deck Nine Games
- Ubisoft
- Gearbox
- 505 Games
Our hearts go out to all those that lost their jobs. Great video games come from great people, so it will be interesting to see what comes next in 2025.
We do want to acknowledge the Game Changer Award, a new category at The 2024 Game Awards, and it was given to Amir Satvat, who created a website to help laid off workers get back on their feet with invaluable resources pro-bono.
What are some moments in gaming from 2024 that you remember? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
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Sources: USA Today, GameSpot, Xbox Wire, Digital Trends, IGN, Beebom, Nintendo
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