Even though the video game industry hasn’t been around as long as other creative media, enough time has passed for us to study its humble beginnings and marvel its evolution since the 1960s. There were technological leaps and bounds. Creativity exploded. Even the commercialization and perception of a successful video game launch have changed and perhaps are still changing. So, what defines a successful video game in 2026?
At a high level, people can judge a video games’ success in two ways: by its quality and by its sales. The key is one does not guarantee the other. For example, critically acclaimed video games may not have the staggering sales one would attribute to something of high-quality. For example, Remedy Entertainment is a studio known for its strong writing and unique artistic direction; however, titles like Alan Wake, Alan Wake 2, and Control don’t sell as much as any entry in the Grand Theft Auto series.
Alan Wake 2 released late October 2023 and received eight nominations at The Game Awards that same year. Of those nominations, it won Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction. It also won Game of the year for Time Magazine and The Washington Post. However, when you look at their sales, it took about two years before the game became profitable for Remedy. By February 2025, Alan Wake 2 crossed two million in sales.
Image Credit: The Game Awards via GameRant
Conversely, let’s look at an example if we judge a game purely by sales: NBA 2K26. It generated about $23 million in net revenue since its release in September 2025. It sold almost 800,000 copies, and yet, it holds lukewarm, if not iffy, review scores. Metacritic user scores rated NBA 2K26 as a 4.5, compared to Alan Wake 2‘s 8.5. NBA 2K26 did not make an appearance at The Game Awards, either.
Here’s another, more controversial, example. Fortnite is an insanely popular game, especially among the younger generation. Despite the fact that this 2017 title is free-to-play, it has about 650 million registered accounts and racks up approximately $6 billion annually. However, did you ever check out its Metacritic score? It has a 5.2 user score and 78 critic score. It’s been nominated in the multiplayer and/or ongoing game categories for many years, but it hasn’t won one since 2019 (Best Evolving Game by BAFTA and Best Ongoing Game by The Game Awards). It hasn’t won anything in terms of art direction, music, or story.
In an ideal world, a “successful video game” would be both high in quality (as seen through impressive reviews and accolades) and top sales charts. This does happen, such as with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has a 92 Metacritic score (8.6 user score), and sold just over 70 million units. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild not only scored high (97 Metacritic) but also won several awards like Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, and Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards. It also around 34 million units. Of course, these are rare gems that strike once in a long while.
Personally, I lean more on quality over sales when it comes to determining whether a video game is successful or not. Video games were made for our entertainment, and that can only be achieved when made with high quality. Also, there have been situations where games have been pinned as “unsuccessful” if they didn’t meet specific sales numbers, and often, these numbers are lofty…and subjective. Companies notorious for setting these expectations include Ubisoft (e.g. Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows), Square Enix (e.g. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy), and SEGA (E.g. Alien: Isolation). If you are familiar with any other those titles, you may be stumped, given that they did sell copies and were relatively loved by gamers. Worst of all, these lofty sales expectations can sometimes result in layoffs. So, with a distaste for corporate greed crushing the industry in recent years, I have less trust in using sales to gauge success.
Does a video games’ sales or quality define its success in modern times? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
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Sources: IMDB, Metacritic, Shane the Gamer, Nintendo
Featured Image Source: Fotnite
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