# 2021 in video games
**2021 in video games** was a year in which the industry's second pandemic year shaped both what shipped and what did not: releases such as *It Takes Two*, *Resident Evil Village*, *Returnal*, *Metroid Dread*, and *Forza Horizon 5* arrived to strong recognition, while widespread COVID-19 delays pushed many other titles into 2022 or beyond. *[It Takes Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/it-takes-two-video-game)*, a cooperative platformer from Hazelight, became the year's dominant award winner, taking Game of the Year at both [The Game Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-game-awards) and the 25th [D.I.C.E. Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/d-i-c-e-awards).[1](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-2021-winners-revealed-it-takes-two-wins-game-of-the-year/1100-6498845/) • [2](https://www.interactive.org/awards/25th_annual_dice_awards_winners_revealed_.asp)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Game of the Year (The Game Awards 2021) | *It Takes Two* (Hazelight / Electronic Arts), which also won Best Family and Best Multiplayer[3](https://thegameawards.com/rewind/year-2021) |
| Game of the Year (25th D.I.C.E. Awards) | *It Takes Two*, a cooperative platforming journey about a couple going through a divorce[2](https://www.interactive.org/awards/25th_annual_dice_awards_winners_revealed_.asp) |
| Game of the Year (Golden Joystick Awards 2021) | *Resident Evil Village*[4](https://as.com/meristation/2021/11/24/noticias/1637730499_888303.html) |
| Most-awarded games across outlets | *It Takes Two* and *Forza Horizon 5* topped the aggregate count[5](https://nextgamefinder.org/en/guides/game-of-the-year-2021) |
| U.S. consumer spending, first half of 2021 | $28.9 billion on hardware, software, and accessories, up 15% from the same period of 2020 (NPD Group)[6](https://www.axios.com/2021/07/16/us-game-sales-rise-in-the-first-half-of-2021) |
| Pandemic impact on development | 44% of surveyed developers reported a game launch postponed due to the pandemic (GDC 2021 survey of more than 3,000 developers)[7](https://mmidentity.fmk.sk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Megatrends-and-Media_HOME-OFFICETAINMENT_conference-proceedings-ISSN-2729-7403-ISBN-978-80-572-0183-0.pdf) |
| Release volume | 10,604 video games released in 2021, among them *Wordle*, *Far Cry 6*, and *Resident Evil Village*[8](https://releasescanner.app/releases/2021) |
## Notable releases
The year's release calendar, tracked in detail by outlets such as [Game Informer](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-informer), opened with *Hitman 3* on January 20 across [PlayStation 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-5), Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, [Xbox One](https://www.edgepedia.org/xbox-one), Switch, Stadia, and PC.[9](https://gameinformer.com/2021) Late March brought a dense cluster: *It Takes Two* and *Monster Hunter Rise* both launched on March 26.[9](https://gameinformer.com/2021) April added *Returnal* on PlayStation 5 (April 30) and the remake *Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139* (April 23), and May opened with *Resident Evil Village* on May 7.[9](https://gameinformer.com/2021) In the autumn, *Age of Empires IV* released on PC on October 28.[9](https://gameinformer.com/2021)
**A lighter big-release year.** Commentators noted that the second half of 2021 was lighter in big releases than the norm, though not barren, with new-generation versions of older giants such as *The Witcher 3* and *GTA V* also arriving in the fall.[10](https://www.axios.com/2021/06/16/video-game-releases-2021) Fewer AAA releases gave smaller games more visibility; TIME's staff highlighted independently produced titles such as *Chicory: A Colorful Tale* and *Inscryption*, along with innovative storytelling about time loops and couples counseling.[11](https://time.com/6126797/best-video-games-2021/) 2021 also produced a bumper crop of time loop games, several released within a three-month span.[12](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/im-catching-up-on-two-of-the-best-time-loop-games-from-2021)
## Awards season
**The Game Awards 2021**, held in person at the Microsoft Theater, crowned *It Takes Two* Game of the Year and gave it Best Family and Best Multiplayer. Other winners included *Deathloop* for Best Game Direction and Best Art Direction, *Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy* for Best Narrative, *Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139* for Best Score and Music, *Forza Horizon 5* for Best Audio Design, Innovation in [Accessibility](https://www.edgepedia.org/accessibility), and Best Sports/Racing, *Returnal* for Best Action Game, *Metroid Dread* for Best Action/[Adventure](https://www.edgepedia.org/adventure), *Tales of Arise* for Best Role Playing, *Age of Empires IV* for Best Sim/Strategy, *Final Fantasy XIV Online* for both Best Ongoing and Best Community Support, *Genshin Impact* for Best Mobile, and *Resident Evil 4* (VR) for Best VR/AR. [Maggie Robertson](https://www.edgepedia.org/maggie-robertson) won Best Performance as Lady Dimitrescu in *Resident Evil Village*, and *Elden Ring* was named Most Anticipated Game.[3](https://thegameawards.com/rewind/year-2021)
**Independent games fared prominently.** *Kena: Bridge of Spirits* from Ember Lab won both Best Indie and Best Debut Indie at The Game Awards.[3](https://thegameawards.com/rewind/year-2021) In PlayStation Blog's fan-voted Game of the Year 2021, *Kena: Bridge of Spirits* took Independent Game of the Year in the closest race of the awards, with *[Hades](https://www.edgepedia.org/hades-video-game)* earning Gold, *Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!* Silver, and *Disco Elysium – The Final Cut* Bronze; [Insomniac Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/insomniac-games) took both Best Art Direction and Best Graphical Showcase, and *Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut* won Best Re-Release.[13](https://blog.playstation.com/2021/12/20/ps-blog-game-of-the-year-2021-the-winners/) Aggregated across thousands of outlets, *It Takes Two* and *Forza Horizon 5* collected the most Game of the Year awards of the year.[5](https://nextgamefinder.org/en/guides/game-of-the-year-2021) Other outlets made their own choices: the [Golden Joystick Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-joystick-awards) went to *Resident Evil Village*,[4](https://as.com/meristation/2021/11/24/noticias/1637730499_888303.html) the VideoGamesCritic's Hall of Fame named *Inscryption* its Game of the Year 2021,[14](https://videogamescritic.com/hall-of-fame?year=2021) and Shacknews awarded *Halo Infinite* its Best Free-to-Play Game of 2021.[15](https://www.shacknews.com/article/128178/year-of-the-games-2021)
## Industry context
**Pandemic delays.** In a survey commissioned ahead of the [Game Developers Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-developers-conference) 2021 covering more than 3,000 developers from Europe and the USA, 44% of respondents had a video game launch postponed due to the pandemic, while 49% experienced no delays; on productivity, 35% reported it increased at the home office, 32% reported a decrease, and 32% said it was unchanged.[7](https://mmidentity.fmk.sk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Megatrends-and-Media_HOME-OFFICETAINMENT_conference-proceedings-ISSN-2729-7403-ISBN-978-80-572-0183-0.pdf) Hardware supply was also constrained: the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X remained in short supply, and a semiconductor chip shortage affected GPUs and other PC components.[16](https://database.centralbaltic.eu/sites/default/files/LV_BE_WP3_Game-market-Overview_Final_B.pdf) Despite this, U.S. consumer spending on games rose 15% year on year to $28.9 billion in the first half of 2021.[6](https://www.axios.com/2021/07/16/us-game-sales-rise-in-the-first-half-of-2021)
**Workplace reckoning.** In July 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit alleging that [Activision Blizzard](https://www.edgepedia.org/activision-blizzard) encouraged a "frat boy" culture, with employees claiming executives enabled gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Activision employees staged a walkout and signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign in November, and other major producers, including Ubisoft and [Riot Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/riot-games), faced similar allegations of workplace sexual harassment during the year.[11](https://time.com/6126797/best-video-games-2021/)
## References
1. [The Game Awards 2021 Winners Revealed: It Takes Two Wins Game Of The Year, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-2021-winners-revealed-it-takes-two-wins-game-of-the-year/1100-6498845/)
2. [25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Celebrates Best Games of 2021, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences](https://www.interactive.org/awards/25th_annual_dice_awards_winners_revealed_.asp)
3. [TGA 2021, The Game Awards](https://thegameawards.com/rewind/year-2021)
4. [Estos son los GOTY de Golden Joystick Awards 2021, MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/2021/11/24/noticias/1637730499_888303.html)
5. [The Best Games of 2021, Ranked by Rating, MyNextGameFinder](https://nextgamefinder.org/en/guides/game-of-the-year-2021)
6. [U.S. game sales rise in the first half of 2021, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2021/07/16/us-game-sales-rise-in-the-first-half-of-2021)
7. [Digitainment conference proceedings (GDC 2021 survey data), ISSN 2729-7403](https://mmidentity.fmk.sk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Megatrends-and-Media_HOME-OFFICETAINMENT_conference-proceedings-ISSN-2729-7403-ISBN-978-80-572-0183-0.pdf)
8. [Video games of 2021: all 10,604 releases, Release Scanner](https://releasescanner.app/releases/2021)
9. [2021 Video Game Release Schedule, Game Informer](https://gameinformer.com/2021)
10. [The rest of gaming's 2021 takes shape, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2021/06/16/video-game-releases-2021)
11. [The 10 Best Video Games of 2021, TIME](https://time.com/6126797/best-video-games-2021/)
12. [I'm catching up on two of the best time loop games from 2021, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/im-catching-up-on-two-of-the-best-time-loop-games-from-2021)
13. [PS.Blog Game of the Year 2021: The Winners, PlayStation.Blog](https://blog.playstation.com/2021/12/20/ps-blog-game-of-the-year-2021-the-winners/)
14. [Best games of 2021: the 2021 Hall of Fame, VideoGamesCritic](https://videogamescritic.com/hall-of-fame?year=2021)
15. [Year of the Games: 2021, Shacknews](https://www.shacknews.com/article/128178/year-of-the-games-2021)
16. [Game market overview, Central Baltic database](https://database.centralbaltic.eu/sites/default/files/LV_BE_WP3_Game-market-Overview_Final_B.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual game titles: overview, chronology, and lists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license