2021 in video games

In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage (partially from post-COVID-19 effects) and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.

Financial performance

According to market research firm Newzoo, the global video game market reached total revenues of , a 1.4% growth from 2020. Of this, 52% of the revenue was attributed to the mobile game market and the larger growth over the prior year, 28% to the console games market (including hardware and software), and 20% to the personal computer market.

Largest markets

According to market research firm Newzoo, the following countries were the largest video game markets in 2021.

Highest-grossing mobile games

The following titles are the top ten highest-grossing mobile games of 2021.

Highest-grossing games in China

The following titles were 2021's top six highest-grossing video games in China.

Best-selling premium games by region

The following titles were 2021's top ten best-selling premium games by region (excluding microtransactions and free-to-play titles) on PC and console platforms, for Japan, the United States, and Europe.

Top-rated games

Critically acclaimed games

Metacritic is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.

Major awards

Major events

Notable deaths

• January 29 – Walker Boone, 76, actor who played Mario in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
• February 3 – Robert A. Altman, 73, co-founder and CEO of ZeniMax Media.
• March 11 – Gordon Hall, 51, co-founder of Rockstar Leeds.
• April 4 – Ralph Schuckett, 73, co-composer on the video game Pokémon Puzzle League.
• April 9 – DMX, 50, rapper who appeared in Street Hoops and Def Jam Vendetta.
• May 28 – Benoît Sokal, 66, creator of the Syberia series.
• June 4 – Ebbe Altberg, ca. 57, CEO of Linden Lab, creators of Second Life.
• ca. June 27 – "Near" aka "Byuu", ca. 38, developer of the higan emulator for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
• ca. August – David Lawson, 62, co-founder of Imagine Software and Psygnosis
• August 29 – Ed Asner, 91, actor known for voicing Carl Fredrickson in Up.
• September 12 – Brandon Ashur, 36, Minecraft YouTuber and livestreamer also known as Bashurverse.
• September 16 – Clive Sinclair, 81, founder of Sinclair Research, the company behind several early personal computers like the ZX Spectrum
• September 18 – Mick McGinty, 69, traditional artist for television, film, and video games, including artwork for Street Fighter II and other games in the 1980s and 1990s.
• September 30 – Koichi Sugiyama, 90, composer of the Dragon Quest series among others.
• October 16 – Hiroshi Ono, 64, graphic artist for Namco who did most of their pixel art for their early arcade games, and was otherwise known as "Mr Dotman".
• December 6 – Masayuki Uemura, 78, lead architect of the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
• December 14 – Ian Hetherington, 69, co-founder of Imagine Software and Psygnosis, chairman of Evolution Studios and Realtime Worlds.
• December 28 – John Madden, 85, American football coach and commentator, and namesake of Electronic Arts' Madden NFL series.

Hardware releases

The list of game-related hardware released in 2021.

Games released in 2021

Discontinued games

• ' (WIN, PS4, XBO)