8 of the Biggest Game Releases Still To Come in 2017

The PS4 and Xbox One both released around three years ago. In those intervening years, we’ve seen some great exclusives on both – and of course an abundance of PC experiences. We’ve seen the release of consumer VR headsets – finally! – and the release of the Switch. The games industry, as always, is one of change and experimentation – one wherein the rules of play are always in a state of flux. Here’s a list of some of the biggest games we’re expecting this year. Doubtless, we’ll have more whenever Microsoft starts to lift the veil on their next console project, Scorpio.

 

Yooka-Laylee – Playtonic (April 11)

Playtonic is a new studio formed primarily of people who worked on the Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country games. After years of mismanagement – Nintendo’s sale of Rare saw them turned primarily into a Kinect developer – Playtonic represents a return to an industry of a highly skilled and influential team.

Borrowing heavily from the N64/PS1 era of 3D platformers, Yooka-Laylee is a return to bright colours, collectables, and adorable characters, to grunts and squeaks in place of dialogue, and to seemingly endless collectables. As indie games move from 2D pixel art nostalgia into the 3D era, Playtonic’s first outing looks to remind us all of why we loved the likes of Banjo and Spyro in the first place. It’ll inspire a wave of retro games if successful, and early murmurs are comparing the finished product to Super Mario Galaxy in terms of platforming excellence.

 

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy – Activision (June 30)

The original Crash trilogy is beyond iconic and perhaps needs no further introduction. The unfortunate reality of Naughty Dog‘s development deals saw the IP sold from Universal’s now defunct games division into the eagerly awaiting arms of Activision, who diminished the franchise by turning out half-baked titles, eventually seeing Crash fall into irrelevance.

While Naughty Dog isn’t at the helm of this collection, it would seem that (in no small part thanks to Sony) the trilogy is receiving the care it deserves, with animations and music preserved and updated – the only deep change being the addition of time trials to the first title. The Crash Trilogy sees the return of an iconic 3D platformer, and sales will undoubtedly influence development by rival studios and publishers going forwards.

 

Star Wars Battlefront II – DICE (Q3 2017)

The first (reboot) Battlefront game was beautiful and had the classic DICE levels of sound design unmatched elsewhere in the industry. The lack of a story mode and a generally low amount of content upset many (including John Boyega ), issues we may see resolved with this year’s entry, presumably releasing around Episode VIII.

@EAStarWars Will fans get a full on offline story mode? It's more of an enjoyable way to learn controls.

— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) March 2, 2016

This will be the second major title released by EA since their exclusivity contract with Disney made them the sole Star Wars games developer. Undoubtedly a high fee was paid for this deal, and with Disney’s plans for the movies extending into the 2030s, a lot is riding on EA to ensure the marketability and success of their endeavours – the next title we know of being the Amy Hennig (Uncharted) led open world Star Wars action game, under development at Visceral Games (Dead Space).

 

Call of Duty 2017 – Sledgehammer (TBC 2017)

The last couple of years have seen series fatigue finally start to set in on the Call of Duty franchise, with (still impressive) lower sales and a perceived losing of the gameplay’s edge to the likes of Battlefield and Titanfall.  The rumour mill suggests we may be heading back to World War II in this year’s release, an interesting move – but will it see the series return to its former colossal heights?

Not unlike Battlefront for EA, this year’s CoD will largely make or break the franchise – a series that largely props up and supports the majority of the publisher’s other ventures, and a source of revenue they wouldn’t be keen to see reduced, no matter how slight.

 

Red Dead Redemption 2 – Rockstar (TBC 2017)

We know very little about this title other than it’s coming late this year and it’ll be an event sure to affect the landscape of the entire gaming industry. Grand Theft Auto 5 originally released on an older generation of consoles four years ago, but still regularly tops sales charts. Whatever Rockstar has up its sleeve for this title, it will be one of the biggest releases since, well, their last one.

With little more than a teaser trailer released so far, speculation is about – when will the game be set? Will we see a return of John Marston or his gang? With a decidedly more mature tone than the GTA series, the original Red Dead breathed life into a surprisingly dormant corner of the game’s pantheon, and with seven years wait, a lot is riding on Rockstar’s first truly next-gen title to match, or even surpass, their last release.

 

Injustice 2 – NetherRealm Studios (May 16)

NetherRealm blasted onto the scene with their return-to-form reboot of Mortal Kombat, followed soon after with Injustice: Gods Among Us. While neither was the most technical of fighters, they captured a visceral and hard side of fighting that feels lacking in a world dominated by Street Fighter and Skullgirls – Mortal Kombat X solidified the developers’ place as an exciting AAA studio in fighting.

One of the biggest fighting games coming this year, Injustice 2 should see a ramping up of everything that made the first title great; a surprisingly interesting story and a mixed variety of characters topped with dynamic arenas and satisfyingly cinematic super moves.

 

Detroit: Become Human – Quantic Dream (TBC 2017)

David Cage (Heavy Rain) stressed that the Kara technical demo his studio released was just that, a demo. It was a short piece focused on a sentient A.I. designed to test a new game engine, and it immediately gripped the imagination of many. A full three years later, Kara was announced as a full game, Detroit, and it’s sure to be one of the biggest of the year.

Cinematic games have exploded in the last few years – from the tightly scripted worlds of Telltale’s The Walking Dead to the time-bending Life is Strange and even Until Dawn, the influence of Quantic Dreamon the industry is vivid. Their last release, Beyond: Two Souls, buried some great performances under restrictive gameplay, and a lot is riding on this release to see the studio once more revolutionise interactive narratives.

 

Splatoon 2 – Nintendo (Summer 2017)

Nintendo’s first new IP since Pikmin ,the first Splatoon was met with high praise but saw itself limited to the Wii U’sinstall base. This sequel offers a chance for the fresh-faced franchise to establish itself among the pantheon of fast-paced shooters and does it all in Nintendo’s signature – brightly coloured, child-friendly – style.

Equally important for this title will be continual sales of the Switch, whose portability may be the ace-in-the-hole (provided you can find wi-fi) this fresh-faced franchise needs to establish itself in an industry inundated with shooters.

Which releases are you most looking forward to this year? Which games do you think will have the most impact on the industry going forwards? Let us know in the comments!