Gaming Companies to Watch in 2016

Microsoft

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way. Year after year Microsoft proves to be a company that should be watched. After a shaky announcement of the Xbox One back in 2013, 2014 was spent fixing the message and this year was spent setting up an amazing delivery of that new message. But, the company’s work isn’t done yet, there is still a long road ahead of them. While they have re-cemented their status as strong competition, they are still lagging behind Sony, who has the lion’s share of the current gen market. So that means you can expect big moves from the green giant.

They’ve already shown off an impressive lineup of exclusives to be released over the coming months, as well as revamped the Xbox One with tons of features including real backwards compatibility (a feature that continues to grow). Holo Lens was shown off in 2015, but it was made clear that it isn’t exactly a gaming peripheral, but in fact much more. Microsoft will probably show off a bit more of the gaming side of the device though. We’ve seen the amazing things that can be done with Minecraft, imagine the possibilities for other games as well.

And while the Xbox One has already seen tons of sales and a couple of necessary price drops over the past few months, you can definitely expect more as it tries to position itself closer to the top. If 2015 has shown us anything, it’s that Microsoft is driven harder than ever right now, so prepare for a spectacular 2016. 

Nintendo

Unlike Microsoft, Nintendo hasn’t had the easiest time during this latest “console war.” Sure, they led the charge of the current gen with the Wii U which was stronger than both the PS3 and Xbox 360, and brought some exciting new features. But they jumped too soon, and that left plenty of room for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One to swoop in and steal their thunder. 2015 brought some amazing games, Splatoon and Super Mario Maker to name just a couple, but that wasn’t enough to stop the rush of Sony and Microsoft. It got pretty bad and now, only 3 years into the Wii U’s life, the Nintendo NX is a known piece of hardware being developed.

2016 will prove to be an important year for the Japanese giant. They have the handheld market locked down, so for the most part they’re good there, but they’ll need to really maintain their relevance in the console market. Their exclusive games are top notch, but major third-party publishers and developers give the Wii U a wide berth when developing their games. If the NX positions itself just right (sort of like how Sony planned the PS4), they can be in a solid position again. It should be noted that the NX will probably not be out for some time though, so the Wii U will have to seriously step up.

Two big games were delayed this year: The Legend of Zelda Wii U and Star Fox Zero. Both can potentially bring lots of attention to the struggling console but there’s a good chance we may see what happened with the GameCube and Wii. Twilight Princess released for both of those consoles. That provided a strong title for those who already invested in the already existing console, and a strong early title for the new one. Nintendo has used this trick before, so there should be no surprise if they do so again. They need to make moves, and they need to make them now if they’re to have any hope of standing against the other two members of the Big 3. 

Square Enix

Square Enix has been getting a lot of attention over the past year, some of it good, some of it not so much. They had to deal with Tomb Raider fans being upset about the exclusivity deal struck up with Microsoft (great game btw), then they made some huge announcements at E3 that had everyone super excited (yes, we’re talking about Final Fantasy VII Remake), but then things got a bit less stellar when some confusing details were shared (still talking about Final Fantasy VII Remake). But with all of the ups and downs there’s one thing that remains clear, they have one potentially strong lineup of games coming in the near future.

Square Enix is one of those companies that does something great than immediately follows up with something clumsy, so it will be interesting to see what they do with all of the major titles in their roster. Deus Ex was almost derailed by a weird pre-order campaign, but that seems to finally be in order. There’s no telling what the company has up its sleeve in regards to Final Fantasy XV, or perhaps even the upcoming Kingdom Hearts titles.

There’s also the looming shadow that they created on the PlayStation stage back at E3 2015. Final Fantasy VII Remake is proving to be a lot of pressure. Every announcement leads to an uproar from fans, and the fact that details have been relatively tight, only having a few things released every so often, makes things a bit more difficult. There’s no denying that they want to deliver something great, they’ve been very clear about that. But what that means is yet to be seen. You can be sure to find out quite a bit in the next year, though.

Disney

Disney has been making waves in video games lately, and it has been doing so with its most recently acquired properties. Marvel and Star Wars are huge right now… well, they’ve always been huge, but now they’re really huge. EA grabbed the rights to make Star Wars games and has already delivered one title, Star Wars Battlefront. With the first movie in the new trilogy being released (spoiler-free review), the hype is only going to increase. EA and Visceral are hiring for a new third-person action game set in the Star Wars Universe, Disney Infinity 3.0 is a thing that will be undoubtedly expanded upon, and there is yet another Star Wars movie separate from the main trilogy.

Then you have the next wave of Marvel films kicking off early next year along with a new LEGO games set in the world of the Avengers. Disney is wasting no time making a lot of moves with a lot of different companies. Usually when that happens we end up with some stellar video games, so make sure to keep an eye on this entertainment juggernaut.

Motive and Visceral

Back in the summer of this year it was revealed that Jade Raymond (co-creator of Assassin’s Creed) was joining the EA family and opening a studio in Montreal, Canada named Motive. That alone was pretty big news because it meant that EA had some big plans in the background, but things got a bit more exciting when it was revealed that she would also oversee Visceral games and the project they’re working on with Amy Hennig. So you have the studio that created one of the best third-person, survival-horror games in recent years, the co-creator of Assassin’s Creed, and one of the lead writers of the amazing Uncharted series. If that doesn’t sound great, then I don’t know what does.

Everyone has been very hush hush about what exactly is being worked on. All that’s known is that it takes place in the Star Wars universe and that it is a third-person action game, which means everyone with their hands on it should feel right at home. Star Wars Battlefront has been well received for the most part, but there are some valid complaints about the lack of a campaign and minimal multiplayer content. This will be EA’s second at bat with the major franchise, so all eyes are on Jade Raymond.

Atlus

Atlas has the chance to make some serious waves in 2016 since there is now the possibility of it going up against Square Enix’s flagship series, Final Fantasy. A few days ago Square Enix released a survey to gauge interest in Final Fantasy XV against that of Atlus’s Persona 5. It’s not surprising, both are games that fans have been waiting years for, and both look to shake up their respective series by changing things up a bit. Now, the survey was only released in Japan, the home of both franchises and the market where the biggest fight may happen, but let’s not forget that Atlus’s appeal outside of their home turf has been growing.

Final Fantasy has struggled quite a bit in recent years, although they’ve finally seem to have started to find a groove again. But Persona 5 is looking like the game you may want to pick up. Atlus can throw a serious wrench into Square Enix’s plans if they decide to stick to a worldwide release. It was originally supposed to release everywhere this month, but after being delayed it was no longer specified if worldwide was still in the cards for day one. That announcement could definitely create some waves, so we wait patiently for Atlus has to say next. 

Everyone Working on VR

A couple of years ago VR was very real, but still very far. Oculus slaved away fine tuning everything yet still was nowhere close to an affordable consumer unit. Facebook came and bought them and, although it was a bit weird at first, they continued to toil away. But then a bunch of other companies started joining in earnest. Sony stepped up with Project Morpheus (now PlayStation VR), HTC brought the Vive, Razer has OSVR, Samsung has Gear (yup, that’s what they called it), and Google has Cardboard (as well as LG: VR but Cardboard just sounds more badass). It has become a race, and Sony really sped things up and will be in markets very soon.

What does this mean for gaming at large, though? We don’t quite know, but 2016 will provide the first real answers once consumers are able to take this stuff home. If you’ve been curious about what VR will bring to the table, follow 2016 very closely.

2016 looks to be an interesting year. These gaming companies will play a major part in that. Of course, others will rise from the shadows, so be sure to keep watch.