2022 saw the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry, slowing hardware sales for most of the year as well as development delays for major titles. The industry continued its trend of acquisitions and mergers, highlighted by Microsoft announcing its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion. The industry as a whole continued to deal with issues such as workplace harassment and discrimination, alongside crunch periods, leading to at least the quality assurance staff at three separate studios to vote to unionize. This year also began a wave of mass layoffs.
Production of the ninth-generation consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, remained constrained for the first part of the year, but eased up later in the year. New hardware trends included the widespread availability of graphics cards with real-time ray tracing, and the release of the Steam Deck by Valve, a handheld personal computing device capable of playing most games available on Steam. The gaming community remained cautious on the metaverse and blockchain games, though leading publishers expressed their desires to move more into that space.
Financial performance According to market research firm Newton, the global video game industry had total revenues of $184.4 billion, about a 4% decline year-to-year. Half of that was from mobile games, while console games, computer games, and browser games made up 28%, 21%, and 1% of the market, respectively.
Best-selling premium games by region The following titles were 2022'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. RankJapanUnited StatesEurope1 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II FIFA 232 Splatoon 3 Elden Ring Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II3 Pokémon Legends: Arceus Madden NFL 23 Elden Ring4 Kirby and the Forgotten Land God of War Ragnarök Grand Theft Auto V5 Nintendo Switch Sports Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga FIFA 226 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Pokémon Legends: Arceus7 Minecraft FIFA 23 God of War Ragnarök8 Mario Party Superstars Pokémon Legends: Arceus Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga9 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Horizon Forbidden West Horizon Forbidden West10 Elden Ring MLB The Show 22 Gran Turismo 7
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.
+Releases scoring 90/100 or higher on Metacritic in 2022 Title Developer(s) Publisher(s) Release Platform(s) Average score Elden Ring FromSoftware Bandai Namco Entertainment February 25, 2022 PS5, XSX/S 96 Portal Companion Collection Valve, Nvidia Lightspeed StudiosValve June 28, 2022 NS 95 Persona 5 Royal Atlus Sega October 21, 2022 WIN 95 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition CD Projekt Red CD Projekt December 14, 2022 PS5 94 Persona 5 Royal Atlus Sega October 21, 2022 NS, XSX/S 94 Elden Ring FromSoftware Bandai Namco Entertainment February 25, 2022 WIN 94 God of War Ragnarök Santa Monica Studio Sony Interactive Entertainment November 9, 2022 PS5 94 Dwarf Fortress Bay 12 Games Kitfox Games December 6, 2022 WIN 93 The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Crows Crows Crows April 27, 2022 XSX/S 93 God of War Jetpack Interactive Sony Interactive Entertainment January 14, 2022 WIN 93 Cuphead in the Delicious Last Course Studio MDHR June 30, 2022 XBO 92 Chained Echoes Matthias Linda Deck13 December 8, 2022 WIN 91 Persona 5 Royal Atlus Sega October 21, 2022 PS5 91 Chained Echoes Matthias Linda Deck13 December 8, 2022 NS 90 Rogue Legacy 2 Cellar Door Games April 28, 2022 XSX/S 90 The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Crows Crows Crows April 27, 2022 WIN 90 The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Nihon Falcom NIS America September 27, 2022 WIN 90
Major awards Category/Organization 40th Golden Joystick Awards The Game Awards 2022 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards 23rd Game Developers Choice Awards 19th British Academy Games Awards Game of the Year Elden Ring Vampire Survivors Independent / Debut Indie Cult of the Lamb Stray Tunic Stray Tunic Debut Stray Mobile Marvel Snap rowspan="2" colspan="3" VR / AR Moss: Book II Red Matter 2 Artistic Achievement Animation Elden Ring God of War Ragnarök Elden Ring God of War Ragnarök Art Direction God of War Ragnarök Tunic Audio Music Metal: Hellsinger God of War Ragnarök God of War Ragnarök God of War Ragnarök Sound Design God of War Ragnarök God of War Ragnarök Character or Performance Leading Role Manon Gage as Marissa MarcelImmortality Christopher Judge as KratosGod of War Ragnarök KratosGod of War Ragnarök colspan="2" rowspan="2" Christopher Judge as KratosGod of War Ragnarök Supporting Role Laya Deleon Hayes as AngrbodaGod of War Ragnarök Game Direction or Design Game Design rowspan="2" Elden Ring Elden Ring Elden Ring Vampire Survivors Game Direction Elden Ring Narrative Horizon Forbidden West God of War Ragnarök Pentiment Immortality Technical Achievement colspan="2" Elden Ring God of War Ragnarök Horizon Forbidden West Multiplayer / Online Elden Ring Splatoon 3 Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker colspan="2" Elden Ring Action Bayonetta 3 Vampire Survivors rowspan="2" colspan="3" Adventure God of War Ragnarök Family Kirby and the Forgotten Land Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope colspan="2" Kirby and the Forgotten Land Fighting Multiversus rowspan="5" colspan="3" Role-Playing Elden Ring Sports/Racing Sports rowspan="2" Gran Turismo 7 OlliOlli World Racing Gran Turismo 7 Strategy/Simulation Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Dwarf Fortress Social Impact As Dusk Falls Citizen Sleeper Endling: Extinction is Forever Special Award rowspan="2" colspan="2" Hall of Fame Pioneer Award Lifetime Achievement BAFTA Fellowship Tim Schafer Mabel Addis John RomeroShuhei Yoshida
Major events