In the video game industry, 2023 saw significant changes within larger publishers and developers. Microsoft, after having satisfied worldwide regulatory bodies, completed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, making them the third largest game publisher in the world. Embracer Group, which had been in an acquisition spree over the previous few years, had an estimated deal fall through, causing many of the studios under Embracer to either lay off staff or close entirely. Similar layoffs were seen at Unity, Amazon, ByteDance, Epic Games, Bungie, and Ubisoft, leading to over 9,000 jobs lost in the industry in 2023 and part of a larger trend of layoffs at technology companies in 2023.
Financial performance Best-selling premium games by region The following titles were 2023'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 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Hogwarts Legacy EA Sports FC 242 Super Mario Bros. Wonder Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Hogwarts Legacy3 Pikmin 4 Madden NFL 24 FIFA 234 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III5 Momotaro Dentetsu World: Chikyuu wa Kibou de Mawatteru! The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Grand Theft Auto V6 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Diablo IV Diablo IV7 Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom8 Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Mortal Kombat 1 Red Dead Redemption 29 Splatoon 3 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Super Mario Bros. Wonder10 Super Mario RPG EA Sports FC 24 Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Top-rated games Critically acclaimed titles The number of highly praised video games released in 2023 was considered unusually high compared to most years, with 25 games having a 90 out of 100 or better aggregate score on Metacritic by October 2023; this made it the best year by number of acclaimed games, the largest since 2004. This year was comparable to the slate of highly praised releases in 1992, 1997 and 2008. The reasons for this include the fact that most of the top games were delayed or not even developed until after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, leading to greater quality in gaming overall, and that the ninth generation of consoles had become entrenched for developers.
The following table lists the top-rated games released in 2023 based on Metacritic, which generally considers expansions as separate entities.
+2023 releases scoring 90/100 or higher on Metacritic Title Developer(s) Publisher(s) Release Platform(s) Average score Baldur's Gate 3 Larian Studios August 3, 2023 OSX, PS5, WIN, XSX/S 96 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo EPD Nintendo May 12, 2023 NS 96 Metroid Prime Remastered Retro Studios Nintendo February 8, 2023 NS 94 Resident Evil 4 Capcom March 24, 2023 iOS, iPadOS, OSX, PS4, PS5, WIN, XSX/S 93 Street Fighter 6 Capcom June 2, 2023 Arcade, PS4, PS5, WIN, XSX/S 92 Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo EPD Nintendo October 20, 2023 NS 92 Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Expansion Pass Wave 4 - Future Redeemed Monolith Soft Nintendo April 25, 2023 NS 92 Against the Storm Eremite Games Hooded Horse December 8, 2023 WIN 91 Dave the Diver Mintrocket June 28, 2023 OSX, NS, PS4, PS5, WIN 90 Jack Jeanne Broccoli Aksys Games June 15, 2023 DROID, iOS, NS 90 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment October 20, 2023 PS5 90 Slay the Princess Black Tabby Games October 23, 2023 LIN, OSX, NS, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX/S 90 Videoverse Kinmoku August 7, 2023 LIN, OSX, WIN 90
Major awards Baldur's Gate 3 was the first game to sweep the Game of the Year categories at the five major awards ceremonies: the Golden Joystick Awards, the Game Awards, the D.I.C.E. Awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and the BAFTA Games Awards.
Category / Organization 41st Golden Joystick Awards The Game Awards 2023 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards 24th Game Developers Choice Awards 20th British Academy Games Awards Game of the Year Baldur's Gate 3 Independent / Debut Indie Sea of Stars Sea of Stars Cocoon Venba Debut Cocoon Mobile rowspan="1" Honkai: Star Rail What the Car? colspan="3" rowspan="2" VR / AR Horizon Call of the Mountain Resident Evil Village Asgard's Wrath 2 Artistic Achievement Animation Baldur's Gate 3 Alan Wake 2 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Alan Wake 2 Hi-Fi Rush Art Direction Alan Wake 2 Alan Wake 2 Audio Music Final Fantasy XVI Final Fantasy XVI Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Hi-Fi Rush Baldur's Gate 3 Sound Design Hi-Fi Rush Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Alan Wake 2 Character or Performance Leading Role Ben Starr as Clive RosfieldFinal Fantasy XVI Neil Newbon as AstarionBaldur's Gate 3 Miles Morales Marvel's Spider-Man 2 colspan="2" rowspan="2" Nadji Jeter as Miles MoralesMarvel's Spider-Man 2 Supporting Role Neil Newbon as AstarionBaldur's Gate 3 Andrew Wincott as RaphaelBaldur's Gate 3 Game Direction or Design Game Design rowspan="2" Alan Wake 2 Baldur's Gate 3 Baldur's Gate 3 Dave the Diver Game Direction Baldur's Gate 3 Narrative Baldur's Gate 3 Alan Wake 2 Baldur's Gate 3 Technical Achievement colspan="2" Marvel's Spider-Man 2 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Multiplayer / Online Mortal Kombat 1 Baldur's Gate 3 Diablo IV colspan="2" Super Mario Bros. Wonder Action Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Marvel's Spider-Man 2 rowspan="2" colspan="3" Adventure The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Family Super Mario Bros. Wonder colspan="2" Super Mario Bros. Wonder Fighting Street Fighter 6 rowspan="5" colspan="3" Role-Playing Baldur's Gate 3 Sports/Racing Sports rowspan="2" Forza Motorsport MLB The Show 23 Racing Forza Motorsport Strategy/Simulation Pikmin 4 Dune: Spice Wars Social Impact Tchia Venba Tchia Special Award colspan="2" rowspan="2" Hall of Fame Ambassador Award Lifetime AchievementBAFTA Special Koji KondoFawzi MesmarYoko ShimomuraSpecialEffect
Major events