These are the 5 biggest things to expect from gaming in 2021

• In 2020, “Animal Crossing” took the world by storm and Sony’s PlayStation 5 was nearly impossible to find. So what’s in store for 2021?

• Rumors have been circulating for months about a new version of Nintendo Switch with more power, and a handful of major games are expected to launch for the new Sony and Microsoft game consoles.

• Here’s everything we know about the coming year in video games!

• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

You did it: you succeeded until 2020!

What better way to celebrate a terrible year than to immerse yourself in a bevy of new video games. 2021 promises just that, with major new entries in the expected series of “Halo,” “Resident Evil” and “Ratchet & Clank” – among a variety of entirely new games, and perhaps even a major new hardware entry from the very popular Nintendo Switch.

Here’s everything we know so far about the coming year in the game:

1. The first major games designed for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S consoles | Next-gen X are expected to launch.

When the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X consoles launched in mid-November, they ushered in the latest “generation” of games.

Along with the new consoles, a handful of new games released – both by console makers’ in-house studios and third-party game makers – intended to take advantage of the new technology. With a few exceptions, these launch games were little more than pretty versions of games running on the latest generation of gaming consoles.

In 2021, however, the first major games intended only for new consoles are expected to arrive: from “Ratchet & Clank” on PlayStation 5 to “Halo Infinite” on the Xbox Series S and Series X.

Beyond games, Microsoft’s hugely popular Game Pass service has expanded to include video game streaming, and it is slated to run on iPhone in 2021. Sony has yet to offer a competitive Game Pass-like service, although ‘it began to expand its PlayStation Plus service with the launch of the PS5. It is likely that we will see more movement on the services front from both companies in the coming months.

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2. At least two huge games are slated to launch this year: “Halo Infinite” and “Horizon Forbidden West”.

Although we are still months away from the 2021 holidays, we already have an idea of ​​what this year’s big games will be: “Horizon Forbidden West” and “Halo Infinite” are set to launch in the second half of 2021.

In the case of the first, “Horizon Foribdden West” is a major PlayStation 5 game that marks the second entry in the “Horizon” series of third-person action games. This is the sequel to “Horizon Zero Dawn”, an excellent PlayStation 4 exclusive launched against “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” in early 2017.

As for “Halo Infinite”, Microsoft was already forced to delay the great exclusivity out of its launch window in November. The result was a major launch of the Xbox console without big new games that could only be played on the new consoles.

Against this backdrop, there are high expectations for the new game “Halo” – the once dominant first-person shooter franchise has faded from prominence in recent entries, and fans are hoping for a return to fame with ” Inifinite “.

3. Nintendo is reportedly working on a new version of the Switch that is more powerful and that could arrive in 2021.

For years, rumors have been circulating that a new, more powerful version of the Nintendo Switch is in the works.

Initially, these rumors were associated with a cheaper and only portable version of the Switch. This eventually came to fruition as the Nintendo Switch Lite, which launched in September 2019.

Nintendo has so far not confirmed the existence or development of a more powerful Switch – a “Pro” Switch model, if you will. Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furakawa and Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser say Nintendo Switch as a platform is “in the middle” of its lifecycle, leaving the door open. to new versions of the Nintendo Switch.

One thing is clear: a more powerful Switch is unlikely to power games that couldn’t run on the original Switch launched in 2017.

Nintendo has a vested interest in satisfying its huge Switch owner market – just under 70 million as of September 30, according to Nintendo – and the company’s management has repeatedly said it expects several more years of life. for the Switch as a whole. Platform.

Considering that two years have passed since the last iteration of the Switch and Nintendo is now competing with graphics powers from Sony and Microsoft, 2021 would be a good time for Nintendo to launch a more powerful version of its hugely popular console.

4. Some highly anticipated games are set to launch including “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart” in the first half of the year, a sequel to “God of War” at some point, and the next big game “Resident Evil”.

While waiting for delays, which are sure to occur, the 2021 video game lineup is solid: long-awaited sequels in the “Halo” and “God of War” franchises are planned for this year, along with new third-party games. major ones like “Ghostwire: Tokyo” and “Hogwarts Legacy”.

The year is off to a good start, as “Hitman 3” is slated for release January 20, and a gorgeous new “Ratchet & Clank” is slated for some time in the first half of the year.

The biggest question mark is Nintendo. The Japanese video game powerhouse has announced a sequel to the 2017 game “Legend of Zelda”, but no release date has been given. New entries in the “Metroid Prime” and “Bayonetta” franchises are also reportedly in the works, but it’s unclear whether either will arrive in 2021.

Still, we know of at least one major Nintendo Switch game on the horizon: “Super Mario 3D World” will be re-released for the Switch on February 12, and it arrives with a bunch of new content (named “Bowser’s Fury”).

5. The ongoing legal saga between Apple and Epic Games is expected to go to court this year.

The maker of “Fortnite” Epic Games and Apple are engaged in an ongoing and heated legal battle, and there has already been a major casualty: “Fortnite” launched on the App Store on August 13, and it won’t be back. not anytime soon.

Worse yet, the game no longer works on iPhone or iPad. So how did things go here, where one of the world’s greatest games is suddenly banned from Apple’s major devices?

From private CEO emails to major requests to a carefully crafted anti-Apple PR campaign, the path is winding and tangled.

The end result, however, is clear: Apple and Epic are digging, legally speaking, and the case is slated to go to court as early as this year.

Do you have any advice? Contact Business Insider Senior Correspondent Ben Gilbert by email ([email protected]), or Twitter DM (@realbengilbert). We may keep the sources anonymous. Use an unprofessional device to contact. PR arguments only by email, please.

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