2015 in video games

The year 2015 saw releases of numerous video games as well as a follow-up to Nintendo's portable 3DS console, the New Nintendo 3DS. Top-rated games originally released in 2015 included Madden NFL 16, NBA 2K16, NBA Live 16, WWE 2K16, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Bloodborne,  Undertale, and Fallout 4. Sales of video games in 2015 reached $61 billion, according to analysis firm SuperData, an 8% increase from 2014. Of this, the largest sector was in computer game sales and subscription services, accounting for $32 billion. Mobile games revenues were at $25.1 billion, a 10% increase from 2014. Digital sales on consoles made up the remaining $4 billion.

In the United States, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the NPD Group estimated total video game market revenues at $23.5 billion, a 5% increase from 2014. Of this, the total software market was $16.5 billion, with the NPD Group estimating retail sales subset at $13.1 billion. The ESA reported that there were 2,457 companies in the United States involved in developing or publishing video games that directly supported 65,678 workers (37,122 in developing, 28,556 in publishing) with about another 154,000 indirectly supporting the industry, such as through contracting or video game journalism. The total contribution to the US's gross national product from the industry was $11.7 billion.

In the United Kingdom, the total video game market was valued at nearly GB£4.2 billion, according to figures from Ukie and MCV. The largest segments were in digital software (£1.2 billion) and mobile games (£664 million), while sales of consoles dropped to £689 million.

Critically acclaimed titles
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

Highest-grossing games
The following were 2015's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, subscriptions, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms). Three of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent, including the top-grossing title League of Legends.

Notable deaths

 * January 25, 2015 – Colin Wyckoff, 20, Garry's Mod youtuber known online as kitty0706.
 * February 1, 2015 – Monty Oum, 33, animator for Midway Games and Afro Samurai.
 * June 7, 2015 – Christopher Lee, 93, voice actor best known for the character Saruman in the "Lord of the Rings" film franchise and its video game tie-ins.
 * July 11, 2015 – Satoru Iwata, 55, the fourth president and chief executive officer of Nintendo.
 * July 31, 2015 – Roddy Piper, 61, pro wrestler and actor. Appeared in Abobo's Big Adventure, Saints Row IV, and numerous wrestling games including WWE 2K.

Hardware releases
The list of game-related hardware released in 2015 in North America.

Series with new entries
Series with new installments in 2015 include Anno, Assassin's Creed, Batman: Arkham, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Disgaea, Dirt, Fallout, Fatal Frame, Five Nights at Freddy's, Forza Motorsport, Guitar Hero, Halo, Heroes of Might and Magic, Hotline Miami, Just Cause, King's Quest, Kirby, Magicka, Mario Party, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Mario & Luigi, Metal Gear, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat, Need for Speed, OlliOlli, Resident Evil, Rock Band, StarCraft, Star Wars: Battlefront, Tales, The Witcher, Tomb Raider, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Total War, Toy Soldiers, Xenoblade Chronicles, Yakuza and Yoshi.

In addition, 2015 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Bloodborne, Dying Light, Evolve, Life Is Strange, Ori, Rocket League, Splatoon, Undertale, and Until Dawn.

Game releases
The list of games released in 2015 in North America.

Cancelled

 * Borderlands Online (Win)
 * Broforce (PSVita)
 * Dying Light (PS3, X360)
 * Furious 4 (Win, PS3, X360)
 * Galak-Z: The Dimensional (PSVita)
 * Gone Home (WiiU)
 * Human Element (Win, PS4, XBO)
 * Kaio: King of Pirates (3DS)
 * Mad Max (PS3, X360)
 * Mortal Kombat X (PS3, X360)
 * Project CARS (WiiU)
 * Scrolls (iOS)
 * Shadow Realms (Win)
 * Silent Hills (PS4)
 * The Black Glove (N/A)

On hold

 * Hellraid (PS4, XBO, Win)
 * Phantom Dust (Xbox One)