2015 was a humongous year for gamers with the release of video games such as Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, The Witcher 3, Halo 5: Guardians, and many more. The year of 2016 is said to be even bigger. The year has just started, however, there is a series of video game upcoming releases on the calendar. At the same time there are a handful of games highly anticipated by gamers.

One of the first video games that are highly anticipated by fans is Tom Clancy’s The Division. It’s an upcoming open world third-person shooter role-playing video game that borrows surviving elements after a mid-crisis in New York City. It is a game that’s being released March 8, 2016 and is released for all systems. Anticipation for this game continues to grow as more gameplay is shown. Especially the multiplayer that brings together a cult of heroes to survive in a open-world calamity.

Another highly anticipated video game has to be Gears of War 4. It’s said to be released in the fourth quarter of 2016 (October, November, December) on the Xbox One exclusively and is the fifth installment to the Gears of War series. Gears of War 4 is a third-person shooter video game, it is about the clash between mankind and a race of reptilian humanoids. The game is developed by a new company, The Coalition, but makes a throwback to 2006 of the game’s original roots with a dark, eerie, and barbaric tone.

For one last final adventure, Nathan Drake will find the truth behind a long lost pirate colony and its treasure with his brother Sam, who was long believed to be dead. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is an upcoming action-adventure third-person shooter, and platformer game that will be released April 26, 2016 as an exclusive to the PlayStation 4. It takes place three years after the events of Uncharted 3 with Nathan Drake as a retired Fortune Hunter. The demand for a new game was too high to ignore by Naughty Dog, the developer, and even higher expectations are a given after the success of The Last Of Us. We should expect a great plot, cinematics, and heartfelt moments.

A long-anticipated video game has to be the Nintendo exclusive Legend of Zelda releasing only on the Wii U sometime in 2016. The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure video game along with being able to travel open-world. The Legend of Zelda has been in development since 2016 and has gained more publicity since its opening. It’s said to give Link, the main protagonist, a new face while diving back into his original roots. There is also the new female version of Link introduced into the game, “Linkle.”

One of my personal favorites releasing in 2016 worldwide has to be Final Fantasy XV, developed by Square Enix for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. The game takes place in modern-day Earth, the whole world bars the kingdom of Lucis and are under the control of the empire of Niflheim. Noctis Lucis Caelum, heir to the Lucian throne, is forced to leave his home after an invasion by Niflheim on Lucis during a negotiation between the two nations. Noctis and his comrades work together to face the army of Niflheim and taking back a mysterious crystal.    

There are a lot of games being released in the year of 2016 that have set the bar high. I feel that this year is great for video games and gamers because the advancement in technology which makes better video games and accessories like Virtual Reality headset.