10 Profitable 2017 Video Games That Prove Single Player Isn’t Dead
Multiplayer is the way forward? Bullsh*t.
Right, let's nip this in the bud right now. Despite EA canning Visceral Games' Uncharted-style Star Wars adventure game, Activision filing patents to encourage microtransactions in multiplayer matchmaking and Xbox's Phil Spencer saying that making a single player game is a "difficult business decision", the very notion that stories do not have a place in video games is NOT something that holds true.
To prove it I don't even need to go back further than 2017, but I guarantee if you think back on the majority of your favourite video game memories, they're not routed in multiplayer encounters or dropping your hard-earned cash on a freakin' loot box. Instead it's the the characters, worlds, stories and narratives we get invested in. We care about surprises, conflicts, resolves, plot twists and final revelations.
Multiplayer certainly has its place - and you need only look at the genuinely jaw-dropping amounts of time and money people invest into the likes of Destiny 2 or GTA Online to see why companies want to doggedly pursue those business models - but it should never come at the expense of storytelling.
I can point to Uncharted 4 and Titanfall 2 as phenomenal games with solid multiplayer and solo components, but take a step back and you'll see single player-focused games are also thriving.
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(Budgets are included where available, and thanks to VGChartz for sales figures)