10 Best New Video Game Franchises Of The Decade (So Far)

Regardless of your thoughts on the overall quality of this year's E3, you have to admit that the conferences were a little sequel-heavy. That's good and all, especially because people are eager to see more of their favourite franchises back and bigger than ever before, but the industry thrives on new ideas and properties. You only have to look towards Overwatch to vindicate such a sentiment.

Thankfully, the 2010s have managed to offset the sequel-heavy nature of this year's announcements, as a great many new franchises have managed to find critical and commercial success in a manner almost unheard of a decade prior. Both big studios and indie devs alike are really pushing forward with new concepts, designs, and storylines to move the industry further in the right direction, and again, considering just how successful these IPs have been, making something new has never been such a safe decision.

I say 'safe' in relative terms because, well, there's still a great deal of risk in pushing a new IP to market. Though Mirror's Edge debuted in 2008, its sequel Catalyst became an instant critical and commercial bomb. Its mechanics were immensely flawed, yes, but you could clearly tell that E.A. had next to no confidence in the brand. I mean seriously, when was the last time you saw a Mirror's Edge advert floating around?

But I digress, as you really don't have to look far to see just how impressive new IPs have been over the past six years. As franchise fatigue inevitably sets in, having these new series to jump into is a welcome relief.

Overwatch is just a wonderful, wonderful game. Not only does it have some of the best multiplayer combat to have ever featured in an FPS, it's got an incredibly rich history and lore. Never before have I seen a series take to water so effortlessly like I have with Blizzard's biggest cross-platform release yet. It is without doubt the biggest video game success of the year, and one you really have to experience for yourself.

Combat is fast, fluid and layered beyond all comparison. You really will struggle to find a deeper or more balanced shooter than Overwatch, or even one that can instil such euphoric heights when everything comes together and your team sail to victory. It's just that good.

So too is the universe Blizzard have created to accompany the game's release, which, by all accounts, has to be the most inventive mythos created in a title since Mass Effect graced the Xbox 360 in 2007. Even if it does lack a linear narrative, Overwatch's ambiguity only aids in its universal appeal.