10 Biggest Video Game Surprises Of 2019

EA has had more downs than ups of late, compounded by the poor showings with their Star Wars license and the less said about Anthem the better. Yet, as 2019 comes to a close, EA are again the talking point of industry, but this time it's seemingly for all the right reasons.

That comes as no small part thanks to a little known development studio called Respawn, a team that not only shadow dropped a new multiplayer shooter that has since gone on to rival one of the biggest IP's of all time, but helped to revive a franchise that few thought possible.

It all stated back in February when EA and Respawn dropped Apex Legends onto an unsuspecting audience. The surprise launch quickly took the world by storm, finally giving Fortnite a legitimate contender for the growing battle royale genre and delivering a fresh shooter with a diverse cast of characters to boot.

Apex Legends was an instant hit, but Respawn had another ace up its sleeves, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Amidst EA's intent to deliver more games as a service, here was a single player driven adventure set in a world that had so far delivered nothing but pain for the Publisher. Again, it was a big gamble to go against type, but it paid off in a big way both commercially and critically.

EA have a lot to be thankful for in 2019, not least of which the fact that they have Respawn in their stable of developers. Who knows what would have happened without them.