2011 in video games
The year 2011 saw many new video games, as well the release of numerous sequels to critically acclaimed games, such as Ace Combat, Assassin's Creed, ', Battlefield, Call of Duty, Call of Juarez, Cities XL, Crysis, Dead Space, Deus Ex, Dragon Age, Driver, Duke Nukem, Dynasty Warriors, F.E.A.R, Forza Motorsport, Gears of War, Infamous, Killzone, LittleBigPlanet, Mario Kart, Modern Combat, Mortal Kombat, MX vs. ATV, Need for Speed, Operation Flashpoint, Pokémon, Portal, Rayman, Red Faction, ', Resistance, Saints Row, ', The Elder Scrolls, The Legend of Zelda, ', Total War, Tropico and Uncharted. In addition, it saw the release of many new intellectual properties, such as Bastion, Dark Souls, Dead Island, Homefront, L.A. Noire, Minecraft and Rage. Many awards went to games such as ', Portal 2, ', ' and '. 2011 also marked the worldwide release of the Nintendo 3DS.
Events
Hardware releases
The list of game-related hardware released in 2011 in North America.Game releases
The list of games released in 2011 in North America.January–March
April–June
July–September
October–December
Critically acclaimed titles
and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | MC score | GR score |
| ' | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | October 18, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 96/100 | 95.94% |
| ' | Bethesda Softworks | November 11, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 96/100 | 95.15% |
| Portal 2 | Valve | April 19, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 95/100 | 95.16% |
| Portal 2 | Valve | April 19, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 95/100 | 94% |
| Portal 2 | Valve | April 19, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 95/100 | 93.95% |
| ' | Bethesda Softworks | November 11, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 94/100 | 94.42% |
| ' | Nintendo | June 16, 2011 | Nintendo 3DS | 94/100 | 93.89% |
| ' | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | October 18, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 94/100 | 93.88% |
| Mass Effect 2 | Electronic Arts | January 17, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 94/100 | 93.09% |
| ' | Nintendo | November 18, 2011 | Wii | 93/100 | 93.15% |
| LittleBigPlanet 2 | Sony Computer Entertainment | January 18, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 91/100 | 92.04% |
| The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection | Sony Computer Entertainment | September 22, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 92/100 | 91.79% |
| ' | Sony Computer Entertainment | November 1, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 92/100 | 91.78% |
| Rayman Origins | Ubisoft | November 15, 2011 | Wii | 92/100 | 91.27% |
| ' | Bethesda Softworks | November 11, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 92/100 | 88% |
| Pushmo | Nintendo | October 5, 2011 | Nintendo 3DS | 90/100 | 91.5% |
| Gears of War 3 | Microsoft Game Studios | September 20, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 91/100 | 91.49% |
| Forza Motorsport 4 | Microsoft Game Studios | October 11, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 91/100 | 90.66% |
| ' | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | October 18, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 90.43% |
| FIFA 12 | EA Sports | September 27, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 90/100 | 90.65% |
| FIFA 12 | EA Sports | September 27, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 90/100 | 90.55% |
| Bastion | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | December 9, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 86/100 | 90.36% |
| ' | Square Enix | August 23, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 90/100 | 90.19% |
| Metal Gear Solid HD Collection | Konami | November 8, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 89/100 | 90.14% |
| Super Mario 3D Land | Nintendo | November 3, 2011 | Nintendo 3DS | 90/100 | 90.09% |
| ' | Sony Computer Entertainment | March 8, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 90/100 | 89.88% |
| NBA 2K12 | 2K | October 4, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 90/100 | 89.81% |
| Metal Gear Solid HD Collection | Konami | November 8, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 90/100 | 89.81% |
| Limbo | Playdead | July 19, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 90/100 | 89.55% |
| ' | Sega | March 15, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 90/100 | 89.42% |
| Dead Space 2 | Electronic Arts | January 25, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 90/100 | 89.1% |
| FIFA 12 | EA Sports | September 27, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 89/100 | 90% |
| NBA 2K12 | 2K | October 4, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 90/100 | 88.39% |
| ' | Square Enix | August 23, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 89/100 | 89.89% |
| ' | The Fighter Collection | April 22, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 87/100 | 89.6% |
| ' | Square Enix | August 23, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 89/100 | 89.57% |
| La-Mulana | Asterizm | June 21, 2011 | Wii | 87/100 | 89.33% |
| Dead Space 2 | Electronic Arts | January 25, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 89/100 | 89.22% |
| Dark Souls | FromSoftware | September 22, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 89/100 | 88.48% |
| Dark Souls | FromSoftware | September 22, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 89/100 | 88.23% |
| L.A. Noire | Rockstar Games | May 17, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 89/100 | 88.15% |
| L.A. Noire | Rockstar Games | May 17, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 89/100 | 87.93% |
| Battlefield 3 | Electronic Arts | October 25, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 89/100 | 86.82% |
| Pinball FX 2: Sorcerer's Lair | Microsoft Game Studios | October 12, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 89/100 | 81.67% |
| Rayman Origins | Ubisoft | November 15, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 87/100 | 88.81% |
| ' | Capcom | July 5, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 84/100 | 88.8% |
| ' | Activision | November 8, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 88/100 | 88.46% |
| Marvel Pinball: Captain America | Microsoft Game Studios | June 29, 2011 | Xbox 360 | N/A | 88.33% |
| ' | Activision | November 8, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 88/100 | 88.1% |
| Rayman Origins | Ubisoft | November 15, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 87/100 | 88.07% |
| Limbo | Playdead | July 19, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 88/100 | 88.05% |
| ' | CD Projekt | May 17, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 88/100 | 87.97% |
| Joe Danger: Special Edition | Microsoft Game Studios | December 14, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 88/100 | 87.83% |
| ' | Ubisoft | March 22, 2011 | Microsoft Windows | 88/100 | 87.64% |
| OMG-Z | Laughing Jackal | August 2, 2011 | PlayStation Portable | 88/100 | 81.17% |
| Dirt 3 | Codemasters | May 24, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 87/100 | 87.96% |
| NHL 12 | EA Sports | September 13, 2011 | Xbox 360 | 86/100 | 87.77% |
| Dirt 3 | Codemasters | May 24, 2011 | PlayStation 3 | 87/100 | 87.57% |