2018 in video games
Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included ' Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, ' and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.
Among major trends in 2018 included the explosive growth of battle royale games such as Bluehole's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Epic Games' Fortnite Battle Royale, the resurgence of Pokémon Go, ongoing governmental review of loot boxes in light of national gambling restrictions, Sony Interactive Entertainment agreeing to allow cross-platform play between PlayStation 4 and other console users, and the entry of Fortnite-related internet memes into popular culture. With Fortnites success, Epic was able to establish the Epic Games Store for personal computers as a strong competitor to the dominant but criticized position held by Valve's Steam digital storefront by significantly increasing the revenue split it gave to developers. Additionally, with a number of major sudden studio closures, including Telltale Games, there was an increasing call for video game developers to unionize. A nearly year-long freeze on video game approvals by the Chinese government had a major impact on publishers Tencent and NetEase, and is expected to impact future revenues in the industry.
Top rated games
Major awards
1These awards are sometimes given as one or two awards.Critically acclaimed games
is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.| Title | Developer | Release | Platform | Average score out of 100 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | Rockstar Studios | October 26, 2018 | PS4, XBO | 97 |
| God of War | SIE Santa Monica Studio | April 20, 2018 | PS4 | 94 |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Bandai Namco Studios, Sora Ltd. | December 7, 2018 | NS | 92 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | Playground Games | October 2, 2018 | Win, XBO | 92 |
| ' | Larian Studios | August 31, 2018 | PS4, XBO | 92 |
| Bayonetta 2 | PlatinumGames | February 16, 2018 | NS | 92 |
| Celeste | Matt Makes Games | January 25, 2018 | Win, PS4, NS, XBO | 91 |
| Inside | Playdead | June 28, 2018 | NS | 91 |
| Sonic Mania Plus | PagodaWest Games, Headcannon | July 17, 2018 | NS | 91 |
| Dead Cells | Motion Twin | August 7, 2018 | Win, PS4, NS, XBO | 91 |
| Shadow of the Colossus | Bluepoint Games | February 6, 2018 | PS4 | 91 |
| ' | PlatinumGames | June 26, 2018 | XBO | 90 |
| Capcom | January 26, 2018 | Win, PS4, XBO | 90 | |
| Hollow Knight | Team Cherry | June 12, 2018 | NS | 90 |
| Astro Bot Rescue Mission | SIE Japan Studio | October 2, 2018 | PS4 | 90 |
Highly scoring games with fewer than 10 reviews included Owlboy, The Banner Saga 3, and the Nintendo Switch ports of Undertale and Bastion.
Financial performance
According to industry analysis firm NewZoo, the video game industry was worth by revenues in 2018, a 10.9% growth over 2017. Of this, 47% of the revenues were generated from mobile gaming, with consoles taking 28% and personal computers taking the remaining 25%. The top five largest video game markets of 2018 were China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.According to the NPD Group, total revenue from the video game industry, including hardware, software, and accessories, in the United States grew by 17% to, nearly matching revenues for the American film industry for 2018. Of that, were from software sales, digital content, and subscriptions. Hardware sales, at, were up 15% from 2017, as despite the fact that there was no new hardware releases, several system-exclusive titles helped to drive hardware sales.
Highest-grossing games worldwide
The following were 2018's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide digital revenue across all platforms. Six of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent.| Rank | Game | Revenue | Publisher | Genre | Business model | |
| 1 | Fortnite | $2,400,000,000 | Epic Games / Tencent | Battle royale | Free-to-play | |
| 2 | Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor | $2,000,000,000 | Tencent | MOBA | Free-to-play | |
| 3 | Dungeon Fighter Online | $1,500,000,000 | Nexon / Tencent | Beat 'em up | Free-to-play | |
| 4 | League of Legends | $1,400,000,000 | Riot Games / Tencent | MOBA | Free-to-play | |
| 5 | Pokémon Go | $1,300,000,000 | Niantic / The Pokémon Company | Augmented reality | Free-to-play | |
| 6 | CrossFire | $1,300,000,000 | Smilegate / Tencent | FPS | Free-to-play | |
| 7 | PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds | Bluehole / Tencent | Battle royale | Buy-to-play / free-to-play | ||
| 8 | Fate/Grand Order | ,000,000 | Aniplex / Sony Music Entertainment Japan | RPG | Free-to-play | |
| 9 | Monster Strike | ,000,000 | Mixi | Physics | Free-to-play | |
| 10 | Candy Crush Saga | $1,100,000,000 | King / Activision Blizzard | Puzzle | Free-to-play |
Best-selling games by region
The following were 2018's top ten best-selling video games by region, in terms of software units sold on PC and console platforms, for the United States, Japan, and Europe.| Rank | United States | Japan | Europe |
| 1 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | ' | FIFA 19 |
| 2 | ' | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Red Dead Redemption 2 |
| 3 | NBA 2K19 | ' | Spider-Man |
| 4 | Madden NFL 19 | Splatoon 2 | ' |
| 5 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
| 6 | Spider-Man | Super Mario Party | God of War |
| 7 | Far Cry 5 | Kirby Star Allies | Far Cry 5 |
| 8 | God of War | ' | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate |
| 9 | ' | ' | Super Mario Party |
| 10 | ' | Super Mario Odyssey | Super Mario Odyssey |