There was a lot for gamers to be excited about in 2016 in terms of new video game releases. Looking back over the course of the year, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1, DOOM, FIFA 17 and Final Fantasy XV were the multi-platform titles that gamers were clamoring for most at launch.  In terms of console exclusives, Gears of War 4 on Xbox One and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on PlayStation 4 had the highest anticipation level among all titles over the history of those platforms to date. Paper Mario: Color Splash was the most anticipated among Wii U gamers, and World of Warcraft: Legion and Civilization VI was the most anticipated PC exclusive.

METHODOLOGY

Nielsen Game Rank™ represents the overall anticipation level among gamers on each platform, based on a combination of several key measures (including awareness, purchase interest, consumer rating and others). The percent value shown reflects how strong the overall anticipation level is for the title, relative to the pre-release anticipation levels of all previous titles that released on the platform(s). Data for this analysis are from the three weeks leading up to launch, illustrating how much consumer anticipation and momentum each title had as it entered the marketplace.