2012 in video games


The year 2012 saw the release of numerous sequels to critically acclaimed video games, such as Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed, Borderlands, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Darksiders, Dead or Alive, Diablo, Fable, Far Cry, Forza Motorsport, Halo, Hitman, Mario Party, Marvel vs. Capcom, Mass Effect, Max Payne, Medal of Honor, Modern Combat, Need for Speed, Ninja Gaiden, PlanetSide, Pokémon, Prototype, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Sniper Elite, Spec Ops, Super Mario, Tekken, The Darkness, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, ', Trials and X-COM. In addition, it saw the release of many new intellectual properties, such as Asura's Wrath, Dishonored, Journey, Lollipop Chainsaw and Sleeping Dogs. Many awards went to games such as Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Journey, Mass Effect 3, The Walking Dead and '. It began with the worldwide release of Sony's newest handheld game console, the PlayStation Vita, that was launched in Japan in December 2011. The end of the year marked the worldwide release of the second most recent home console by Nintendo, the Wii U.

Events

Hardware releases

The list of game consoles released in 2012 in North America.
MonthDayConsole
February15PlayStation Vita
August19Nintendo 3DS XL
September25PlayStation 3 Super Slim
November18Wii U
December7Wii mini
December18Neo Geo X

Game releases

The list of games released in 2012 in North America.

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Critically acclaimed titles

and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
GamePublisherRelease DatePlatformMC scoreGR score
The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time LeftTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012Microsoft Windows89/10094.75%
Persona 4 GoldenAtlusJune 14, 2012PlayStation Vita93/10094.16%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games SeriesTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012PlayStation 394/10092.5%
Mark of the NinjaMicrosoft StudiosOctober 16, 2012Microsoft Windows91/10093.33%
Super HexagonTerry CavanaghNovember 27, 2012Microsoft Windows88/10093.33%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games SeriesTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012Microsoft Windows89/10093.2%
Mass Effect 3Electronic ArtsMarch 6, 2012Xbox 36093/10092.17%
Cave StoryNicalisOctober 4, 2012Nintendo 3DS93/10092%
Mass Effect 3Electronic ArtsMarch 6, 2012PlayStation 393/10091.65%
JourneySony Computer EntertainmentMarch 13, 2012PlayStation 392/10092.56%
Fire Emblem AwakeningNintendoApril 19, 2012Nintendo 3DS92/10092.52%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games SeriesTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012Xbox 36092/10091.8%
Trials EvolutionMicrosoft StudiosApril 18, 2012Xbox 36090/10091.52%
DishonoredBethesda SoftworksOctober 9, 2012Microsoft Windows91/10090.57%
Borderlands 22KSeptember 18, 2012PlayStation 391/10090.48%
NBA 2K132KOctober 2, 2012Microsoft Windows90/10091%
Far Cry 3UbisoftDecember 4, 2012Xbox 36091/10089.14%
Mark of the NinjaMicrosoft StudiosOctober 16, 2012Microsoft Windows90/10090.43%
Ōkami HDCapcomOctober 30, 2012PlayStation 390/10090.29%
Borderlands 22KSeptember 18, 2012Microsoft Windows89/10090.1%
Guild Wars 2NCsoftAugust 28, 2012Microsoft Windows90/10090.02%
NBA 2K132KOctober 2, 2012PlayStation 390/10089.68%
FIFA 13EA SportsSeptember 25, 2012Xbox 36090/10089.47%
Far Cry 3UbisoftDecember 4, 2012PlayStation 390/10089.18%
'Namco Bandai GamesOctober 23, 2012Xbox 36089/10090%
'2KOctober 8, 2012Xbox 36090/10088.96%
'Turbine, Inc.October 15, 2012Microsoft Windows88/10090%
Rayman OriginsUbisoftFebruary 15, 2012PlayStation Vita88/10089.85%
DishonoredBethesda SoftworksOctober 9, 2012PlayStation 389/10089.61%
Borderlands 22KSeptember 18, 2012Xbox 36089/10089.29%
'2KOctober 8, 2012Microsoft Windows89/10089.22%
DishonoredBethesda SoftworksOctober 9, 2012Xbox 36088/10089.09%
FezTrapdoorApril 13, 2012Xbox 36089/10088.96%
Colors! 3DCollecting SmilesApril 5, 2012Nintendo 3DS89/10088.38%
The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time LeftTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012Xbox 36089/10088.15%
Mass Effect 3Electronic ArtsMarch 6, 2012Microsoft Windows89/10087.75%
'2KOctober 8, 2012PlayStation 389/10086.68%
Journey Collector's EditionSony Computer EntertainmentAugust 28, 2012PlayStation 389/10085%
Marvel Pinball: Avengers ChroniclesMicrosoft StudiosJune 20, 2012Xbox 36088/10088.8%
LittleBigPlanet PS VitaSony Computer EntertainmentSeptember 18, 2012PlayStation Vita88/10088.68%
Torchlight IIRunic GamesSeptember 20, 2012Microsoft Windows88/10088.58%
The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road AheadTelltale GamesAugust 29, 2012Xbox 36088/10088.47%
'Warner Bros. Interactive EntertainmentFebruary 28, 2012Xbox 36088/10088.43%
Far Cry 3UbisoftDecember 4, 2012Microsoft Windows88/10088.12%
'Hi-Rez StudiosApril 12, 2012Microsoft Windows86/10088.06%
Thirty Flights of LovingIdle ThumbsAugust 20, 2012Microsoft Windows88/10087.86%
The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time LeftTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012PlayStation 388/10087.75%
Diablo IIIBlizzard EntertainmentMay 15, 2012Microsoft Windows88/10087.64%
'CD ProjektApril 17, 2012Xbox 36088/10087.25%
Battlefield 3: Armored KillElectronic ArtsSeptember 11, 2012Microsoft Windows87/10088%
'NintendoNovember 8, 2012Nintendo 3DS88/10086.93%
'ChunsoftFebruary 16, 2012Nintendo 3DS88/10086.75%
FIFA 13EA SportsSeptember 25, 2012PlayStation 388/10086.65%
NBA 2K132KOctober 2, 2012Xbox 36088/10086.17%
Halo 4Microsoft StudiosNovember 6, 2012Xbox 36087/10087.61%

Highest-grossing games

The following were 2012's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue across all platforms.
GameRevenuePublisherGenrePlatformBusiness model
1$1,000,000,000Activision / Activision BlizzardFPSMulti-platformBuy-to-play
1CrossFire$1,000,000,000Smilegate / TencentFPSPCFree-to-play
3World of Warcraft$986,000,000Blizzard Entertainment / Activision BlizzardMMORPGPCSubscription
4FIFA 13EA SportsSportsMulti-platformBuy-to-play
5Borderlands 22K GamesARPGMulti-platformBuy-to-play
6World of TanksWargaming.netVehicular combatPCFree-to-play
7Pokémon Black 2 / White 2Nintendo / The Pokémon CompanyRPGDSBuy-to-play
8New Super Mario Bros. 2NintendoPlatformer3DSBuy-to-play
9Minecraft$237,000,000MojangSandboxMulti-platformBuy-to-play
10League of Legends$200,000,000Riot Games / TencentMOBAPCFree-to-play