The First Six Months

Looking back on 2015, it’s hard to think that so much has happened in such a short amount of time. With 2016 fast-approaching, we look back at the highs and lows of the year that was. From the introduction of Microsoft’s Hololens to the release of GTAV on PC, this was the first half of 2015.

January: Recovering From the DDOS

2014 did not end on a very positive note. On Christmas day, just as gamers were likely either digging into new consoles or new online games, both Xbox One and PSN experienced significant service downtime from a DDoS attack. Both companies offered up apologies, and Sony’s network was down for so long that it sent users a PlayStation Plus membership five-day extension.

GTA developer Rockstar extended the in-game Grand Theft Auto V Christmas festivities, and Bungie gave fans more time to claim rare items from Xur.

But could the same issues happen again? While it’s impossible to guarantee complete stability, Xbox boss Phil Spencer mentioned in an interview that Microsoft is working with both Sony and Nintendo to ensure that gamers everywhere will have a network they can count on.

January: Hololens Reveal and GTAV Delays and

January didn’t start out too great for PC gamers either; the long-anticipated Grand Theft Auto V, initially scheduled to ship to PC in “Fall 2014,” and then in late January, was again pushed to March.

However, PC gamers did get to revel in one exciting announcement: Sid Meier’s Starships was announced for early 2015. While the game received mostly negative reviews, the announcement itself was a positive.

Microsoft had two other big news itmes to start the year as well. Windows 10 was revealed as a free upgrade for all Windows 7 and 8 users. And Microsoft’s answer to VR, the augmented reality Hololens system, was shown off publicly for the first time.

January: The Big Games

Dying Light Review | GameSpot Score: 7

Grim Fandango Remastered Review | GameSpot Score: 8

Resident Evil HD Remaster Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7

February: The Fall of Swatting

Swatting didn’t begin in 2015, but the not-so-friendly prank started to achieve recognition as a dangerous “joke” with serious legal consequences. Swatting refers to the practice of getting law enforcement (SWAT) to respond to a possible hostage or crisis situation in someone’s house, especially when that person is streaming a video game.

By spoofing the victim’s phone number so that the distress call appears to come from within the victim’s home, the swatter is able to fool law enforcement into responding to the hoax. However, calling in the authorities for a joke is not only a waste of resources, it’s also incredibly illegal.

One 19-year-old Illinois resident was arrested for alleged swatting and faces up to five years in prison for the crime.

The news of his arrest came at the same day as Twitch streamer Joshua Peters was swatted while streaming Runescape. While no one was hurt, he put out an impassioned condemnation of his attackers, saying, “I had police point a gun at my little brothers because of you.”

February: Kickstarter Scrutiny and Mortal Kombat’s Females

Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. While perhaps not as high-profile as the failed Yogcast game in 2014, things finally came to a head in February for the successfully crowdfunded game The Stomping Land.

In 2013, the game raised $114,000, and an early access version of the game eventually came out. However, after an artist on the project claimed to be owed money and to not have heard from the game’s creator in weeks, he publicly quit the project.

In other news, the developers behind Mortal Kombat addressed criticism of the franchises depiction of female characters in the 2011 version of the game saying Mortal Kombat X’s females would be more realistically proportioned.

And despite backlash from YouTube personality Pewdiepie, Nintendo reported unabated enthusiasm for its newly introduced streaming partnership program.

February: The Big GAmes

Evolve Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8

The Order: 1886 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 5

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9

March: Big Changes at Konami

While the full story probably won’t be known for a long time, inside sources confirmed to GameSpot that a falling out between Kojima Productions and Metal Gear Solid publisher Konami meant that director Hideo Kojima would part ways with the company at the end of the year.

While Konami responded that Kojima was fully focused on Metal Gear Solid V, it did not directly address the rumors that he would be leaving the company.

Kojima Productions’ branding was subsequently removed from Twitter, the official Metal Gear website, and even the LA office listing. And Kojima’s other Konami project, Silent Hills, was canceled.

Despite more recent claims that Kojima has already parted ways with the company, Konami has stated that Kojima is currently “on vacation.” However, during the Video Game Awards show, host Geoff Keighly said that Konami’s lawyers blocked Kojima from attending the LA event.

March: GTA Heists and Nintendo NX

After an incredibly long delay, Rockstar finally added the much-hyped Heists to GTAV’s online mode. The free update added a new way to play with friends and earn in-game cash and rewards.

Nintendo, meanwhile, revealed the company’s next major system: Nintendo NX. While even now it’s unclear how the system will fit into the current Nintendo lineup, rumors are that it might replace both Nintendo’s console and handheld as an all-in-one system. At the same briefing, Nintendo also announced plans to start developing mobile games.

March: The Big Games

Cities: Skylines Review | GameSpot Score: 8

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Review | GameSpot Score: 9

Ori and the Blind Forest Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9

Bloodborne Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9

Battlefield: Hardline Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Review | GameSpot Score: 8

Pillars of Eternity Review | GameSpot Score: 8

April: GTAV Comes to PC

GTAV came out on Xbox 360 and PS3 back in 2013. The PS4 and Xbox One versions launched over a year later in November of 2014. And after an agonizingly long wait, the game finally arrived on PC in April.

But what makes GTA stand out from other ports? Besides being a well-reviewed game in a popular franchise and the opportunity for graphics mods that make the game look even more jaw-droppingly gorgeous (those did eventually come out, by the way), the PC was the first to introduce the Rockstar Editor mode.

Allowing players the freedom to create and share machinima films that were recorded in-game opened up a host of new creative opportunities. Check out a few of the better early examples we found (and made) during the system’s launch.

April: “Too Sexy” Final Fantasy Characters and Retiring Pro Gamers

The developers behind Final Fantasy XV have offered up relatively frequent updates to the long-in-development next chapter in its prolific franchise, but they also didn’t shy away from controversy.

Responding to complaints that the character above may be “too sexy,” game director Hajime Tabata responded, “She’s actually not meant to be an erotic character. Her character is very energetic and outgoing, a very active character. With those traits paired with her appearance, we feel it wouldn’t be too problematic even if, say, she shows up on screen while your parents are in the living room.”

And the world of esports had a major disruption when professional League of Legends player Hai stepped down from his team, Cloud 9, and retired from the game entirely. Health issues related to a wrist injury and team atmosphere were his stated reasons for leaving the sport.

April: The Big Games

Mortal Kombat X Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8

GTA5 PC Review | GameSpot Score: 9

BoxBoy Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8

Kerbal Space Program Review | GameSpot Score: 9

Broken Age: Act 2 Review | GameSpot Score: 6

May: The Witcher Price Controversy

While it might not seem like a retailer offering a discounted game would cause much controversy, when Green Man Gaming (GMG) started selling the newly released The Witcher 3 for $20 off, it sparked a massive online argument.

Witcher developer CD Projekt Red claimed GMG’s code originated from an “unknown source,” and that none of the revenue from those sales would go to the developer. The company even explicitly said in a statement, “I would kindly ask our fans not to buy via GMG at this time. We had not sold them Keys and don’t know the origin of them.”

GMG admitted that the codes did not come directly from CD Projekt Red, but that did not invalidate the codes’ legitimacy. After failing to reach an agreement with CD Projekt Red for the game’s distribution, GMG said it acquired the codes from third party sellers and that CD Projeckt Red ignored the online retailer in order to “focus on supporting its own platform GOG.”

We don’t usually get a front seat to these behind-the-scenes disagreements, but regardless how it will turn out in the long run, gamers were at least able to get a good deal on The Witcher.

May: In Other Witcher News

Witcher’s pricing may have lead to a public argument, but gamers who were already deep into the Witcher world probably didn’t even notice. Within the game, a strong focus fell on the game’s sexual cutscenes. Talk show host Conan O’Brien made hooking up his primary gaming goal, but because of glitches, not every sexual encounter ended with equal success.

While The Witcher enjoyed a lot of attention in the lull before E3, not everyone had great news to share. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft subscriber numbers fell by nearly 3 million over the previous three months.

And the developers of Batman Arkham Knight responded to criticism over the upcoming game’s season pass pricing, revealing that the $40 add-on would include a playable Batgirl character, more story missions, additional skins, and themed Batmobile race tracks.

May: The Big Games

Project Cars Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7

Stretchmo Review | GameSpot Score: 7

Witcher 3 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 10

Splatoon Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8

June: E3 2015

You can’t compete with E3 for exciting news and announcements, and this year brought us lots of big stuff:

The Final Fantasy VII remake was announced. Shenmue 3 is actually happening. Microsoft revealed its backwards compatibility plans for Xbox One.

If you want to go more in-depth, check out our roundups of all the news announced for Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. The best trailers from the show. And our editorial assessment of the highs and lows of the show.

June: Fallout Confirmed

Long-rumored, and oft-denied, Bethesda finally confirmed that Fallout 4 was in development. For the first time, Bethesda even hosted its own press conference at E3 to talk about the game (as well as other Bethesda properties).

One enterprising fan took the opportunity to try pre-ordering the game directly from the developer with a massive collection of old bottle caps, which are commonly used as currency in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic world. He was successful, but Bethesda clarified that he only got a pass for being first.

In other news, Batman: Arkham Knight was voluntarily removed from Steam by the developer due to (still persistent) bugs and problems.

And Destiny got a influx bit of attention with the inclusion of new subclasses.

June: The Big Games

Batman: Arkham Knight Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7

Heroes of the Storm Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9

Hatred Review | GameSpot Score: 3