The 2013 Game of the Year is The Last of Us.
The runner up is Grand Theft Auto V.
The master thread for all of these contests can be found here.
We get deeper into our cold winter of gaming with the launch of the PS4 and XBox 1 this year. The XBox 1 launch was pretty weak with their DRM plan regarding sharing and renting games. PS4 also had its own special method of sharing games. The Wii U launched the previous year, but it still wasn’t getting many new games and there were noticeable software draughts.
However, this is also the year that Generation 7 finished, and it is an incredibly strong finish. In fact, the PS3 and XBox 360 would still continue to get solid games even after 2013. So, the strong late cycle performance of these two systems would cover the weak launches of their successors. Let’s see what these late cycle games are. Without further ado, here is the list of games for 2013:
DOTA 2 (PC/Linux)
While the first DOTA was a Warcraft III mod, this sequel was a full game developed by Valve. DOTA 2 has had over 1 million concurrent players at its peak.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC/PS3)
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? The first version of Final Fantasy XIV was a commercial flop and critically panned, making it by far the worst Final Fantasy game in the main series. Naoki Yoshida (or Yoshi P) was called in to be the game’s new director and fix the mess, and servers of the game closed in November 2012. Then, in August 2013, an entirely new version of the game, A Realm Reborn, was released, taking heavy inspiration from World of Warcraft. A Realm Reborn was an immediate commercial success. Gradually more content released featuring the fantastic storytelling that the FF series is known for. Then, during the lockdowns of the COVID pandemic, the popularity of A Realm Reborn exploded, reaching a peak of 24 million registered players in October 2021. A Realm Reborn had become the most popular subscription based MMO in the world, surpassing even WoW. After almost 2 decades of countless games trying to dethrone WoW, the game that finally did it was this one that started out as a total flop.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (PS4/XB1/PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U/PC)
People love Assassin’s Creed. People love boats. Why not combine them together like chocolate and peanut butter? Black Flag has sold an estimated 15 million copies across all platforms.
Bioshock Infinite (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
Ken Levine and Irrational Games, developers of the first Bioshock game, return to make this third installment in the series. Bioshock Infinite scored a 93-94 on Metacritic and has sold over 11 million copies across all platforms.
Grand Theft Auto V (PS3/XBox 360)
One day the executives at Rockstar got together and said, “all of this money we’re making is great, but I still wish we were making way more money”. Somehow, the most popular series on the PS2 became many times more popular with Grand Theft Auto V. GTA V has sold over 190 million copies to date and is still going strong. It also scored an impressive 97 on Metacritic.
Tomb Raider (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
This classic franchise got a reboot in 2013. Tomb Raider (2013) went on to sell over 14.5 million copies making it the best-selling installment in the Tomb Raider series.
The Last of Us (PS3)
Joel and Ellie struggle to survive and find the meaning of life during the zombie apocalypse. The Last of Us scored a 95 on Metacritic and has sold over 37 million copies to date.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
The system known for true 3D graphics releases a 2D game where Link becomes even more 2D. A Link Between Worlds is linked to the past game, A Link to the Past. It scored a 91 on Metacritic and has sold over 4.2 million copies.
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
Mario becomes a pussy. This is also the first 3D Mario game to feature multiplayer. Super Mario 3D World scored a 93 on Metacritic and to date it has sold over 18.4 million copies across all platforms.
Other (please specify)
If you think another game deserves to be "Game of the Year" other than one of the 9 listed above, then please vote “Other” and say your game in the comments. If the "Other" category takes at least 2nd place and no other game gets at least 40% of the vote, then there will be a runoff vote including the most mentioned game(s) from the comments.
Voting for 2013 Game of the Year will end on Thursday, Dec 7 at 11:59 PM, EST.
Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 08 December 2023
curl-6 bet me that PS5 + X|S sales would reach 56m before year end 2023 and he was right.
My Bet With curl-6
My Threads:
Master Thread, Game of the Year/Decade
Switch Will Be #1 All Time
Zelda Will Outsell Mario (Achieved)
How Much Will MH Rise sell?
My Bet With Metallox
Currently Online 
