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The most anticipated video games of the 2016 holiday season

Published Oct 6th, 2016 2:48PM EDT
Most Anticipated Games Fall 2016
Image: EA

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This might be the best holiday for video games since the new generation kicked off in 2013. Not only are we getting new entries in many of our favorite franchises, but we’re also getting new hardware in the form of the PlayStation VR and PlayStation 4 Pro, and in all likelihood, an announcement regarding Nintendo’s NX.

SEE ALSO: Every single PlayStation VR launch title, ranked

The upcoming hardware is clearly garnering a great deal of attention, but let’s turn away from the shiny new toys for a moment to focus on the games launching this holiday season. On Wednesday, Nielsen released its annual report regarding the most anticipated holiday games, focusing on both multi-platform titles and titles exclusive to specific consoles and platforms.

The top three multi-platform games shouldn’t shock anyone—Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and the recently delayed Final Fantasy XV—with each polling at an anticipation level of 95% or above. Interestingly, an HD remaster, Batman: Return to Arkham, came in fourth with 83%, while Mafia III, Dead Rising 4, Titanfall 2 and Watch Dogs 2 rounded out the list.

Of the eight most anticipated multi-platform games this holiday, seven are sequels and one is an HD remaster of two games that came out 5+ years ago.

As for platform exclusives, Gears of War 4 won by default on Xbox One, as did Paper Mario: Color Splash on Wii U. These are the only major exclusives launching on either platform. As for the PlayStation 4, Batman: Arkham VR actually managed to beat out Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration and The Last Guardian. On PC, Civilization VI has gamers anxiously awaiting October 21st while Pokemon Moon and Sun are the obvious winners on 3DS.

You can see the full graphic from Nielsen below:

most-anticipated-games-2016-nielsen

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.