2023's top-rated games so far are all single-player, take note publishers

The top-rated games of 2023 so far are all single-player, take note publishers.

Who once said that single-player games were dead? I'm looking at you Electronic Arts. If there’s one thing that’s continually been proven over the years, it's that in spite of being in an age of free-to-play and live-service games, single-player titles are most certainly not dead.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a highly-anticipated single-player title set to launch later this year.

The proof is in the pudding when it comes to single-player games, both in critical reception as well as sales. Take for example Metacritic's listings. At the time of writing, the top-three rated games of this year are The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (95), Metroid Prime Remastered (94) and the new-gen upgrade of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition (94). In fact, only three games in the top 10 include a multiplayer mode: Street Fighter 6, Tetris Effect: Connected and Diablo IV.

The remainder of the top ten is made up of Resident Evil 4 remake, and the Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Expansion Pass Wave 4 - Future Redeemed. What’s more, according to data market research company, The NPD Group, as of April 2023, the best-selling game so far this year is another single-player game, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The chart also includes the Resident Evil 4 remake and Hogwarts Legacy. I would assume that by the time the next batch of figures releases, Tears of the Kingdom will also be amongst the mix.

Furthermore, on Statista.com, the top-ten best-selling games in Europe in April 2023 included Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, GTA V (includes GTA Online), The Last of Us Part II, Red Dead Redemption 2 (includes Red Dead Online), Resident Evil 4 remake, Dead Space remake and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

So publishers, take note, the numbers don’t lie and single-player games are here to stay.