Is It Necessary to Create a List of AAA Games for Developers?
With hate or love but all of us, gamers, play AAA video games. They look expensive and vast to explore, with stunning visuals and compelling stories, with breathtaking art styles and impressive soundtracks. Hundreds of game developers, artists, designers, managers, and support specialists work to create one of AAA games. That’s the attention of our industry is always attracted to such titles. Gaming journalists and players love to create their list of AAA games, criticize or boast about playing these games, and make them wishlisted and pre-ordered. The BandurArt also keeps looking at AAA+ titles and wants to explore more about their impact.
Why To Create AAA Game Lists?
To start with, AAA games are really the top-level products. Different things may happen, but usually, these big-budget blockbusters push technology, storytelling, and gameplay to new limits. For developers who want to show their skills and make a difference, it is very important to understand the appeal of such titles.
But why to create a list of AAA games? Aren’t developers able to simply play whatever is popular? Well, not all AAA games are made the same. Some titles are truly innovative, while others refine formulas to perfection. A list is a roadmap highlighting those best of the best games that excel in different aspects of game development.
Consider the popular AAA game “God of War” (2018) – it appears on the lists of AAA games not only because people find it enjoyable, but also for how well the narrative and gameplay are integrated in its action-adventure game mechanics. Studying this project as a game developer can teach valuable lessons about pacing, camera work, and character development.
Or take “Fortnite”. Although it might be seen as a less serious choice, because of its live service approach and continuous changes, this game can provide important understanding about how to keep players interested and build strong community connections in today’s industry.
Also, a proper list of AAA games does not only concentrate on the latest popular choices. It could encompass older titles such as “Half-Life 2” to show enduring design principles or “World of Warcraft” to depict the classic MMO design.
Additionally, these lists also function as a shared “language” for developers. If a team is talking about incorporating a mechanic like “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” game’s climbing method, each person can understand the context.
But, keep in mind that these lists aren’t definitive. They are just a beginning of your research, not an endpoint. Some of the developers may also go past the list, finding motivation from indie treasures and games outside of their favorite types too. It is ok to follow this path as well.
Lastly, having a list of AAA games for developers is essential as it brings concentration to an industry that is overwhelmed with high-quality content.
What Are AAA Games?
AAA games, sometimes called “triple-A” games, are the major “players” in the video game industry. They can be compared to Hollywood’s big-budget blockbusters. However, what criteria defines a game as “AAA”? Let’s break it down.
The initial point and most important aspect is a large budget. AAA games generally can boast huge financial support. The talk is about millions, often even hundreds of millions of dollars invested in making and promoting these games. This cash allows for cutting-edge graphics, star-studded voice casts, and huge production teams.
A substantial storyline. These games often provide an extensive narrative experience that can last for many hours. It may be full of twists, turns, and surprises.
Impressive visuals are another crucial factor of AAA titles. They usually have visually stunning graphics due to the significant investment and the use of rendering technology along with other top-notch graphic components.
Great sound effects also matter. The AAA games normally use top-notch sound design techniques that make them more immersive through detailed audio effects like environmental sounds or character voices acting out dialogues within the game world.
Significant replay value. These AAA games are often designed to be played multiple times due to elements such as branching storylines or various character classes providing unique experiences each time they’re played again by different individuals.
Most AAA games should have these factors considered during the development to offer a top-notch product for gamers. The BandurArt team offers services for UI design, creating art concepts, and game development.
What Gaming Genres Frequently Appear In the List of AAA Games?
AAA games cover many different types of genres. Some of them appear in such lists more frequently because, well, people love them a lot. Let’s explore the most popular genres of AAA games you often see at top positions on charts:
- Action-adventure games, particularly the AAA ones, include God of War, Uncharted, and Assassin’s Creed. These games mix elements of exploration along with combat and storytelling. They are a great fit for displaying high-quality graphics as well as storylines that resemble movies.
- First-person shooters, or FPS games, are frequent guests in the AAA category. “Call of Duty”, “Battlefield” and “Halo” games stand as top illustrations. They give players thrilling action and usually rely heavily on multiplayer events.
- Open-world RPGs like “The Witcher 3”, “Elder Scrolls: Skyrim” and “Cyberpunk 2077” show how extensive and intricate worlds can captivate players for many hours.
- Racing games, such as “Forza”, “Gran Turismo” and “Need for Speed”, frequently receive the AAA treatment. These games display high-level graphical capabilities and strive for authentic physics.
- Action RPGs have gained more prominence, with games such as “Elden Ring” and “Diablo IV” that blur the difference between action and role-playing. They provide intricate systems and complicated combat mechanics.
- Battle Royale games despite their cartoonish graphics can also the AAA-level productions. “Fortnite” and “Apex Legends” are good instances of this with their frequent updates and excellent graphics quality. These free-to-play battle royale games can be very high-level, similar to the quality of AAA production.
- The survival horror genre offers fewer AAA releases but still retains its strong top-quality gaming presence. The genre is kept in limelight by the games like Resident Evil and The Last of Us with high production values.
Check the following Reddit thread where gamers explain and discuss the main aspect they love about AAA games. Also, they offer their lists of AAA games.
What Makes the AAA Games So Beautiful and Popular?
Most AAA games are like the stars in the sky and rule over the sales as well. What makes them so special?
To start, they offer visuals. AAA games are visually stunning. They use top-notch graphics, showcasing photorealistic settings and characters that look very real along with amazing special effects. When a new AAA title is launched, it frequently represents the pinnacle of what present tech has achieved.
The sound design should be excellent. AAA games use orchestral music and Hollywood-like voice acting, making the audio very immersive. Can you hear the sound of your footsteps in the snow or gunshots bouncing off cave walls? That’s attention to detail.
AAA games are known for their scale and scope. These games often provide large open worlds to travel through. Imagine big cities, whole countries, or even planets to explore! This breadth gives players a sense of freedom and discovery.
The polish makes AAA games shine. Large budgets allow for extensive testing and improvement, ensuring smooth animations, polished interfaces, and responsive gameplay. It’s all about creating a seamless experience.
The marketing campaign is another key factor in investing in popularity. AAA games have a significant budget for huge advertisement campaigns. They create a buzz that becomes difficult to overlook – from television commercials to collaborating with influencers.
When innovative things happen in such big projects, it is typically something revolutionary. Even though not every AAA game brings groundbreaking changes, the ones that do introduce new mechanics or technologies that often establish novel benchmarks within the industry.
The Hollywood-like storytelling and character growth are where many AAA games outshine. They offer narratives like big movie hits, with interesting characters and emotional layers that keep the players involved.
Regular updates make the games feel as new again. Many big titles have a long life span, as the developers keep adding fresh content, solving bugs, and improving the gameplay even after its release.
Co-op campaigns or rival versions, big-budget games often have ways for players to connect with both friends and competitors.
The brand power is significant. Several AAA games come from adored series, bringing along many years of fan loyalty and anticipation.
The focus on accessibility is also increasing. Many AAA developers are adding features to make their games playable by more people. These factors are different difficulty options or modes for those who are colorblind.
Fundamentally, AAA games combine top-level technologies, attention to detail, impressive long-play experience, and powerful promotion to invest in building experiences that appear deluxe and impossible to overlook.
The List of AAA Games in 2024
2023 was a great year for AAA game fans. The gems like “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom”, “Baldur’s Gate 3”, “Alan Wake 2”, “Resident Evil 4” and many others stunned us with visuals, stories, technologies, and gameplay. We will remember them for many years. But 2024 also brings many AAA games that have been already released and are going the launch later in 2024.
Let’s check the most prominent AAA game titles:
“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”
Square Enix’s bold remake trilogy, the second part of which we are talking about, assures to take gamers to a greater world. They will be able to travel around a large world map and see towns and places in impressive detail. The fighting style is also more advanced than before, combining action and tactics even better. The story is predicted to change even more from the base. Veteran players are likely to feel surprised by new summons and limit breaks, which will show off PS5’s graphic power.
“Star Wars: Outlaws”
Ubisoft’s version of the Star Wars world occurs in a time between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi”. Players manage Kay Vess, who is a scoundrel trying to navigate through criminal underbelly. You can anticipate several planets to discover, each one having its ecosystem and groups. The game assures that it will give a mixture of stealth, combat, and space fights between dogs. This combination is presented in Ubisoft’s usual open-world format.
“Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II”
The sequel from Ninja Theory continues the story of Senua and explores deeper into Norse mythology. The game uses Unreal Engine 5 for pushing photorealism boundaries. The audio is a strong part, with binaural sound design giving players the full experience of Senua’s psychosis. The combat system is going to have a rougher and more forceful feel compared to the initial game, along with a greater exploration of themes related to mental health and perception.
“Dragon Age: Veilguard”
BioWare’s comeback to Thedas is set to be their most daring project yet. The game emphasizes Solas, the mysterious elf from “Dragon Age: Inquisition”. Get ready for a huge and open world that has many areas for you to discover. The news about the combat system hints at a mix of real-time action and tactical pause style. Like in previous games, what players decide will affect the story. New and old friends who are companions will form deep, branching relationships.
“Avowed”
Taking place in the prosperous land of Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian’s RPG offers a detailed personalization for characters and choices that have significant effects. The game includes an innovative two-handed combat mechanism, which permits players to combine weapons and spells in imaginative ways. The universe of Eora is going to be presented with impressive graphics and complex background stories. They claim that side quests are equally engaging as the main story, and their outcomes echo in the game’s environment.
“Marvel’s Wolverine”
Insomniac tackles the tough X-Man graphics novels with an adult, story-based action game. You should anticipate a more somber tone compared to their Spider-Man games, having fierce battles and a revival feature that demonstrates Wolverine’s healing power. The game title might delve into Logan’s intricate history, possibly covering many eras. The stealth complements the visceral action, allowing players to embrace Wolverine’s predatory nature.
“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl”
This long-anticipated Ukrainian game brings the Chornobyl’s Zone in post-apocalyptic times with an unmatched level of detail. The game includes a complex storyline with side quests, has many possible endings, and constantly changes depending on the player’s gameplay. To survive, players require good resource-handling skills along with dealing the radiation problems. The constant threat from mutants and anomalies, complicated social interactions due to the faction dynamics, and the use of Unreal Engine 5 for amazing visuals and enhanced physics.
If this list of AAA games coming in 2024 and beyond is not enough, check the following YouTube video with the upcoming titles.
The Master List of AAA VR Games in 2024
Our master list of AAA games wouldn’t be full without the best-selling VR titles for virtual reality devices from PlayStation, Meta, and Valve. Check these top 3 titles to get inspired and learn from:
Half-Life: Alyx
The game was released in 2020, and its setting is between Half-Life and Half-Life 2. You play as Alyx Vance fighting against the alien Combine along with her father. People like how the game makes them feel involved, its detailed backgrounds and beautiful locations, and puzzles that rely on physics. Half-Life: Alyx showcases what’s possible in VR with AAA production values.
Resident Evil 4 VR
This is a VR version of the old 2005 game where you play as Leon Kennedy, trying to save the President’s daughter from a cult. In this new adaptation for VR, there are more interactive fighting and puzzle-solving elements that let players physically engage with the surroundings.
Asgard’s Wrath 2
After the triumph of its first part, this sequel assures a bigger world inspired by Norse mythology. You can anticipate controlling not only mortal heroes but also gods. The combat is based on physics, and there are intricate puzzles to solve as well.
You can also try playing “Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR”, “Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond”, “Horizon: Call of the Mountain”, “Pistol Whip”, “Boneworks” and “Beat Saber”.
Every VR AAA game brings something unique to the table, demonstrating various elements of what VR title can offer: storytelling that fully involves the player’s attention, immersing factor, inventive methods of gameplay using this medium’s potential, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the list of AAA games on GoG.com?
The long-time online gaming store and platform GOG.com has a selection of old and new AAA games. Since it belongs to CD Project Red the first best-sellers were The Witcher series, Cyberpunk 2077, and Metro series. Also Divinity: Original Sin games are available there too. However, the list of AAA titles changes all the time because of new releases and sales happening at the very moment.
Go to their main page and filter the games in the whole catalog from “Best-Sellers” to the rest of them. You will see the list of AAA games on GoG.com that people vote for and consider the best from the best available titles.
The best thing – GOG offers many DRM-free games. This means that some of the big titles aren’t available if their publishers ask for DRM requirements.
- Does the list of AAA games include only expensive games?
The list of AAA games may include more than the most expensive projects. Although these are usually high-budget titles from big publishers, the price of AAA games can differ because of current sales, free-to-play monetization, and release dates. The “AAA” term is not so much about the game’s cost, but it is more related to its production quality and the size of the development team.
- Why do gaming journalists create the list of AAA games by year?
Most gaming journalists create a list of AAA games by year to help readers see a sort of summary of the big releases for a certain period. These records provide an account of the most important titles from each year, show off the advancements in technology, and give an understanding of how the innovations in gameplay and storytelling change over time.
- What is the list of AAA web games in 2024?
When people consider the list of AAA web games in 2024, they think of online titles but in fact, these are the games you can play in a web browser. Well, where there were projects like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, there were such projects. Right now, you can play web games only of low quality, they are not in the category of AAAs.
- What are the most popular platforms for the list of AAA games?
The places where AAA games are usually played are high-powered gaming PCs, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. People like to use these platforms as they have good processing abilities and graphics for running demanding AAA titles. Some AAA games can also be found on Nintendo Switch, but the graphics may be changed in comparison to other platforms. Besides, the use of cloud gaming services is growing. This means you will be able to play AAA games on different platforms.
Conclusion
Usually, each list of AAA games for game developers and gamers is full of different choices. These games show how talented and creative people are in the gaming industry, gifting us with many hours of fun playing time and great memories. For game creators, this list acts as an inspiration that shows them what they should aim for when making their games by setting the bar high. The BandurArt team wishes you to create such a game and be proud of your work. However, small games also get the much-deserved love and critical claim.
