Month
|
Day(s)
|
Event
|
January
|
4
|
Nintendo purchased Canadian video game developer
Next Level Games, with the finalizations of the deal being done by March 1.
[13]
|
13
|
Lucasfilm revived the
Lucasfilm Games brand and announced a new
Star Wars game from
Ubisoft and
Massive Entertainment, terminating the exclusive license held by
Electronic Arts for the property.
[14]
|
15
|
YoYo Games, the developers of the
GameMaker software, were acquired by
Opera to help establish an Opera Gaming division.
[15]
|
22
|
Vicarious Visions was merged into
Blizzard Entertainment with its staff of over 200 becoming employees of Blizzard.
[16]
|
25
|
The Carlyle Group completed its acquisition of
Jagex.
[17]
|
February
|
1
|
Google shuttered its internal
Stadia Games and Entertainment division, with plans to refocus the service as a publisher for third-party games.
[18]
|
2
|
Embracer Group acquired
Gearbox Software,
Aspyr Media, and Easybrain.
[19]
[20]
[21]
|
9
|
The Pokémon Company announced that the
World Championships has been canceled due to concerns of
COVID-19.
[22]
|
18
|
Electronic Arts completed its estimated $1.2 billion acquisition of
Codemasters.
[23]
|
19–20
|
Blizzard Entertainment held its virtual
BlizzCon event.
[24]
|
March
|
2
|
Epic Games acquired Tonic Games Group, including developer
Mediatonic.
[25]
|
9
|
Microsoft's
Xbox Game Studios completed its acquisition of
ZeniMax Media and its subsidiary studios.
[26]
|
tinyBuild offered its
initial public offering on the
Alternative Investment Market of the
London Stock Exchange.
[27]
|
10
|
The
Roblox Corporation held its
direct public offering on the
New York Stock Exchange.
[28]
|
16
|
Take-Two Interactive acquired
HB Studios, which became a part of
2K.
[29]
|
18
|
Sony Interactive Entertainment and
Endeavor jointly acquired the
Evolution Championship Series.
[30]
|
Super Nintendo World opens to the public in
Universal Studios Japan in
Osaka.
[31]
|
April
|
2
|
Focus Home Interactive acquired
Streum On Studio.
[32]
|
22
|
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosted the
24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, held as an online livestreamed event due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
[33]
|
25
|
Colette, a short documentary film co-produced by
Oculus and
Respawn Entertainment for
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, won the
Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject), making it the first Oscar awarded to a video game-related project.
[34]
|
29
|
Electronic Arts completed its estimated $2.1 billion acquisition of mobile game developer
Glu Mobile.
[35]
[36]
|
May
|
3–24
|
The trial for the
Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit was held.
[37]
[38]
|
June
|
12–15
|
E3 2021 was held as an online event.
[39]
|
29
|
Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired
Housemarque, which became a part of
PlayStation Studios.
[40]
|
July
|
1
|
Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Nixxes Software, which became a part of PlayStation Studios.
[41]
|
15–18
|
PAX Online was held after cancelling the planned in-person PAX East event from June.
[42]
|
19
|
Tencent announced its acquisition of
Sumo Group for $1.3 billion.
[43]
|
19–23
|
The
Game Developers Conference and
Independent Games Festival was held as an online event.
[44]
[45]
|
20
|
The
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) initiated a lawsuit against
Activision Blizzard following a two-year investigation asserting the company
maintained a hostile workplace that discriminated and harassed female employees, leading to thousands of employees signing onto an open letter and performing a walkout, demanding management take appropriate reaction.
[46]
[47]
|
August
|
3
|
Blizzard Entertainment President J. Allen Brack left the company in the wake of the DFEH lawsuit.
[48]
|
5
|
Embracer Group acquired eight additional studios, including
3D Realms,
Ghost Ship Games and
Slipgate Ironworks.
[49]
|
Focus Home Interactive acquired
Dotemu.
[50]
|
6–8, 13–15
|
Evolution Championship Series 2021 was held as an online event.
[51]
|
10
|
Krafton completed its initial public offering on the
Korea Exchange, with an initial valuation of around $19 billion.
[52]
|
19–21
|
Quakecon 2021 was held as an online event.
[53]
|
25–27
|
Gamescom 2021 was held as an online event.
[54]
|
30
|
China announces a law that restricts people under the age of 18 to play video games only up to 3 hours a week.
[55]
[56]
|
September
|
8
|
Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired
Firesprite, which became a part of PlayStation Studios.
[57]
|
10
|
In Epic Games v. Apple, Apple was given a permanent injunction preventing them from blocking apps that included links to third-party payment systems.
[58]
|
28
|
Netflix acquired
Night School Studio as its first game studio.
[59]
|
30
|
Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired
Bluepoint Games, which became a part of PlayStation Studios.
[60]
|
30–
|
Tokyo Game Show 2021 was held as an online event.
[61]
|
October
|
3
|
7–17
|
The International 2021, the tenth iteration of the annual
Dota 2 global esports tournament, was held in
Bucharest,
Romania. It holds the record for the largest esports prize pool of all time at $40 million.
[62]
|
21
|
NetEase acquired
Grasshopper Manufacture from
GungHo Online Entertainment.
[63]
|
28
|
Mark Zuckerberg rebrands
Facebook as
Meta Platforms. Zuckerberg announced that "
The Metaverse" will be a
hybrid of social media, fitness,
gaming, and more.
[64]
[65]
[66]
|
29
|
Krafton acquired
Unknown Worlds Entertainment.
[67]
|
November
|
2
|
Netflix launched its video game service via its mobile app for subscribers.
[68]
|
4
|
Devolver Digital went
public on the
Alternative Investment Market and acquired Dodge Roll, Nerial and
Firefly Studios.
[69]
[70]
|
15
|
Take-Two Interactive acquired
Roll7, which became a part of
Private Division.
[71]
|
16
|
G4, the gaming-focused TV network that shut down in 2014, was relaunched on various linear TV and streaming services.
[72]
|
23
|
Epic Games acquired
Harmonix.
[73]
|
December
|
9
|
The Game Awards 2021 was held at the
Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
[74]
[2]
|
10
|
Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Valkyrie Entertainment, which became a part of PlayStation Studios.
[75]
|
15
|
Embracer Group acquired board game publisher
Asmodee.
[76]
|
17
|
Tencent acquired
Turtle Rock Studios.
[77]
|
21
|
Embracer Group acquired
Perfect World Entertainment along with its publishing group and
Cryptic Studios,
[78] as well as Dark Horse Media, the parent company of
Dark Horse Comics and
Dark Horse Entertainment.
[79]
|
27
|
Riot Games agreed to settle its workplace gender discrimination lawsuit with two former employees for $100 million.
[80]
|