I still think about Sony's 2021 best-selling charts even in 2026. As a regular player who follows release calendars a little too closely, I remember feeling genuinely disappointed when those numbers first surfaced. The list did not reflect the games I talked about most with friends. Instead, it showed the same familiar franchises dominating once again. That does not make those games bad, but it does make me wonder whether the big-budget space will ever reward genuine risk.

On the PlayStation 5 side, NBA 2K topped the North American chart. At one time I considered it the best sports sim around, but by 2021 it had started to bury itself in microtransactions and off-court padding. Madden took number four despite years of stagnation. Seeing both of them so high was not surprising, but it was tiring. Call of Duty: Vanguard grabbed second even though it fell below sales expectations, and Battlefield 2042 took fifth despite launching in a rough state. Black Ops Cold War hung around at seventh, which felt like proof that established shooters can sell even when they are not exciting. Resident Evil Village and Far Cry 6 rounded out the bottom. Both were fine, but they felt like cautious triple-A products rather than games pushing the medium forward.

There were bright spots. Spider-Man: Miles Morales reached third, probably because people finally found PS5 consoles and wanted a polished showcase. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart landed at sixth, and that one deserved its place. It looked stunning and played like a Saturday morning cartoon. Still, several riskier games missed the list completely:

• Deathloop

• It Takes Two

• Returnal

• Hitman 3

• Guardians of the Galaxy

Those games took chances. They had distinctive art, unusual mechanics, or stories that did not follow the usual blockbuster template. Their absence told me that the average buyer was not ready to follow those experiments. 🎮

The PS4 list was even more discouraging because that console still had a huge install base. Grand Theft Auto 5, Minecraft, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mortal Kombat 11 all appeared. These are not bad games, and I have spent hundreds of hours in some of them. But their continued dominance meant new ideas struggled for attention. The same sports franchises and Call of Duty titles showed up again. Last year's NBA 2K also made the cut, which highlights how sports games operate on an entirely different schedule. They are annual habits more than releases. I respect that rhythm even if I do not enjoy it personally.

I understand that I live in a bubble. I play more games than most people because I want to write and talk about them. I have access to information about indie projects, early impressions, and hidden gems. A casual player with limited free time is not going to gamble on a strange sci-fi loop shooter when they can relax with a familiar open-world game or a quick sports match. That is completely rational. But rational habits have consequences. Money talks, and it usually tells publishers to make more of what already sold. The reason GTA 6 took so long is partly that GTA 5 continued to generate enormous revenue years after release. Minecraft, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mortal Kombat 11 may not all be live-service titles, but they remain easy purchases because people know exactly what they will get.

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By 2026, the industry has moved in some predictable directions. More remakes, more live-service experiments, and more annual sports entries. Some of that is healthy. Single-player experiences continuing to sell is a good sign even if they are older titles. But looking back at 2021, I am reminded that real innovation rarely comes from the biggest sellers. It comes from small teams and mid-budget studios that survive despite lower chart positions. Those charts were not a list of the year's best games. They were a list of what players already trusted. That distinction still matters more than ever.