How Does February’s Packed Release Schedule Compare To Gaming’s Other Big Months?

It looks like next year’s game slate will be spectacular. However, unlike many years, many of the games we love already have a release date. They will be available just a few months after the holiday season. It’s looking like February 2022 will be one of most popular months in gaming history, reminding of some of our favorite weeks. We thought it’d be fun to compare the upcoming 28-day gauntlet, which is gaining more killers every day, to massive release calendars of gaming’s past. First, let’s take a look at what we have to look forward to this February.

The month starts out strong with the Life is Strange Remasted Collection on February 1, followed shortly behind by Dying Light 2 Stay Human, Techland’s open-world zombie RPG, on February 4. OlliOlli World from Roll7 lands February 8, the same day as the promising martial-arts-focused Sifu.

A brief gap in releases allows us to catch our breath and enjoy the month’s strong opening salvo of games before The King of Fighters XV kicks in the door with its release on February 17, allowing an avalanche of must-play titles to pour onto our growing 2022 backlogs. Horizon Forbidden West will continue Aloy’s adventures on the following day, February 18. The following days bring the coming of Savathun in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen on February 22 and possibly the most anticipated game of the month, From Software’s Elden Ring, which plans to take over our consoles and PCs on February 25. Square Enix has also delayed the release of Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster to sometime during the month – in case you also wanted to play one of the best RPGs of all time.

This is a constant stream of releases. Let’s take a look at some other unabated months with releases in recent years. Our first comparison looks back at November 2006. It was the hot point in a major holiday season and the spectacle for the big launches of two consoles, the Wii, and the PlayStation 3. Not to be outdone, previous-gen consoles and the now one-year-old Xbox 360 bringing its first massive franchise to the console are firing shots across the bow of the newcomers as well. Here are the November 2006 game releases that devastated our bank account balances.

November 2006:

• Elite Beat Agents – November 6
• Call of Duty 3 – November 7
• Gears of War – November 7
• Guitar Hero II – November 7
• Tony Hawk’s Project 8 – November 7
• Sonic the Hedgehog – November 15
• PlayStation 3 – November 17
• Resistance: Fall of Man – November 17
• Nintendo Wii w/ Wii Sports – November 19
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – November 19
• Red Steel – November 19
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas – November 30
• Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness – November 30

While some games are still fondly remembered, others like Red Steel were widely criticized by consumers and critics alike. That’s also not even close to the full list of releases from November 2006. The gaming month was still delicious. There were many titles that gamers could preorder in advance to ensure they had a copy for the busy holiday season. Compared to the current time crisis we’re facing in a few weeks, the selection is pretty even in terms of anticipation.

In truth, these blockbuster weeks are hard to come by in the last decade. Companies became more selective about how they claim a month or week. This was to avoid competition which could reduce precious sales. The closest week after week assault without a console release happened in October 2018, which positioned a hefty handful of big games to capitalize on the holiday rush, anchored by arguably the year’s biggest release yet in Red Dead Redemption 2. There was also an exciting mix of remasters, and interesting indie games that you could expect to see.

Oct 2018 Updates

• Forza Horizon 4 – October 2
• Mega Man 11 – October 2
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – October 5
• Super Mario Party – October 5
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – October 12
• LEGO DC Super-Villains – October 16
• Starlink: Battle for Atlas October 16
• Return of the Obra Dinn – October 18
• Soulcalibur VI – October 19
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – October 26

Why is there a rush to holiday games soon after 2022’s start? In some cases, games are pushed to the beginning of a new calendar year to show a financial return before the end of the fiscal year, which usually concludes at the end of March. That, combined with development complications due to the pandemic over the last two years, there may not be a better option for companies right now than to launch their products and improve the numbers for this current 12 month period. Before it was moved up to August, the Saints Row’s February release was held in February. Though, moving out of the way of a Horizon or Elden Ring may not be an option for organizations that rely on their bottom line looking good year over year.  You can see the growing list of games that have release dates for March. This is starting to remind you of what stacked was before it. 

What months, or which seasons did you experience a seemingly endless stream of new releases in the past? Do you prefer to see release dates packed right after holidays? Or would you rather they spread more widely throughout the year. We’d love to hear from you in the comment section!