Nearly Identical Games That Came Out At The Same Time

Gaming often moves in cycles, genres rise and fall in popularity, seemingly for without reason, and business interests can pack multiple games into certain release windows, like the holiday season. As a result of industry forces like these, or even purely random happenstance, similar games can often come out at nearly the same time as one another. 

Sometimes this is due to multiple developers responding to the same trend among audiences, thus starting and finishing their games on similar schedules. Other times it's because corporate executives insist on the most beneficial release date for their own marquee games, regardless of similarities to other things on the market. In these cases, two titles can have the misfortune of competing directly against each other for every ounce of their respective markets' attention. 

Of course, getting two great games at once is exciting for gamers, but perhaps not so great for their wallets. The need to choose between one or the other can lead to rivalries between game developers, with ardent supporters of each insisting their favorite is objectively better. However, it is also possible for similar games released in close proximity to benefit from their association with each other, with each driving audiences to one another. With that said, and with both good and bad results in mind, here is a look at some similar games that came out around the same time.

It's no secret that EA's "Battlefield" and Activision's "Call of Duty" franchises have long been competitors. Both are the premier multiplayer first-person shooter franchises of two of the biggest video game publishers in the world, and both compete heavily for an audience among console gamers. In 2011, the two competed even more directly than usual when "Battlefield 3" and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" were released less than two weeks apart, on October 25 and November 8, respectively. Both received solid reviews from critics, though "Battlefield 3" seemed to garner a much better reception among its playerbase. 

On top of the similarities between the franchises that already existed, both games take place in the present day, rather than in the past or future as previous installments in both franchises had. In other words, they presented an even greater direct competition with each other than usual. Ultimately, the battle for console FPS superiority continues between "Battlefield" and "Call of Duty" to this day, but it may never be closer than it was in Fall 2011.

"Dragon Age 2" was released on March 8, 2011, while "The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings" followed just over two months later on May 17. Both are fantasy RPGs created by two of the industry's leading developers in the genre, BioWare and CD Projekt Red. Both games also feature complex branching fantasy storylines driving their gameplay and narratives. In addition, both were sequels to games that were critically acclaimed and beloved among their fans — and both managed to not only live up to the expectations of the originals, but arguably surpass them. 

"Dragon Age 2" and "The Witcher 2" also both feature open worlds which encourage exploration, as well as a variety of side quests that reveal new lore and enrich the series as a whole. Lucky for fans, both would later spawn another pair of sequels, with "Dragon Age: Inquisition" and "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" rounding out the trilogies with another respected and well-liked entry in their series.

"Horizon Zero Dawn" and "NieR: Automata" are a pair of science-fiction RPGs which both feature aggressive robots of mysterious origin, strong female leads, and a setting in a distant future version of Earth. They were also released less than one month apart in early 2017. 

In fact, the two are so similar that "NieR” director Yoko Taro even commented on it. Naming "Horizon" as one of his favorite games of the year, he remarked to Giant Bomb, "Their release date was extremely close to 'NieR:Automata,' it was a sci-fi genre title, an action game, and it featured a female protagonist. So much overlap. I thought, 'Are you trying to kill me? Give me a break, seriously.'" 

It should be noted that the two games feature very different combat styles, with "NieR" being more of a hack-and-slash and "Horizon" focusing more on ranged combat. "NieR's" storyline also differs somewhat, as it requires multiple playthroughs to complete, whereas "Horizon" has a more straightforward and linear story. Both games were also critically acclaimed, massively popular among players, and ended up being considered among 2017's best games by many.

"Total War: Rome 2" and "Europa Universalis 4" are a pair of grand strategy games, both taking place primarily in Eurasia, with a focus on conquering and colonizing as much of the world as possible. They were released less than a month apart, with "EU4" releasing on August 13, 2013, and "Rome 2" coming out on September 2. 

The games do have some meaningful differences, of course. "Rome 2" obviously takes place during the time of the Ancient Rome, and allows the player to seize control of Rome and various other states and lead them through the late BCs and early ADs. "EU4," meanwhile, starts during the beginning of Europe's era of colonization and tasks the player with building out their colonial empire from around the 15th Century onward. 

"Rome 2," as is the case with most "Total War" games, has a far more in-depth combat system than its counterpart, allowing the player to control armies precisely in each individual battle.  "EU4" only lets you move troops around the map. However, this map is much more expansive than the one in "Rome 2," covering the entire world, whereas "Rome 2" covers only Eurasia and North Africa. Despite these unique factors, the games still share remarkable similarities in setting, economy management, army-building, and scope. Being grand strategy games at their cores, they appeal to largely the same audience.