Most successful game releases of March 2021

March 2021 was a busy month for gaming, with a ton of new releases hitting the market and quite a few of them lighting up the gaming world. From action to adventure, dungeon crawlers, and even a classic split-screen co-op, the month had just about a little of everything.

Let’s take a look at some of the most successful releases of March and just how well they did.

Loop Hero

Despite being a relatively small release from an Indie studio, Loop Hero was definitely one of the most successful launches of March. The charming roguelike RPG combined classic elements of the former with deckbuilding to create a pixel-art heaven for role-playing game fans.

It quickly swept the internet, selling over 500,000 copies in its first week, topping the Steam charts over the viral Valheim. Loop Hero also stormed play and watch hours, being the fourth-most watched game on Twitch during its first week of release with over 2.8 Million watch hours in the first five days.

Things did slow down a tad for the new release, but it still finished within the top 50 most-watched Twitch games in March 2021 - truly amazing, especially for a small Indie release.

It Takes Two

A late March release is still all the rage, as It Takes Two was another hugely successful game of the month. The game is a unique action-adventure platformer, which can only be played in split-screen mode with two players. The key premise is that everything, well, takes two.

It’s another charming and relaxing game that instantly became a hit. Despite coming out on March 26, the game reached #44 of March’s most-watched on Twitch with over 6.4 Million watch hours, which also puts it in the top 15 this week.

Monster Hunter Rise

As an addition to the ever-popular Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Rise was always going to be a success. However, the game has definitely exceeded expectations. With a Nintendo Switch exclusive launch, Rise builds on the established Monster Hunter: World game and has absolutely knocked it out of the park.

The game has become incredibly popular across the board, especially when it comes to Twitch viewership. Monster Hunter Rise broke into the top 35 of the most-watched games on Twitch in March with an astounding 8.7 Million watch hours and it doesn't seem to be slowing down as it’s kicked off April with almost half of that in just five days.

Overcooked! All you can eat

Overcooked! All you can eat is a remaster and remixture of the ever-popular cooking party game. All you can eat combines the base game and its expansions into one remastered, HD, package. The premise of the game is simple, a team of players must work together to essentially run a kitchen, preparing and cooking food in a very rushed manner - it’s a lot of fun!

The game was definitely a highlight of the month for party gamers as it provided a fun and fast-paced “kitchen” experience. It didn’t set the gaming world on fire, but it didn’t flop either, the game is quite popular on Steam and rested comfortably in the top 300 most watched on Twitch with over 400,000 hours watched in March - not bad considering there are over 20,000 games streamed on the platform.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Yakuza: Like a Dragon first released in 2020, but March 2021 saw the game finally come to PlayStation 5 and with it a fair rise in popularity. The game is an action RPG set in Japan, including traditional mechanics like quests, exploration, different classes, and more. However, one key difference in this game is the turn-based combat system.

Overall, the game was well-received and despite being a PS5 port, still had a very strong month. Most notably, the game ranked #130 on Twitch by hours watched, raking in over 1.4 Million watch hours.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

It’s another expansion of a classic that came out in 2020, but this time the overall release was much bigger. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, released for PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC in March, adding some much-needed platformer action to 2021. The game adds a ton of new elements to the series, most notably, a few new characters with unique gameplay abilities and levels.

This was another game that didn’t immediately go viral, but still had a strong showing, finishing March in #263 on Twitch with over 480,000 watch hours.

Ranch Simulator

Another smaller launch that turned out to be a big success is Ranch Simulator. It’s a classic sim game, letting players live out and simulate life on a traditional American ranch. The game is an all-around unique experience, allowing players to build, farm, hunt, and trade, almost experiencing what life could be if they wanted to build their own ranch.

Ranch Simulator is another game that didn’t make waves, but it could definitely be the start of a great series. There was a definite interest for it throughout March, as the game reached #167 on Twitch in March, raking in over 1 Million hours watched.

Balan Wonderworld

Last but not least comes Balan Wonderworld - a unique platformer from Square Enix created by the maker of Sonic the Hedgehog. The game was released on March 26 and unlike other titles didn’t make the biggest splash, but is still very much a notable title. It includes many of the classic platformer elements, such as exploration and puzzle-solving to eventually collect items and complete set tasks.

The overall viewership for the game was fairly underwhelming, but it still held a solid spot in the top 850 of Twitch, with over 65,000 watch hours throughout March 2021.

‍