// GAMESPOT — GAMING
The Biggest Gaming Stories That Happened Since GTA 5 Came Out 13 Years Ago
The long, long wait for GTA 6 is coming to an end, as the game's November 19 release date approaches. Yes, there have been many leaks, but the genuine article arrives soon.
It's been 13 years since GTA 5 launched in September 2013, and a lot has happened in the world of video games since then. When GTA 5 came out, Fortnite was not a thing. The live-service boom (and subsequent crash) hadn't happened yet. E3 was still a thriving, can't-miss annual summer event. Nintendo had just launched the ill-fated Wii U.
In this post, we're running through some of the most notable gaming events and stories since GTA 5 launched more than a decade ago. To be sure, this is not an exhaustive list, and it does not touch on the many real-world, non-gaming high-profile events that have transpired. This list is all about big gaming stories, of which there have been many.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released all the way back in 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC--nearly two years before GTA 5 launched. Since then, we haven't gotten a new mainline The Elder Scrolls game either, but we have gotten a ridiculous number of Skyrim ports across a bunch of different systems. Those include Skyrim for Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and various VR platforms. There's even, sort of, a port of Skyrim available for Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. Dubbed Skyrim Very Special Edition, it lets you explore Skyrim like it's an old-school text-adventure, so you can even keep playing as the Dragonborn while you make dinner. -- Gabe Gurwin
Shortly after the launch of GTA 5, Ubisoft released the original Watch Dogs, an open-world action game that offered similar freedom to Grand Theft Auto but with a particular focus on hacking infrastructure and weaponizing Chicago's electrical grid. It was followed by a far superior sequel set in San Francisco, Watch Dogs 2, a few years later, and the London-set Watch Dogs Legion in 2020. While the games--particularly Watch Dogs 2--certainly scratched a GTA-like itch, it's been radio silence on the series for several years. We're crossing our fingers for a true sequel to Watch Dogs 2 at some point. -- Gabe Gurwin
It would have been almost impossible to believe back in 2013, but a whole lot has changed over the last 13 years: Halo is now on PlayStation. During the Xbox 360 era, Microsoft was still sticking to a traditional exclusives-focused release strategy, with multiple Halo games releasing solely on Xbox 360. Even the real-time-strategy game Halo Wars initially released solely on Xbox 360, not coming to PC until 2016. But times have changed, and Microsoft opted to simultaneously launch Halo: Campaign Evolved on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and, yes, PlayStation 5. It remains to be seen if this will continue for future Halo games, as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma seems interested in returning to exclusives, but it sure is weird to see a Halo game on Sony's system. -- Gabe Gurwin
Grand Theft Auto 5 was initially only available on Xbox 360 and PS3, with Rockstar following in its predecessors' footsteps by not launching day-and-date with PC. But the game did eventually come to PC, mod support and all, in 2015, and also released on Xbox One and PS4. But the wait for the next GTA has gone on so long that it also released for Xbox Series X|S and PS5, along with the separate GTA Online component. Up to this point, it hasn't come to Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, but it wouldn't be particularly shocking for that to happen in the future, as Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is available on Switch. -- Gabe Gurwin
The Call of Duty series is annualized, and there have been a lot of Call of Duty games released since GTA 5 came out in September 2013. In the time since Rockstar released GTA 5, Activision has released 13 mainline Call of Duty games, with a 14th, Modern Warfare 4, arriving in late October. In addition to all of those games, Activision launched the mobile game Call of Duty: Mobile in 2019, the battle royale game Call of Duty: War