Best-Selling Video Games That Originated In France

Best-selling video games that originated in France contribute huge milestones in the global video game industry. They are one of France’s largest cultural fields creating new careers combining technological innovations with storytelling, illustration, animation, music production, and more. The world’s video game industry generated $120 billion in revenue in 2019, with France having the largest share in this challenging, competitive market.

Some meaningful insights about the French video game industry:

Following the UK and Germany, France is the 3rd leading gaming country in Western Europe.

65% of the population or 44 million+ are gamers where the majority are on mobile and PC platforms.

France ranked as the 7th gaming country worldwide based on their game revenue estimates for 2020. The population is 65.3M, the Internet population is 58.8M, and game revenues are at $4,351M USD.

French has continuously become one of the go-to languages for video game localization in Western Europe along with Italian, German and Spanish (commonly known as FIGS or EFIGS, to include English).

30 million+ are mobile gamers reaching a record €1.4 billion in revenue, 37 million+ are PC gamers generating €1.2 billion in revenue overall, and 13 million+ are console gamers with €2.7 billion segment value in 2020.

French game development studios are famous for their creators who have brought the French touch to the gaming world. To name but a few:

1. David Cage is another well-known game developer and designer who is the founder of Quantic Dream studio and the popular game “The Nomad Soul”.

2. Yves Guillemot founded the globally renowned company Ubisoft which has produced highly acclaimed works such as Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry as well as other video games with French translation or originally published games in French.

3. Éric Chahi is the developer and graphic designer behind Another World and Heart of Darkness. He then founded Pixel Reef studio and worked in the VR (virtual reality) French video game industry.

4. Philippe Ulrich is the co-founder of Cryo Interactive Studio, a leading company that has designed video games for the world’s most famous technology companies, notably Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

A unique attribute of the French video games market is its operating collaborative and participatory studios and educational institutions such as the Motion Twin studio and Gobelins, L’École de L’Image that have contributed to the “French touch” in the gaming industry.

France takes pride in its high-quality games and immense game market. That’s why we have decided to combine the top 10 best French video games of all time.

Far Cry

In this game, the player has the right to write his history when achieving several assignments along the course of the story. Far Cry became popular after its launch in 2004. The reason for this fast-growing popularity is its high-quality graphics at that time. More than 800,000 copies were sold in the following couple of months, solidifying its place among the best-selling video games of all time.

Splinter Cell

Released in 2003, this game tells the story of an elite agent who ensures national security and constantly faces perilous tasks. In the plot, the player saves the world by fighting with terrorists and criminals who threaten the security of the nation. This game also inspired a series of novels called “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell” by Raymond Benson, which also gained critical success and made its way into Wall Street Journal and New York Times’ bestseller lists.

Prince of Persia

This game placed Ubisoft as one of the best companies in the video game market in France. Although the first installment of “Prince of Persia” received heavy criticism, the game still received commercial success and was released in a trilogy in 2003. It eventually became one of  Ubisoft’s thriving works that paved the way to more success in the French video game industry

Beyond Good and Evil

The unconventional plot of the game Beyond Good and Evil gives a remarkable experience in a player’s life. With its thrilling and intriguing script and its magical worldview, the game could move the players among the characters and explore from one world to another. 

Rayman Origins

It is impossible to not mention this game when discussing the French video game industry. It has an excellent reputation for its armless, graceful, and hero, Rayman, who is the most famous French video game character abroad. Ubisoft Studios produced the game out of the imagination of Michelle Ansel. It was first available in 1995 on the PlayStation. Suffice to say, the game is a masterpiece in the 2D game generation. 

Alone in the Dark

Launched in 1991, Alone in the Dark is one of the games that put France among the top countries that contribute to the video game industry. A horror adventure that has several thrilling stages and is equipped with 3D controls and movie-like camera angles, the game influenced and inspiredShinji Mikami and Shigeru Miyamoto who later created the highly popular  “Resident Evil”  and “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”, respectively.

Dofus

If France has ever added anything to the market of video games, Dofus would be one of the reasons for that. The French gaming company, Ankama, successfully released the game in 2004. Later, the company expanded into the areas of editing and animation, aside from video game development. Several features of this game have made it a success not only in France but also all over the world. This includes the fantastic graphics and the game flow with role-based tactical combat stages. 

Life is Strange

Life is Strange revolves around Maxine Caulfield, a scholar who thinks she can travel in time for short periods through picturing events in her mind. The intriguing feature of this game is the meticulously set narratives and stages. 

Another World (also known as Out of This World)

Players abroad have considered Another World the stepping stone for France to enter the world of video games. The idea of the game revolves around an adventure full of futuristic settings and stages. Lester Chaykin, the main character of the game, is a physicist who goes into a constant struggle in a parallel world after an accident happens with one of his accelerators. 

Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed offers an incomparable gaming experience. The key for such an experience is simple: the game flows through several stages of exploration, fighting, and combat in different cities over different time slots with a lot of surprises with every new installment. Assassin’s Creed is one of Ubisoft’s masterpieces that has won the hearts of thousands of players around the world.

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CCCI will allow you to expand your scope, whether you are already a global or a start-up gaming studio just about to venture into the international gaming world. Let’s chat about your new international game today!

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