When we look at the past two decades as it relates to gaming there is absolutely no question that Rocksteady Studios and Rockstar North were among two of the best video game developers as it related to the action-adventure genre. During the 00’s & 10’s decade both video game developers gave the world some of the best action-adventure titles ever made with Rocksteady Studios being the geniuses behind the Batman Arkham trilogy; along with Rockstar North developing the Grand Theft Auto games from 2002 onwards. Prior to the release of Arkham Asylum in 2009 most of Batman games during the 00’s were forgettable for the most part until Rocksteady Studios started creating titles for the legendary DC superhero. Fortunately, Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment had released Arkham Asylum about a year following the showcase of the critically acclaimed Batman: Dark Knight movie from ’08 which earned over $1 billion in relation to box office revenue. Since then it seem like Batman had become the most popular superhero between the late 00’s-early 10’s especially after the Arkham Knight game was released back in 2011. Batman: Arkham Knight was quite possibly the most successful game within its trilogy especially since it managed to reach over 12 million copies in sales; surpassing the Arkham Asylum game which had over 9.5 million in worldwide sales. Prior to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Spider-Man PS4 game from ’18 the Batman Arkham City was considered to be arguably the best superhero video game of the 2010’s decade. But when it comes down to popular action-adventure games in general the massive success that Grand Theft Auto V had from ’13 onwards seemed completely unrivaled.
Rockstar North has been developing GTA games for the past two decades and the most recent installment is considered to be the most successful one since it has reached over 160 million copies sold worldwide. It should also be noted that in the past eight years or so Grand Theft Auto V has managed to generate over $6 billion in revenue making it one of the most successful video games of all-time. Prior to the release of Grand Theft Auto V we got the iconic Vice City game from ’02 which reached over 17 million copies in sales and the GTA: San Andreas which hit over 27 million. Unlike, the Batman Arkham trilogy the GTA series focused more on anti-heroes and as central protagonists along with gang warfare and felt more non-fictional than Batman titles which are possible reasons as to why the Grand Theft Auto franchise has become so popular within the past 20 years. However, when it comes down to character and world designs Rocksteady Studios seemed more detailed than Rockstar North’s GTA games especially since the they utilized the Unreal Engine 3. As far as which video game developers make better action-adventure titles are concerned is something that is subjective because it really depends on what one looks for in a video game. When it comes down to presentation Rocksteady Studios Batman games looked more impressive but there is no question that the Grand Theft Auto series has dominated the action-adventure genre within the past decade as far as popularity is concerned.
Gaming Hearts Collection 