Most Read Game News of 2016

With 2017 fast-approaching, we like to take a step back and look at gaming trends from the year that was. To that end, we've compiled a list of the 20 most read stories on GameSpot from January through the end of November. While it was impossible to explore the internet and not hear about Pokemon Go at some point or to read all of the leaked console speculation leading into E3, our list is just as interesting for what it doesn't include. In particular, the major VR platforms all officially launched this year, but no stories about them cracked made it onto our top list.

Keep reading to see our most-popular stories counting down to number one.

20) Red Dead Redemption 2 Will Offer "Big, Sprawling, Optimistic View of America"

Though the trailer was little more than a brief tease, people were hungry for any details around Rockstar's next open-world epic. [Read the full story.]

19) 25 Year Old Street Fighter 2 Mystery Finally Solved

Who are the two mysterious fighters who open the fighting classic's pre-title sequence? Capcom finally revealed the formerly secret identities of Max and Scott. [Read the full story.]

18) Star Wars Battlefront 3 Fan Remake Devs Say It's Been Approved for Steam Release

While its unclear whether Disney will take any action against the developer, Steam has agreed to host the fan project Star Wars Battlefront 3: Galaxy in Turmoil. The game is still up on the Steam store as of this writing, so there's at least a possibility there'll be another non-official Battlefront game for fans to play next year.

17) All the News From Bethesda's E3 2016 Press Conference

With details on Prey, Skyrim, Quake Champions, Dishonored 2, Fallout 4, and Elder Scrolls Online, Bethesda had a packed show at this year's E3. And was that some new Wolfenstein content teased as well? [Read the full story.]

16) 2016 Presidential Candidates Reimagined as Pokemon

Regardless of what side of the political fence you sit on, we can all agree that Pokemon versions of politicians are the best versions. [Read the full story.]

15) This Fallout 4 Mod Adds Gorgeous Cel-Shaded Graphics

If you wanted to give Fallout a Borderlands-style makeover, than this is the mod for you. [Read the full story.]

14) Family Guy Used NES Game Footage From YouTube, Then Claimed Copyright on Same Video

An episode of the Fox show Family Guy used a gameplay clip showing an exploit in the NES game Double Dribble, however, that clip was originally taken from YouTube user sw1tched. But after the TV show aired, Fox issued a copyright takedown on the original YouTube video. While the mixup was quickly rectified and was likely done through an automated system looking for duplicate content, it was still a bizarre scenario that highlights an ongoing issue with copyright and video game content on sharing sites like YouTube. [Read the full story.]

13) All 134 New Hearthstone Old Gods Cards Revealed

While this year saw the release of Hearthstone expansions for One Night in Karazhan and the recent Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, it was the Cthulhu-inspired Whispers of the Old Gods that seemed to resonate most strongly with GameSpot's readers. [Read the full story.]

12) All the News From Microsoft's E3 2016 Press Conference

Highlights from this year's press conference included new hardware announcements (both the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio) and details on Sea of Thieves, Scalebound, Dead Rising 4, and State of Decay 2. [Read the full story.]

11) If Square Enix Designed Batgirl

Square Enix is no stranger to creating imaginative takes on existing characters, and this year we got a look at its vision for Batgirl. While it didn't rate quite as highly on the list, Square Enix also put its own spin on The Joker, turning him into a psycho in a purple bat suit. [Read the full story.]

10) Nintendo Switch: Reveal Trailer and All the New Details

Hard details like a price and launch line-up will have to wait until January, but the world got its first look at Nintendo's next console, the Switch, in a trailer released back in October. [Read the full story.]

9) All the News From Sony's E3 2016 Press Conference

While it didn't include a look at Sony's new console, the PlayStation press conference did give us a first look at upcoming titles such as God of War, Insomniac's Spider-Man game, Days Gone, Death Stranding, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. [Read the full story.]

8) Battlefield 1 Beta, Other EA Games' Server Issues Ironed Out

Battlefield 1's beta apparently did its job well. While there were some early issues with connectivity in the game that were quickly ironed out prior to launch, the official start of the game was relatively smooth. [Read the full story.]

7) Pokemon Go: All the Known Issues Here

Pokemon Go was a global phenomenon this year. It was hard to go out in public and not find groups of people playing the game, however, the launch was also beset by a bevy of bugs. [Read the full story.]

6) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Being Remade in Unreal Engine 4

From a legal standpoint, it's better to think of this fan project as a mod rather than a reimagining, but this update to the classic game will allow you to play in first-person mode and with updated visuals. The game will be free when it releases and is still in active development. [Read the full story.]

5) Overwatch's Sombra Goes Live on PTR; Here Are All Her Skins

The Sniper Ana was also added to the Overwatch roster this year, but it was the long-teased Sombra who garnered the most interest. She "hacked" Blizzcon as her introduction, which mimics one of her disruptive in-game skills. [Read the full story.]

4) Stunning New Final Fantasy 15 Screenshots Show Delicious Food, Fantastical Beasts, Cool Weapons

FFXV is an epic adventure with lots to like, but it's the attention to graphical detail that really stands out. The food in the game looks so good, it's hard to distinguish some shots from reality. [Read the full story.]

3) Here's How to Request New Pokemon Go PokeStops and Gyms

Pokemon Go continues to maintain crazy momentum, but when it launched, one of the biggest questions was about how to create new gyms and PokeStops. [Read the full story.]

2) PS4 Pro: Specs, Release Date, and Price Confirmed

Details of both Sony and Microsoft's next console iterations leaked early in the year, and just before E3 Sony said it officially had a new console in the works. But it took a long time before we got to finally see what had been unofficially dubbed the PS4.5. As expected, the PS4 Pro wasn't a complete reinvention of Sony's console--instead it offered upgraded graphical and processing capability, supplementing rather than supplanting the standard PS4. [Read the full story.]

1) Sony Responds to Microsoft's Invite to Connect Xbox One and PS4 Networks

While it still hasn't come to fruition, by far the most popular story on GameSpot this year was about PS4 an Xbox One working together. After Microsoft publicly invited other platform holders to break down the console walls and allow multiplayer games to communicate freely, Sony's response was more than a little vague. While some PS4 games like Rocket League allow cross-play between PS4 and console, and Microsoft has an entire initiative built around allowing gamers to buy a game once and play it on both PC and Xbox One, it seems like we're still a long way off from firing up a round of Overwatch or Call of Duty and playing with our friends on an opposing console. [Read the full story.]