As one year draws to a close and another begins, it’s the ideal time to reflect on the best games of the year. There have been some great games that we have all loved playing – here are some of the best:

• Battletech. A robot game that feels different to some of the others, Battletech is very strategic. You will need to complete missions, some of which are very difficult. It is available on Windows and OS X.
• Far Cry 5. This new Ubisoft shooter is set in the Midwest, with a range of new weapons to use (including a bear) and intriguing gameplay that will keep you guessing. It’s available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
• Graveyard Keeper. This is a farming simulation game with a twist – and quite a dark one. It’s about keeping a graveyard, and it’s difficult to master. You can play it on Windows and Xbox One console.

For years now, many gamers have become professionals and started to make a living by streaming their gaming live online. This is so that other people can watch, learn and be entertained, and it is a popular pastime for many. Some people even earn their living this way, and if not their whole living, they make a very decent amount of money from it.

If you are a live streamer, what you might not actually know is that an algorithm could shut you down due to copyright laws. If the service thinks you are breaking copyright law, your streaming can be suspended immediately. Many users are saying that this is also leading to months of being banned.

So should you stay away from live video game streaming? There seems to be some hypocrisy there, with some people claiming that the big players, who get the platforms lots of popularity, are not being banned. It’s still a work in progress and people are unsure how it will work out.

The games industry is reported to be growing continually, and 2017 sales were up on 2016 sales quite dramatically. This is despite rising inflation and falling wages – people still continue to play games, and it is testament to the quality of some of the games that have recently been release. These were some of the top performing games of the year that kept the calibre high:

• FIFA 18 from Electronic Arts – the football simulation game that never gets old. Fans got excited about this newest addition to the FIFA family, which was released in September for Windows, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
• Call of Duty WWII from Rockstar/ Take 2 – Call of Duty got highly realistic with the release of its gritty WWII title back in November. It can be played on PlayStation and Xbox One.
• Grand Theft Auto V – released back in 2013, this is still proving popular amongst fans of the action adventure franchise. You can play it on PlayStation, Xbox and Windows.