4Stack #30 — answers & breakdown
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Release years again, and this time the purple group is arguably the densest three months the medium has ever had.
The sixteen cards in this puzzle were: Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, Halo 2, San Andreas, BioShock, Crysis, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4, The Last of Us, BioShock Infinite, Rayman Legends, Tomb Raider, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Control, Untitled Goose Game.
The four stacks
Released in 2019
Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Control, Untitled Goose Game
2019, a year that belonged to mid-size and independent releases far more than to blockbusters.
Released in 2013
The Last of Us, BioShock Infinite, Rayman Legends, Tomb Raider
2013, the tail end of the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, when that hardware was finally being used properly.
Released in 2007
BioShock, Crysis, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4
2007, and specifically one extraordinary autumn — BioShock, Crysis, Mass Effect and Call of Duty 4 all shipped within about four months of each other.
Released in 2004
Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, Halo 2, San Andreas
2004. Halo 2, San Andreas, Half-Life 2 and World of Warcraft all launched between late October and late November of the same year. Nothing since has come close to that concentration.
Want to try it yourself? Play puzzle #30 — archive plays don't affect your streak. Or jump into today's puzzle.