150 Most Important Video Games Ever Made

1.Tetris

The universal game — it crossed the Iron Curtain, defined the Game Boy, and embedded its falling blocks in the brain of nearly everyone alive.

2.Super Mario Bros.

The NES pack-in that revived the entire console industry after the 1983 crash and made Mario the most recognizable character in gaming.

3.Minecraft

The best-selling video game of all time at 300M+ copies and a creative, educational, YouTube-defining cultural cornerstone for a whole generation.

4.Pac-Man

Gaming's first true mascot phenomenon — merchandise, a hit pop song, a TV cartoon — and the most successful arcade game ever made.

5.Pokemon Red and Blue

Launched a global multimedia juggernaut of games, anime, and cards that became one of the biggest media franchises in history.

6.Grand Theft Auto V

One of the best-selling and highest-grossing entertainment products ever at ~200M copies, with a GTA Online that still endures a decade on.

7.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Long held as the highest-rated game ever made and the template every 3D action-adventure has followed since.

8.Super Mario 64

Defined 3D platforming and analog-stick camera control in one launch-defining leap that taught the industry how to move through 3D worlds.

9.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Switch flagship that reinvented open-world freedom and swept Game of the Year awards with near-universal acclaim.

10.Wii Sports

Bundled with the Wii, it put grandparents and whole families on their feet and defined motion-control mass-market gaming at ~83M copies.

11.Doom

Defined the first-person shooter, popularized shareware and modding, and became the center of a 90s moral panic over game violence.

12.Space Invaders

Triggered the arcade boom and a national craze in Japan, defining the fixed shooter and high-score chasing for the medium.

13.Halo: Combat Evolved

Launched the Xbox and console FPS, and seeded the LAN-party and Xbox Live culture that followed.

14.Grand Theft Auto III

Defined the modern 3D open-world sandbox and made GTA the permanent lightning rod for video-game controversy.

15.Street Fighter II

Created the modern one-on-one fighting game and the competitive arcade-versus culture of the early 90s.

16.Fortnite

A cultural mega-event of dances, concerts, and crossovers with 400M+ accounts that turned battle royale into a Gen-Z social platform.

17.World of Warcraft

The defining MMORPG that drew millions of subscribers, mainstream news coverage, and even a South Park episode.

18.The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

A critical phenomenon whose sprawling world and Netflix spinoff made Geralt of Rivia a household name.

19.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

A ~60M-selling open-world colossus re-released across every platform imaginable and endlessly modded a decade later.

20.Half-Life 2

Redefined the shooter with physics-driven puzzles and seamless storytelling, and launched the Steam platform that reshaped PC gaming.

21.Pong

The first commercially successful video game, which put the entire medium on the cultural map and launched the arcade industry.

22.Red Dead Redemption 2

A ~65M-selling open-world Western of staggering detail and one of the most acclaimed games of its generation.

23.Elden Ring

A mainstream critical and commercial phenomenon that made the Soulslike a cultural touchstone and swept Game of the Year.

24.Resident Evil 4

Reinvented the action-horror genre with its over-the-shoulder camera and is routinely cited among the greatest games ever made.

25.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Defined online console multiplayer and made the annual Call of Duty release a mainstream cultural ritual.

26.The Last of Us

Elevated narrative gaming's mainstream prestige, and its HBO adaptation became a genuine television event.

27.Super Mario Kart

Founded the kart-racing genre and the entire Mario Kart franchise, one of gaming's best-selling series.

28.Pokemon GO

Sent millions of players outdoors overnight in a global augmented-reality phenomenon with 1B+ downloads.

29.League of Legends

Defined the MOBA and modern esports, with World Championships filling stadiums and 150M+ monthly players.

30.The Sims

The best-selling PC game of its era, which brought huge numbers of women and non-gamers into the hobby.

31.Final Fantasy VII

Brought JRPGs and cinematic storytelling to the mainstream West in a defining PlayStation moment.

32.Half-Life

Redefined FPS storytelling with seamless scripted narrative and no cutscene breaks, reshaping the genre overnight.

33.The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Perfected the top-down Zelda formula and remains the blueprint countless action-adventures still reference.

34.Dark Souls

Cemented the Soulslike into a mainstream design language imitated across the entire industry.

35.Mortal Kombat

Its graphic fatalities sparked U.S. Senate hearings and directly led to the creation of the ESRB ratings system.

36.Super Mario World

The ~20M-selling SNES pack-in that perfected 2D platforming and introduced Yoshi.

37.GoldenEye 007

Defined console first-person shooters and the dorm-room split-screen deathmatch culture of a generation.

38.Sonic the Hedgehog

Sega's attitude-driven answer to Mario and the face of the 90s console war.

39.Metal Gear Solid

Brought cinematic, voice-acted stealth storytelling to the mainstream and defined the modern action-game cutscene.

40.BioShock

Married a richly atmospheric world to a famous narrative twist that elevated games as a storytelling medium.

41.Super Metroid

Perfected the interconnected-map exploration design that gave half the 'Metroidvania' genre its name.

42.Roblox

A platform-sized phenomenon with 70M+ daily users that turned an entire generation into game developers and players inside one app.

43.Candy Crush Saga

The defining freemium mobile hit with billions of downloads that became a free-to-play business-model milestone.

44.Final Fantasy VI

A sweeping ensemble JRPG widely regarded as the pinnacle of 16-bit storytelling.

45.Chrono Trigger

A dream-team JRPG with multiple endings and time travel, perennially named among the greatest games ever.

46.Shadow of the Colossus

A haunting, minimalist masterpiece of colossus-slaying that became a landmark argument for games as art.

47.Portal

A perfect puzzle gem whose portal mechanic and dark wit made it an instant cultural touchstone.

48.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The best-selling PS2-era GTA whose 'Hot Coffee' mod became a national controversy and AO-rating scandal.

49.Counter-Strike

The mod-turned-retail FPS that created competitive online shooting and, via CS:GO/CS2, the longest-running esport.

50.Bloodborne

A gothic, aggressive evolution of the Souls formula widely cited as one of the finest games of its generation.

51.God of War

Reinvented its bombastic franchise as an intimate father-son saga and swept Game of the Year.

52.Red Dead Redemption

A soulful open-world Western that proved Rockstar could marry blockbuster scope to genuine pathos.

53.Mass Effect 2

The peak of the space-opera RPG, prized for its branching choices and unforgettable companion roster.

54.Diablo

Created the action-RPG loot genre and popularized online co-op via Battle.net.

55.Quake

The first true real-time 3D-polygon FPS, birthing online multiplayer culture, mods, and esports.

56.StarCraft

Perfected asymmetric RTS balance and became the foundation of professional esports in South Korea.

57.Super Mario Bros. 3

The high-water mark of NES platforming, hyped by a feature film and beloved for decades.

58.Metroid Prime

Translated Metroid into atmospheric first-person exploration without losing its soul.

59.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The ultimate crossover platform fighter with 89+ characters and the best-selling fighting game of all time.

60.Portal 2

Expanded its predecessor into a sharper, funnier, co-op-enabled puzzle masterpiece.

61.Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

The other half of 'Metroidvania' — a sprawling, RPG-infused gothic adventure of lasting influence.

62.Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The comfort game of the COVID lockdown — a record-breaking, news-covered social escape selling 46M+ copies.

63.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

The best-selling racing game ever at 60M+ copies and the definitive modern Mario Kart.

64.Diablo II

Perfected the loot-driven action-RPG and dominated late-90s online play for years.

65.Among Us

A 2020 pandemic-era viral explosion on Twitch and YouTube that brought social-deduction to the mainstream.

66.Deus Ex

The high watermark of the immersive sim, blending RPG, stealth, and shooter into player-driven freedom.

67.Silent Hill 2

A psychological horror landmark whose fog-shrouded dread redefined what the genre could express.

68.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

BioWare's beloved Star Wars RPG with a twist ending fans still rank among gaming's best.

69.Angry Birds

The breakout smartphone game — merchandise, a movie, and the face of early mobile gaming.

70.Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

A jungle-survival stealth epic widely regarded as the high point of the series.

71.Wolfenstein 3D

Popularized the first-person shooter and the shareware distribution model that built id Software.

72.Civilization

Defined the 4X turn-based strategy genre and the addictive 'one more turn' loop.

73.Hades

Fused roguelike combat with knockout storytelling to become the genre's breakout critical darling.

74.Super Smash Bros. Melee

The competitive party-fighter crossover that built a decades-long grassroots esports community.

75.The Last of Us Part II

A technically staggering, fiercely debated sequel that pushed narrative games into uncomfortable new territory.

76.Baldur's Gate 3

A sweeping CRPG triumph that swept Game of the Year and made tabletop-deep choice mainstream.

77.Tomb Raider

Made Lara Croft a 90s pop-culture icon, magazine cover star, and film franchise lead.

78.Madden NFL

The definitive American football franchise and a yearly cultural institution across North America.

79.Gran Turismo

Set the standard for the realistic racing sim with licensed cars and obsessive tuning depth.

80.FIFA International Soccer

Launched EA's FIFA dynasty, the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world.