What is the best video game of the 21st century?

The humble video game has undergone dramatic changes over the past 25 years, but which one is most beloved by gamers?

If you cast your mind back to the turn of the century, playing video games used to involve blowing on a cartridge like a pan pipe to get the dust out, untangling the wired controllers, and then turning the TV to channel 3.

The thought of downloading full games over dial-up was laughable, and the idea of watching someone else stream themselves playing video games would have required too much explanation and infrastructure.

Things have gotten a bit better since then.

To celebrate the launch of the new news.com.au app, we’re celebrating the people, places and events we’ll never forget from the first quarter of the 21st century by asking for Australia’s view. Our 25@25 series will finally put to bed the debates you’ve been having at the pub and around dinner tables for years – and some that are just too much fun not to include.

But 2000 was a huge time for video games.

The PlayStation 2 hit stores with a whopping 32MB of RAM, and was the first console to feature a new-fangled DVD drive. Games like Deus Ex, Final Fantasy IX, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, The Sims, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 were changing people’s expectations for what video games could be.

It’s hard to imagine games now without Xbox, but Microsoft joined the console wars a bit later than Sony and Nintendo, with the original Xbox getting an Australian release in 2002, introducing us to games like Halo, Forza Motorsport and Gears of War.

The occasion was marked with midnight launch parties at the “Electronics Boutique” and Grace Bros, featuring ATVs, green lighting and a specially decorated Jeep to deliver the first Xbox.

A few years later the, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era began, setting new benchmarks for online multiplayer gaming and how many slurs you could hear a 13-year-old American say during one game of Call of Duty.

The year after that new console generation kicked off, Nintendo released the Wii, which then introduced everyone to the joy of games with motion controls.

This was later followed up with the release of the Wii U, an objectively excellent console that almost no one bought.

Early 2000s kids birthday parties would revolve around gaming. Picture: Reddit

While most people generally think of Japan and the US for video game creation and production, Australia actually punches way above its weight, with Aussie developers finding particular success in the new millennium.

Some notable Aussie-made games and gaming accessories include LA Noire (Sydney, 2011), the UDraw tablet (Melbourne 2010), Fruit Ninja (Brisbane 2010), Crossy Road (Melbourne 2014), Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (Canberra 2014), Untitled Goose Game (Melbourne 2019), the AFL video games (various), Unpacking (Brisbane 2021), Hollow Knight (Adelaide 2017), Cult of the Lamb (Melbourne 2022) and heaps more.

Australian studios also work on Call of Duty and EA Mobile titles.

Gaming setups used to be so different. Picture: Instagra

Remember the cube tvs we all had? Picture: Instagram

Remember when the Adelaide Crows and Essendon Bombers footy teams bought Overwatch and League of Legends esports teams? Or when the Australian Open launched a Fortnite tournament with a $500,000 prize pool?

Australia might not be the esports capital of the world, but we do know how to have fun with it.

Plus, who could forget when Pauline Hanson used the unacceptable prospect of foreigners beating children from the bush at multiplayer games as an argument to improve the NBN?

Pauline was worried about gaming. Picture: X

Drawing on that 25 years of gaming history, it’s now up to you to determine the order of the 10 most impactful games and game franchises of the 21st century so far. Here is the shortlist of contenders:

Minecraft

It’s hard to say what makes Minecraft so special, spawning film adaptations, Lego sets and

campaigns to use it in education.

Was it in the right place at the right time? Do the children truly yearn for the mines? Or is it simply that people love to create when given the opportunity, and Minecraft perfectly blends fun gameplay with a blank canvas.

Minecraft took the world by storm. Picture: Supplied

Kayleen Walters, Head of Mojang Studios told news.com.au what makes the game special.

“At its core, Minecraft is a canvas not just for creativity, but for possibility,” she said.

“Every player brings their own spark, their own story, their own vision. Whether it’s a simple shelter under the stars or a vast redstone-powered machine that defies belief, Minecraft gives players the tools and the freedom to build whatever they can imagine.”

Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto first launched in 2D in 1997. However the majority of the franchise’s success occurred in the last 25 years, so it still counts.

Earning the title for “most controversial video game series in history” from the Guinness Book of World Records, GTA III was originally banned in Australia until the ability to pick up sex workers in game had been removed.

Grand Theft Auto has been popular since it was released. Picture: Supplied

GTA is also one of the most successful franchises, perhaps partially because of all that free publicity the controversies garnered, proving that a good game is more than just the sum of its grossest parts taken out of context.

GTA V was released all the way back in 2013, but it still routinely tops Australia’s weekly video game sales charts, with the game having sold more than 215 million copies worldwide. GTA VI was originally supposed to be released this year, but the planned release date has now officially been postponed to May 2026. Many gamers are hopeful that it will be released some time before Christmas 2027.

Fortnite

There have been a lot of successful free-to-play games over the years, but few have scaled the

heights of success that Fortnite has enjoyed.

When Fortnite was released back in 2017, the focus was the Save The World mode, building was an important aspect, and so was the storm.

But it wasn’t until developer Epic Games took those ingredients and put them in a battle royale that the popularity of Fortnite exploded. Suddenly, kids everywhere were doing Fortnite dances on the playgrounds in numbers that had talkback radio hosts channeling the reverend from Footloose, acting as though kids copying dances they’d seen in a game was both novel and scandalous.

Fortnite is a very popular game. Picture: Supplied

The game has grown even more since then, with the current popular modes including Battle

Royale, Lego Fortnite, Fortnite Festival, and Fortnite Creative, where anyone can make their own games that anyone else can then play.

More importantly, thanks to all the collaborations on skins, it’s the only game where Peter from Family Guy can hunt down Darth Vader and then dance with Batman to celebrate.

But, more than all the numbers and modes and variety, it’s just fun. It’s the game that a generation of gamers will point to as the one that made them fall in love with video games, and it’s likely that its influence will be felt for decades to come.

Call of Duty

In the last 25 years, there have been 22 Call of Duty games, with a further six free-to-play games.

While some of its popularity has died down slightly in recent years, it’s hard to articulate just how much of a cultural impact Call of Duty had in its heyday unless you were there.

Matt Cox, senior vice president and general manage of Call of Duty, put it well when he told

news.com.au “Call of Duty is more than a game—it’s a signature piece of pop culture that

continues to bring us together to create lasting memories with our friends, families and global

community”.

Call of Duty is popular around the world. Picture: Supplied

There aren’t many games that can pull off conveying the seriousness of the Second World War, meditations on the nature of modern war from the perspective of a British SAS commando, and collaborations with celebrities like Nicki Minaj. And yet, somehow Call of Duty has managed to span the gamut of emotions around war and war games.

While it certainly wasn’t the first first-person shooter game series, it’s likely the one most people think of when the genre is mentioned.

Wii Sports

Wii Sports is the only game on this list locked to a single, superseded console, and yet I think it’s also perhaps the most universally beloved.

Bundled with the Wii console, Wii Sports was designed to show off what the Wii Remote could do, introducing people to remote-based motion controls.

Wii Sports was very unique for its time. Picture: Supplied

For some people, it ended up being the only game they needed to play on Wii, becoming an instant hit for kids, university parties, family gatherings, drinking games, and old folks’ homes. Even people who didn’t like video games loved trying to get a strike in bowling, or absolutely destroy their friends at tennis.

Other sports included boxing, golf and baseball, and the game struck the right balance of being easy enough that anyone could play, while being challenging enough that it took skill to win.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is the most successful indie game of all time, and for many people it’s their comfort game.

It’s cosy; all you have to do is farm, fish, mine, battle against unspeakable horrors (creatures in the mine) to please ancient spirits (Junimos), and fight against capitalism (JojaMart).

Stardew Valley is a “comfort game” for many. Picture: Supplied

Created by one man (Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone), it’s gotten steady, free updates since its release in 2016, and has never had paid DLC or ads. It’s currently available as part of the Apple Arcade subscription service, as well as the Xbox Game Pass service, or it’s pretty cheap on basically any console.

Pokémon

Sure, Pokémon’s popularity might be borne out of the 1990s anime and trading card game craze.

But the game series also gave rise to the most iconic in-person gaming event of the last 25 years: The Pokémon Go winter of 2016.

It was one of those events you had to be a part of to truly understand why it captivated so many people.

The sense of community, and joy of getting to explore our towns and cities while playing a game we loved was somewhat magical.

Pokemon has always been very well loved. Picture: Supplied

Pokémon Go is still going strong, of course, but nothing compares to the huge groups of people running through the Melbourne CBD, stampeding towards the Yarra to catch a Dratina, at a time when everyone was sharing this same experience and adventuring together.

With the growing popularity of the Pokemon TCG Pocket mobile game, and the upcoming

Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Pokemon isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

The Sims

The concept for The Sims came after developer Will Wright’s house burnt down, and he wanted to create a virtual doll house so people could build their homes in game, and create characters to tell their own stories.

Ever since, players from all over the world have spent thousands of hours crafting the most beautiful castles and most messed up family plot lines.

The Sims is easily one of the most iconic game franchises ever. When asked why The Sims games were so popular and why people should vote for them, an unnamed member of The Sims development team told news.com.au:

The Sims has only boomed in popularity. Picture: Supplied

“In The Sims, if you can dream it, you can Sim it. Whether reimagining real life or building from scratch, your creativity takes centre stage.

“You can recreate your favourite reality drama, whatever is happening in pop culture or a story purely from your imagination. Life transcends beyond the boundaries of reality.

“Every moment is an opportunity to redefine life on your own terms. You can build fantasy scenarios or explore everyday life, or an unexpected mix of both.”

World of Warcraft

Who among us hasn’t lost a week in World of Warcraft? There had been massively multiplayer online role-playing games before World of Warcraft debuted in 2004, such as Everquest, but none quite captured people’s attention or imagination like WoW did.

People have met, proposed and gotten married in game. It’s the kind of game where you work

your regular job, and then get to go home to adventure in this massive world with friends you’re closer to than anyone else, despite living on the other side of the world.

Darren Williams, the Associate Technical Director of World of Warcraft (who is originally from Adelaide) said the reason why Australians should Vote One WoW is because of those connections.

World of Warcraft has stood the test of time. Picture: Supplied

“So many people have formed lifelong friendships or relationships thanks to World of Warcraft, spanning distances and other communication barriers,” he explained.

“For most of this century people have been finding like-minded folks and forming deeply important and meaningful connections through the game.

“Families who met through the game are now sharing it with their kids; the game is generational and bridges many communities. World of Warcraft is an important part of so many people’s lives.”

FIFA/EA Sports FC

Once known as the FIFA games, now known as EA Sports FC, this soccer series really defined what serious sports games could be.

Nearly every time I’ve interviewed an athlete about video games, no matter which code they played (NBA, AFL, tennis, soccer, hockey, etc), they all played EA Sports FC more than the games that actually featured them and the team they played for, that’s how good this game is.

There are people out there who own consoles only so they can play each year’s iteration of the game.

FIFA is a very beloved game around the world. Picture: EA Sports

When asked why Australians should vote for EA Sports FC as the best game of the last 25 years, the development team told news.com.au: “EA SPORTS FC sits at the intersection of sports and entertainment and continues to shape football culture in an unprecedented way.

Living out your ultimate football fantasy and connecting to fans all over the world is possible because of our commitment to community and our love of football and gaming.”

Honourable mentions

OK, that’s all 10 up for your consideration. But, because it’s impossible to distill 25 years of video games into just a top ten, here are some honourable mentions which didn’t make it, but still deserve a shoutout.

Mario Kart

All of the Mario game series are classics, but there is something extra special about blue shelling your friend metres before the finish line on Rainbow Road, or heading down to Moo Moo Meadows.

The Last of Us

I don’t think a week has gone by since I played The Last Of Us Part 2 that I haven’t thought about it. This series has been so hugely impactful in so many ways, and it spawned the best TV adaption of a video game yet.

Super Mario Kart changed the game. Picture: Supplied

Forza Horizon

This is my personal favourite game series of all time because it so perfectly balances the best of how polished and realistic a driving sim can be (the amount of detail in the cars is absurd) with the best of the freedom video games gives you (I can take that realistic car and drive it off a cliff to get points).

Halo

It’s Halo.

Guitar Hero/Rock Band

These games gave a whole bunch of people a love of music and rhythm, and gave some the

confidence to try picking up a real guitar. I’m one of the many people who deeply miss the days of going to a party and just having fun on the full Rock Band set up in the games room.

Tony Hawk Pro-Skater

This is the game that introduced a whole heap of kids to skateboarding and punk music, and for that we are all grateful.

Counter Strike

Counter Strike really changed the face of esports. Every single one of the thousands of people who attended the finals at the Intel Extreme Masters tournament in Melbourne this year knows how electric the energy can be at a CS:GO event.

Alice Clarke is an award-winning freelance journalist with almost 20 years experience writing about video games and technology. You can find her at @alicedkc.bsky.social

Alice filmed interviews for this story at Pop Culture Larrakin in Melbourne

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Originally published as What is the best video game of the 21st century?