Each year sees the launch of an abundance of diverse and innovative games, catering to a wide range of interests and preferences. Last year saw the release of 12,000 games on Steam alone. So if you are a gamer you have a plethora of options at your disposal.
Of course, the vast majority of those games end up like most movies, music albums, and television shows: forgotten almost as soon as they arrive. Some games don’t just become hits; they become so influential that they inspire a whole generation of other games. Their impact is profound, shaping the future of gaming.
We’re sure there’s another massively influential game just around the corner, but for now, let’s focus on the most influential titles so far this century.
The Sims
If you’ve played a PC game in the past two decades that you genuinely enjoyed playing, then you can thank The Sims. It’s easy to forget now, but in the early part of the 21st century, gaming — especially PC gaming — was dictated by serious, adrenaline-inducing games. The arrival of The Sims, which was all fun and oddities, was a breath of fresh air.
The Sims is still going strong, and it inspired a whole range of games that helped to build the canon of “fun and thoroughly engaging” games, including Animal Crossing, Cities: Skylines, and Planet Zoo.
Half-Life 2
We know now that Half-Life 2 is an incredible game that will end as one of the all-time best. But that wasn’t so immediately obvious before its release back in 2004. A highly anticipated game, Half-Life 2 more than lived up to the hype, and is today credited with pioneering the gaming industry. Some of the greatest games to have come out this century would not exist if it were not for Half-Life 2, including Call of Duty 4, Uncharted, Bioshock, and Gears of War. Now that’s a list.
Candy Crush
Back in 2012, no one would have guessed that Candy Crush would become one of the most popular and influential games ever. It’s difficult to grasp now, but back then, the mobile gaming sector was still finding its feet. Candy Crush proved that you could make a smash hit mobile game that people will return to repeatedly. Aside from heavily influencing the business practices of the gaming industry, Candy Crush also stylistically influenced other games. The most obvious example is Sweet Bonanza, a hugely popular slot game that uses imagery similar to Candy Crush, and you’ll also find plenty of candy-focused games in the app stores, too. The popularity of Candy Crush also helped influence the rise of gaming tournaments — the Candy Crush All-Stars tournament, for instance, is noted for having one of the biggest jackpots in the gaming tournament world, with a prize fund of $1 million.
Grand Theft Auto 3
Grand Theft Auto 2 captivated some, but Grand Theft Auto 3 captured everyone’s attention! This was a smash hit that took developers RockStar to the upper echelons of the industry, where they’ve remained ever since. Widely regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, GTA 3 inspired a host of other much-loved titles, including The Simpsons: Hit & Run, The Godfather, Sleeping Dogs, and Saints Row.
The staggering success of GTA 3 had a more indirect influence on the industry too. It gave RockStar buckets of cash — and plenty of confidence — to make other groundbreaking games, including Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
League of Legends
League of Legends was released back in 2009 and has gone from strength to strength over the past fifteen years. It helped develop the concept of esports, and many of the world’s current leading games just couldn’t have existed without League of Legends.
Just some of the many games that owe their existence to League of Legends include Dota 2, Smite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Ace of Arenas. As with GTA 3 and RockStar, League of Legends put publisher Riot Games very much on the gaming map, where they’ve remained ever since.
