List of years in video games

Part of a series on the
history of video games
General Early history of video games Early mainframe games Golden age of arcade video games North American video game crash of 1983
Consoles 1st generation (1972–1980) 2nd generation (1976–1992) 3rd generation (1983–2003) 4th generation (1987–2004) 5th generation (1993–2005) 6th generation (1998–2013) 7th generation (2005–) 8th generation (2012–)
Genres History of Eastern role-playing video games History of Western role-playing video games History of online games History of massively multiplayer online games
Lists List of video games in development List of years in video games Timeline of arcade video game history

1940s – 1950s – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s

1940s

• 1947 – earliest known interactive electronic game, the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device.
• 1948 – Alan Turing and D. G. Champernowne write a chess-playing algorithm

1950s

• 1950 – Bertie the Brain, Claude Shannon devises a chess-playing program
• 1951 – Nimrod
• 1952 – OXO
• 1958 – Tennis for Two

1960s

• 1960 –
• 1961 –
• 1962 – Spacewar!
• 1963 –
• 1964 –
• 1965 – John Kemeny writes a baseball simulation
• 1966 –
• 1967 – Ralph Baer demonstrates working ping-pong game on "Brown Box" system^[1]
• 1968 – The Sumer Game
• 1969 – Hamurabi, Lunar Lander, Space Travel

1970s

• 1970 – Highnoon
• 1971 – Baseball, Computer Space, Empire, Galaxy Game, The Oregon Trail, Star Trek
• 1972 – Hunt the Wumpus, Pong, Star Trek; launch of Magnavox Odyssey
• 1973 – Gotcha, Space Race; BASIC Computer Games book
• 1974 – Gran Trak 10, Maze War, Spasim, Speed Race, Tank
• 1975 – Colossal Cave Adventure, dnd, Gun Fight, Indy 800, Panther, pedit5; launch of Odyssey 100, Odyssey 200 and Atari Home Pong
• 1976 – Artillery, Breakout, Blockade, Death Race, Microchess, Night Driver, Sea Wolf, Sprint 2; launch of Coleco Telstar, Fairchild Channel F, Odyssey 300, Atari Super Pong, Video Action III, Gameroom Tele-Pong, and Super Pong Ten
• 1977 – Combat, Empire, Oubilette, Space Wars, Super Bug, Zork; launch of Apple II, Atari VCS (2600), Bally Astrocade, Color TV Game, Commodore PET, Compucolor II, and TRS-80 Model I
• 1978 – Atari Football, Beneath Apple Manor, MUD1, Space Invaders; launch of Magnavox Odyssey² and Exidy Sorcerer
• 1979 – Adventure, Asteroids, Avatar, FS1 Flight Simulator, Galaxian, Head On, Lemonade Stand, Star Raiders, Temple of Apshai; launch of Atari 400/800, Intellivision, and Microvision

1980s

• 1980 – Battlezone, Berzerk, Computer Bismarck, Crazy Climber, Major League Baseball, Missile Command, Mystery House, Pac-Man, Phoenix, The Prisoner, Rally-X, Rip-Off, Rogue, Atari 2600 port of Space Invaders, Space Panic; first Game & Watch; launch of VIC-20 and Tandy Color Computer
• 1981 – Castle Wolfenstein, Centipede, Defender, Donkey Kong, Eastern Front, Frogger, Galaga, Jump Bug, Qix, Scramble, Tempest, Turbo, Ultima, Utopia, Vanguard, Wizardry, Zork II; launch of BBC Micro, TI-99/4A, Sinclair ZX81, IBM PC
• 1982 –BurgerTime, Choplifter, Deadline, Donkey Kong Jr., Dig-Dug, E.T., Front Line, The Hobbit, Joust, Jungle Hunt. Miner 2049er, Moon Patrol, Mr. Do!, Ms. Pac-Man, Necromancer, Pitfall!, Pole Position, Q*bert, River Raid, Robotron: 2084, Rocky's Boots, Sinistar, Sokoban, Time Zone, Ultima II, Xevious, Yars' Revenge, Zaxxon; launch of Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, ColecoVision, Atari 5200, Vectrex, Arcadia 2001, Sord M5
• 1983 – Archon: The Light and the Dark, Bomberman, Blue Max, Dandy, Donkey Kong 3, Dragon's Lair, Flight Simulator II, Jetpac, King's Quest, Lode Runner, Manic Miner, Mario Bros., M.U.L.E., One on One, Pinball Construction Set, Planetfall, Punch-Out!!, Track & Field, Spy Hunter, Star Wars, Ultima III; launch of Famicom in Japan; North American video game crash occurs
• 1984 – Adventure Construction Set, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, Boulder Dash, 1942, Duck Hunt, Elite, Excitebike, H.E.R.O., The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Impossible Mission, Karateka, Karate Champ, Kung Fu Master, Marble Madness, Paperboy, Pitfall II, The Seven Cities of Gold, Skyfox, SunDog, Tetris; launch of Macintosh, IBM PCjr
• 1985 – Alternate Reality: The City, Balance of Power, The Bard's Tale, Commando, Gauntlet, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Hacker, Little Computer People, Mercenary, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Motos, Paradroid, Racing Destruction Set, Space Harrier, Super Mario Bros., Thexder, Ultima IV, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Yie Ar Kung-Fu; launch of Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, NES, Master System.
• 1986 – Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Dragon Warrior, Fat Worm Blows a Sparky, Ikari Warriors, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mind Walker, Out Run, Starflight, Trinity; launch of Apple IIgs and Atari 7800
• 1987 – Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, Bolo, Double Dragon, Dungeon Master, Final Fantasy, Leisure Suit Larry, Maniac Mansion, Mega Man, MIDI Maze, NetHack, R-Type, Sid Meier's Pirates!, Starglider, Street Fighter, Tecmo Bowl, Test Drive, Wasteland, Zelda II; launch of IBM PS/2 with VGA graphics
• 1988 – Barbarian II, Dragon Warrior III, John Madden Football, King's Quest IV, Mega Man 2, Modem Wars, Narc, Pool of Radiance, Super Mario Bros. 3, Ultima V, Winning Run; launch of Mega Drive (Genesis); first Computer Game Developers Conference
• 1989 – Bonk's Adventure, Final Fight, Hard Drivin', Harpoon, Herzog Zwei, MechWarrior, Military Madness, Phantasy Star II, Populous, Prince of Persia, SimCity, S.T.U.N. Runner, Super Mario Land, Tetris (Game Boy); launch of Game Boy and Atari Lynx

1990s

• 1990 – Dr. Mario, F-Zero, Herzog Zwei, Railroad Tycoon, Rampart, Red Baron, The Secret of Monkey Island, Smash TV, Super Mario World, Ultima VI, Wing Commander; launch of Super NES and Game Gear
• 1991 – 4D Sports Boxing, Another World, Civilization, Duke Nukem, Final Fantasy IV, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Lemmings, Neverwinter Nights, Road Rash, Shining Force, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter II, Streets of Rage, Super Castlevania IV, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, ToeJam & Earl, Wing Commander II
• 1992 – Alone in the Dark, Dune II, The Incredible Machine, Mortal Kombat, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Spear of Destiny, Star Control II, Streets of Rage 2, Super Mario Kart, Ultima Underworld, Virtua Racing, Wing Commander II, Wolfenstein 3D
• 1993 – Aladdin, Day of the Tentacle, Doom, Duke Nukem II, Kirby's Adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Master of Orion, Mortal Kombat II, Myst, NBA Jam, Sam & Max Hit the Road, Secret of Mana, The 7th Guest, Sonic CD, Star Fox, X-Wing, Virtua Fighter; launch of 3DO and Atari Jaguar
• 1994 – Donkey Kong Country, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, Final Fantasy VI, Killer Instinct, Magic Carpet, The Need for Speed, Sensible World of Soccer, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Super Metroid, Tempest 2000, TIE Fighter, X-COM; launch of Sega Saturn and PlayStation; ESRB established
• 1995 – Chrono Trigger, Command & Conquer, Descent, Donkey Kong Country 2, Legend of Sword and Fairy, Panzer Dragoon, Rayman, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Twisted Metal, Tekken 2, Warcraft, Wipeout, Worms, Yoshi's Island; first Electronic Entertainment Expo; launch of Virtual Boy
• 1996 – Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Donkey Kong Country 3, Duke Nukem 3D, The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, Guardian Heroes, Kirby Super Star, Mario Kart 64, Nexus, Nights into Dreams..., Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, Pokémon Red and Green, Quake, Resident Evil, Sonic 3D, Super Mario 64, Super Mario RPG, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Tomb Raider; launch of Nintendo 64; Terranigma; first Tokyo Game Show held
• 1997 – Age of Empires, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, The Curse of Monkey Island, Deer Hunter, Diddy Kong Racing, Fallout, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, GoldenEye 007, Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, Interstate '76, PaRappa the Rapper, Quake II, Riven, Star Fox 64, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Ultima Online
• 1998 – Baldur's Gate, Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot Warped, Dance Dance Revolution, Fallout 2, Grim Fandango, Half-Life, Hey You, Pikachu!, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Party, Metal Gear Solid, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Yellow, Resident Evil 2, Sonic Adventure, Spyro the Dragon, Soul Calibur, StarCraft, Thief, Turok 2; launch of Dreamcast and Game Boy Color
• 1999 – Age Of Empires 2, Crash Team Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Driver, EverQuest, Grand Theft Auto 2, Final Fantasy VIII, Homeworld, The King of Fighters '99, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Planescape: Torment, Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Stadium, Resident Evil 3, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Shenmue, Silent Hill, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Super Smash Bros., System Shock 2, Tomb Raider IV, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Team Fortress Classic, Unreal Tournament

2000s

• 2000 – Baldur's Gate II, Deus Ex, Diablo II, Final Fantasy IX, Flight Simulator 2000, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, The Operative: No One Lives Forever, Paper Mario, Perfect Dark, Pokémon Crystal, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, Pokémon Puzzle League, Pokémon Stadium 2, Shogun: Total War, The Sims; launch of PlayStation 2.
• 2001 – Bejeweled, Black & White, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Devil May Cry, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Gothic, Grand Theft Auto III, Halo: Combat Evolved, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, RuneScape, Shenmue II, Silent Hill 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses; launch of Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance
• 2002 – Age of Mythology, Animal Crossing, Battlefield 1942, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Gothic II, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Higurashi When They Cry, Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, Sonic Mega Collection, Super Mario Sunshine, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Warcraft 3
• 2003 – Advance Wars 2, Beyond Good & Evil, Geometry Wars, MapleStory, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Need for Speed Underground, Pokémon Channel, Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut, Sonic Heroes, Tony Hawk's Underground, True Crime: Streets of LA, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, WarioWare, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory; launch of Steam
• 2004 – Cave Story, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Doom 3, Fable, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Glest, Grand Theft Auto Advance, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Jak 3, Katamari Damacy,Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Mortal Kombat Deception, Pokémon Dash, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, The Sims 2, SingStar, Sly 2, World of Warcraft; launch of Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable
• 2005 – Battlefield 2, God of War, Grand Theft Auto:Liberty City Stories, Guitar Hero, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Mario Kart DS, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Nintendogs, Pokémate, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, Pokémon Trozei!, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Psychonauts, Ratchet: Deadlocked, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, True Crime: New York City; launch of Xbox 360
• 2006 – Bully, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Final Fantasy XII, Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Guitar Hero II, Just Cause, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Rayman Raving Rabbids, New Super Mario Bros., Pokémon Battle Revolution, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon Ranger, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Viva Piñata, Sonic Riders, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Wii Sports; launch of PlayStation 3 and Wii
• 2007 – Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Crysis, God of War II, Halo 3, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mass Effect, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, Portal, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy, Uncharted, Team Fortress 2, The Witcher
• 2008 – Braid, Call of Duty: World at War, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Lego Batman: The Video Game, LittleBigPlanet, Mario Kart Wii, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Pokémon Platinum, My Pokémon Ranch, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, Race Driver: Grid, Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, Spelunky, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Street Fighter IV, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Wolfenstein RPG, World of Goo
• 2009 – Angry Birds, Assassin's Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Bayonetta, Borderlands, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Demon's Souls, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, FarmVille, Forza Motorsport 3, Halo 3: ODST, Infamous, Killzone 2, League of Legends, Left 4 Dead 2, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pokémon Rumble, Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Resident Evil 5, The Sims 3, Uncharted 2, Wolftenstein, Words with Friends

2010s

• 2010 – Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Civilization V, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Fallout: New Vegas, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, God of War III, Talking Tom, Gran Turismo 5, Halo: Reach, Heavy Rain, Just Cause 2, Limbo, Mafia II, Mass Effect 2, Cut the Rope, MegaGlest, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Plants vs. Zombies, Pokémon Black and White, Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Red Dead Redemption; launch of Kinect and PlayStation Move
• 2011 – Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, The Binding of Isaac, Temple Run, Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Dark Souls, Dead Island, Duke Nukem Forever, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Forza Motorsport 4, Gears of War 3, Infamous 2, Killzone 3, L.A. Noire, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure, LittleBigPlanet 2, Mario Kart 7, Minecraft, Pokémon Rumble Blast, Pokémon TCG Online, Portal 2, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, Saints Row: The Third, Terraria, Tiny Wings, Uncharted 3, The Witcher 2; launch of Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita
• 2012 – Assassin's Creed III, Bad Piggies, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Candy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Diablo III, Dishonored, Draw Something, Far Cry 3, Fez, Forza Horizon, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Halo 4, Hitman: Absolution, Hotline Miami, Journey, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Nintendo Land, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Pokémon Conquest, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault, Spec Ops: The Line, Sleeping Dogs, The Walking Dead, XCOM: Enemy Unknown; launch of Wii U and Wii Mini
• 2013 – Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, Battlefield 4, Beyond: Two Souls, BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Crysis 3, Dead Rising 3, Dead Space 3, DmC: Devil May Cry, Dota 2, Forza Motorsport 5, Gone Home, Gran Turismo 6, Grand Theft Auto Online, Grand Theft Auto V, Injustice, Killzone: Shadow Fall, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Metro: Last Light, Need for Speed Rivals, Papers, Please, Pokémon X and Y, Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, Rust, Saints Row IV, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Super Mario 3D World, Tomb Raider, Total War: Rome II; launch of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
• 2014 – Alien: Isolation, Assassin's Creed Rogue, Assassin's Creed Unity, Bayonetta 2, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Civilization: Beyond Earth, Dark Souls II, Destiny, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Evil Within, Far Cry 4, Five Nights at Freddy's, Forza Horizon 2, Hyrule Warriors, Infamous: Second Son, LittleBigPlanet 3, Mario Kart 8, Shadow of Mordor, Monument Valley, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Shovel Knight, The Sims 4, Sunset Overdrive, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Titanfall, Watch Dogs, Wolfenstein: The New Order, World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
• 2015 – Assassin's Creed Syndicate , Atelier Shallie, Batman: Arkham Knight, Battlefield Hardline, Bloodborne, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Crossy Road, Dying Light, Fallout 4, Fallout Shelter, Her Story, Just Cause 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Metal Gear Solid V, Mortal Kombat X, Ori and the Blind Forest, Pokémon Picross, Pokémon Rumble World, Prison Architect, Project CARS, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rock Band 4, Rocket League, Splatoon, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, Total War: Attila, The Witcher 3, Undertale, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Xenoblade Chronicles X
• 2016 – Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Dark Souls III, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, Hitman, Inside, Mafia 3, No Man's Sky, Overwatch, Owlboy, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Pokémon Go, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokkén Tournament, Ratchet and Clank (2016), Stardew Valley, Star Fox Zero, Street Fighter V, Titanfall 2, Uncharted 4, Watch Dogs 2, The Witness, XCOM 2; launch of Oculus Rift

References