Support NeoGAF

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

BAFTA — the UK's independent arts charity celebrating excellence in film, games, and TV — has just revealed the most influential video game of all time... and it's probably not what you think it is.

BAFTA polled the British public to discover that while games like GTA, Tetris, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Doom, and Half-Life 2 do make the list, the top as ranked by the number of votes received is Shenmue.

Action-adventure game Shenmue released in 1999 on Dreamcast. It follows Ryo Hazuki's quest to avenge his father's death in what BAFTA calls "a detailed open-world setting that truly captures the essence of Yokosuka in the ‘80s."

“I am deeply honoured and grateful that Shenmue has been selected as the Most Influential Video Game of All Time," said Yu Suzuki, creator of the Shenmue franchise.

"At its inception, we set out to explore the question, 'How real can a game become?,' aiming to portray a world and story unprecedented in scale and detail. This distinction serves as a powerful reminder that the challenge we embraced continues to resonate with and inspire so many people even today. It is truly the greatest of encouragement.

“Above all, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the fans around the world who have continued to love and support Shenmue," Suzuki added. "Your passion and encouragement have guided this journey every step of the way. And the story is not over yet, there is more to come! Thank you very much!”

Here's the full list of the top 21 most influential games of all time, as voted by the public:​

1. Shenmue (1999)
2. Doom (1993)
3. Super Mario Bros. (1985)
4. Half-Life (1998)
5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
6. Minecraft (2011)
7. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2025)
8. Super Mario 64 (1996)
9. Half-Life 2 (2004)
10. The Sims (2000)
11. Tetris (1984)
12. Tomb Raider (1996)
13. Pong (1972)
14. Metal Gear Solid (1998)
15. World of Warcraft (2004)
16. Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)
17. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
18. Dark Souls (2011)
19. Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001)
20. Skyrim (2011)
21. Grand Theft Auto (1997)

The 2025 BAFTA Game Awards are set to take place on Tuesday April 8, 2025. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, Astro Bot, and Still Wakes the Deep lead the nominations with 11, eight, and eight nominations respectively. Thank Goodness You're Here! also received seven nominations, Black Myth: Wukong six, and Helldivers 2 is up for five awards.

BAFTA Announces 'the Most Influential Video Game of All Time,' and It's a Real Head-Scratcher - IGN

BAFTA — the UK's independent arts charity celebrating excellence in film, games, and TV — has just revealed the most influential video game of all time... and it's probably not what you think it is.

www.ign.com

 

[kpopSuperstar]

Number 7 what a fuck lol

 

[GymWolf]

No witcher 3?

 

[Hookshot]

It's a public poll, obviously it's been skewed by Shenmue and KCD fans.

Not sure how Doom can be above Mario Bros when ID themselves tried making a PC Mario game but I guess first person shooters are super popular these days.

 

[Shambalakan]

Some of those games are amazing and influential without a doubt, but these are weird:
1. Shenmue as first game in a public list. I mean it was a great game for its time, but I expected to see a much bigger and more popular game in first place.
2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 in list of most influential games of all time? lol
Yeah, both are great games, but come on!

 

[cyberheater]

IGN proving once again what utter morons they are.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I'm looking at this list and...i may not agree with the order but outside of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 i don't see anything out of place?
Baldur's Gate 3 is still too early to tell though.

But the others? Deserve to be a part of the conversation for sure.

 

[Markio128]

I can see where they are coming from with a lot of those games, but a few of them are ridiculous. KCD2 may be a very good game but it hasn’t been out long enough to influence anything else, so that’s bloody stupid to begin with.

Skyrim was already influenced by Fallout, Morrowind and Oblivion, so there’s another lol.

 

[Mownoc]

Shenmue at 1st and KCD2 that only just released beating all those other games like sm64 and half-life 2. Lmao.

Don't poll the public. At least the vast majority seem like good candidates.

 

[Shaki12345]

Why does anyone even care about someone's fucking list?

Get your own opinion and enjoy life.

 

[bitbydeath]

I don’t think they know what the word influential means.

 

[Thief1987]

Beside Yakuza to some extent what else was influenced by Shenmue?

 

[Northeastmonk]

ShenMue was fun, but a lot of it was from how hyped up it was. If you’re going to hype something up, the game better deliver, right? ShenMue wasn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea. You didn’t exactly get to do everything you thought you could do. In an industry that promises the moon and then leaves everyone scratching their head when the game actually launches. Sure, having it at #1 makes sense.

 

[RagnarokIV]

To be fair, that's a good list.

 

[SJRB]

what is in the water over there?

 

[Toots]

Shenmue is no doubt the most influential game for the 3d era.
Not the best, but the most influential.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Just in case you needed another example about how little the public knows

 

[Bert Big Balls]

I'm almost certain they've made a mistake with the list. What the absolute fuck lol.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

A pretentious title made up by pretentious people.

 

[Jack Videogames]

Shenmue brought us Yakuza so I'll allow it!

 

[Topher]

IGN proving once again what utter morons they are.

This list isn't from IGN. Or are you talking about the article title?

 

[jufonuk]

 

[Gaiff]

IGN proving once again what utter morons they are.

IGN just standing here.

cyberheater: Fuck you.

 

[jufonuk]

Shenmue is no doubt the most influential game for the 3d era.
Not the best, but the most influential.

Young male sailor quest vs kick a baby penguin off a cliff.

A think we all know wins this !!

 

[Toots]

Young male sailor quest vs kick a baby penguin off a cliff.

A think we all know wins this !!

I think Mario 64 showed everyone what gameplay in 3d could be, whereas Shenmue showed to everyone what 3d video games would be.

 

[DenimDevil]

Even if it wasn't that successful, Shenmue turned a lot of heads at the time, people tend to forget that.

 

[ienjoyrawfish]

The inclusion of KC2 and BG3 is ridiculous.

Shenmue absolutely belongs on the list but not at #1.

Street Fighter 2 should be on there for sure, as should Virtua Fighter.

I think Super Metroid deserves a spot given the indie metroidvania renaissance we've seen in the last decade and a half.

Deus Ex has to be on there somewhere too.

 

[Cyborg]

Number 1 and 7.........what? This world (just like US) is ruled by morons.

Spoiler

joke, you orange lovers

 

[Little Chicken]

#1 is correct, but what about Halo, Virtua Fighter, Phantasy Star and Daytona USA?

Why are KCD2 and BG3 there?

 

[jm89]

7. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2025)

Shits only been out for a few months, and not sure what influence it's exactly had. It's looks like a good game but really?

 

[San Dan Glokta]

Unless BAFTA (don't even know what it stands for) can demonstrably prove this list was indeed taken by public polling and not from pretentious fart-sniffing asshats then this list isn't even worth the digital page it was printed on.

EDIT: What a stupid list.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Number 7 what a fuck lol

Agreed

No witcher 3?

Not really, and I say this as huge Witcher fan.

IGN proving once again what utter morons they are.

It's not a list made by IGN, they just reported on it. Here, have a GIF:

 

[Parazels]

No Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Street Fighter and FIFA?

I mean you can't make such a list, ignoring several popular genres.

 

[ReBurn]

what is in the water over there?

Gooped up brains from too much beans on toast.

 

[Topher]

Gooped up brains from too much beans on toast.

And it is getting worse....

 

[cyberheater]

Agreed

Not really, and I say this as huge Witcher fan.

It's not a list made by IGN, they just reported on it. Here, have a GIF:

Moronic IGN readers submitting moronic lists to moronic IGN who moronically reported the moronic list submitted by their moronic readership. Got it.

 

[Topher]

Moronic IGN readers submitting moronic lists to moronic IGN who moronically reported the moronic list submitted by their moronic readership. Got it.

"BAFTA polled the British public"

 

[xenosys]

Shenmue ushered in the era of useless busywork in games. Bravo

BG3 and KCD2 have no business being on this list. A reasonable period of time needs to have passed before games can be categorized as influential or not. One has been out 18 months and the other almost 2 months.

Wasn't this the same org that polled people last year and found Lara Croft to be more popular than Mario, Sonic and Pac-Man? Yeah ...

 

[SnapShot]

 

[DaciaJC]

This list isn't from IGN. Or are you talking about the article title?

I think (hope) that was the joke.

 

[ExtendEmbraceExtinguish]

Good list except for #7/16. Aka younger demo and folks now trying crpgs.

 

[Bulletzen72]

Beside Yakuza to some extent what else was influenced by Shenmue?

QTE - Quick Time Events? I don't know! Fucking Dragons Lair did that years before Shenmue. But after Shenmue it started appearing in loads of games - Resident Evil 4. God of War series. Quantum Realms games, Until Dawn etc...
I suppose it did the real world simulation quite nicely. Waiting for a bus - playing games in an arcade, working a job to get money...can't remember playing anything like it before Shenmue.

 

[Gaiff]

KCD2 most certainly is a mistake.

 

[Topher]

I think (hope) that was the joke.

Was trying to give the benefit of the doubt, but after his last post......he really seems hellbent on blaming IGN.

 

[Wildebeest]

Shenmue is influential in a very bad way.

And in the end Street Fighter 2 was just a Pong-like.

 

[Cakeboxer]

Shenmue and KCD2 are weird, Fortnite is missing and it should be GTA V instead of 1 and 3.. Other than that a solid list.

 

[poppabk]

7. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2025)

Shits only been out for a few months, and not sure what influence it's exactly had. It's looks like a good game but really?

If any very recent game should be on the list it would be Black Myth Wukong. Because that pretty much put China on the map as a major maker and buyer of video games.

 

[adamsapple]

"BAFTA polled the British public"

Knew it had to be the British ..

 

[cyberheater]

"BAFTA polled the British public"

I’m ashamed of my fellow countrymen

 

[clarky]

What exactly has KCD2 influenced? Its only been out a month lol.