10 Most Influential Video Games of the 21st Century

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Steve running while holding a little hammer in Minecraft

Published Jul 21, 2026, 8:51 PM EDT

Eddie Possehl is a dynamic and driven writer/director with a passion for the written word and all things film, television, comics, and games. His passion for storytelling led him to establish his own production company in hopes of achieving his dreams.

His dedication to his craft has attracted renowned talent like Yuri Lowenthal to collaborate with him on his projects. As he grows and improves, Eddie is a shining example of a self-starter.

The 21st Century has been some of the greatest years for gaming. There haven't just been great games in this new century, though. There have been some massively impactful ones, too. There are projects in the 21st Century that have completely changed gaming for the better and more than deserve their roses.

No matter the genre, play style, or visual fidelity of these titles, they genuinely have had a massive impact on the video game industry in some way, shape, or form. SOMETHING HERE.

10 'Batman: Arkham City' (2011)

The Batman: Arkham Asylum franchise is one of the most critically acclaimed superhero video game franchises of all time. While the first game set the standard for superhero games moving forward, the sequel, Batman: Arkham City, decided to step it up and revolutionize the genre completely. Everything that made the first game good is present here—evolved, improved, and added onto.

Batman: Arkham City not only has some of the best combat mechanics in the 2010s, awesome open world traversal, a living and breathing map of Gotham City, and a story that is actually phenomenal. With the game script written by Paul Dini, Paul Crocker, Sefton Hill, and Frank Miller, the game became one of the best Batman stories ever told in many people's opinions.

9 'Fortnite' (2017)

Predator in Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 6 Trailer

Whether one loves or hates it, Fortnite caused a gigantic ripple throughout the shooter game space when it initially dropped. With new building mechanics getting introduced into a third-person shooter title, Fortnite was unlike anything anyone had seen before. This attracted a gigantic player base that's still standing relatively strong to this day.

Fortnite has also become quite famous for the many collaborations it gains to introduce new skins into the game. On that note, the way players can customize their character also helps keep them invested. Finally, this title, despite being a massive multiplayer battle royal experience, has lore. Via in-game events, trailers, and promotional material, Fortnite has an ongoing story throughout every season of the game to this very day.

8 'Red Dead Redemption 2' (2018)

Arthur Morgan in 'Red Dead Redemption 2'

The makers of the Grand Theft Auto franchise don't just create games like that set in the modern day—no, they also bring the era of the Wild Wild West to life, too. Despite their most popular franchise being Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption 2 is easily one of Rockstar Games' most popular projects of all time. By this time, the last title in their other franchise, Grand Theft Auto V, was released all the way back in 2013, so they had numerous years to improve on where they could have for the second Red Dead Redemption game.

This sequel title re-innovated the way open world games were made, and continued to prove—as Rockstar Games always has—that single-player video games can be top dogs, even in an era of multiplayer-only success. The game also adapts to react to the player's choices in real time. It's also got an incredibly emotional story that was very well-written by the team at Rockstar Games—potentially being one of their best game stories yet.

Since it's first release in 2009, League of Legends has been known as one of the most popular video games of all time. It's one of the only major video game titles to be genuinely free-to-play, removing the barrier to entry exponentially. All of this has led to it having one of the largest multiplayer player bases of all time, with it being reported in 2018 that the game had an active player base of 111 million players. Its popularity spawned the abundantly popular television show, Arcane, also.

Most importantly, though, the team behind League of Legends, Riot Games, used this to build an esports system unlike any other. The game's popularity allowed them to fund studio leagues, creating genuine gaming careers for many. It's gotten to the point where League of Legends now fills entire sports arenas for the annual League of Legends World Championship. This title has helped redefine the game space as a whole.

6 'Dark Souls' (2011)

This release spawned the idea of "Souls-like" video games, and that's not just because of popularity. The way that this project was brought to life changed the way difficulty is approached in gaming. When Dark Souls dropped in 2011, players began to experience that iconic Souls-like challenge—some of the toughest challenges in video games, but fair.

That's what sets Dark Souls (and its sequels/inspired games to come after) apart. Developers FromSoftware Inc. made the game abundantly difficult, but not in an unfair way. It's more than possible to take on the hardest challenges in this title, but it takes practice, precision, leveling up, and patience. It rewards trial and error, as it does not tell the gamers how to beat a boss, leaving them to figure it out on their own. This revolutionized how many games that came after approached making difficult projects.

Video game players love it when they're given freedom to traverse a world, grow their character, build relationships, and take on enemies as they see fit. That's where the appeal for a lot of open world titles comes from, but none have ever come even remotely close to matching that of the one and only The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim—the gold standard for open world RPGs (role-playing games).

This game is memorable because of the plethora of freedom it gives the player. Anyone holding a controller can make their own identity, character build, power set, relationships, and can explore literally any part of the entire world from the very moment they get started post-opening. On top of this, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has one of the most well-built game worlds of all time, with every single NPC (non-payable character) having a schedule they spend their days doing, each corner having completely random interactions, and more. There's a reason that people still play and adore this game 15 years later—freedom equals replayability.

Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek

Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.

🚀Star Wars

💍Lord of the Rings

🧙Harry Potter

👑Game of Thrones

🖖Star Trek

FIND YOUR UNIVERSE →

What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.

ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me. EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.

AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force. BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges. CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned. DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation. EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul.

AThrough sacrifice and courage — someone has to make the impossible choice so others don't have to. BThrough fellowship — the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road. CThrough growth — confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge. DThrough strategy — outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt. EThrough dialogue — finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn't require a body count.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.

AA small crew — a pilot, a rogue, a warrior — each broken in their own way, unbeatable together. BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road. CFriends who grew up alongside me — who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway. DAllies whose loyalty I've earned — and tested — and whose ambitions align with mine, for now. EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space.

NEXT QUESTION →

What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.

AI want to use it to protect — and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful. BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up. CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it. DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me. EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat.

NEXT QUESTION →

How does your universe treat good and evil? A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.

AThere is a dark side and a light side — and the choice between them is always present, always personal. BEvil is real and ancient and patient — and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it. CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people — and people are complicated, always capable of both. DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency. EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems — and understanding it is the first step to solving it.

NEXT QUESTION →

What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?

AThe reluctant hero — ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act. BThe unlikely carrier — the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything. CThe student — not yet who I'll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs. DThe player — sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it. EThe explorer — drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.

AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible. CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try. CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise. DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it. EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.

REVEAL MY UNIVERSE →

Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.

Star Wars

You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.

You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.

Lord of the Rings

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.

Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.

Harry Potter

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.

The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.

Game of Thrones

You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.

Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be.
Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
Winter always comes. You are already prepared.

Star Trek

You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.

Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

4 'World of Warcraft' (2004)

a-night-elf-hunter-as-seen-in-world-of-warcraft-dragonflight.jpg

Before Blizzard Entertainment made their massive hit, Overwatch, they created one of the most popular and recognizable video games ever made: World of Warcraft. This Blizzard title was one of the first major massively online multiplayer experiences to hit the kind of popularity that it did. This product has been referenced numerous times in media like movies and television, and continues to be a centerpiece of "nerd culture".

World of Warcraft was a borderline fantasy social network when it released, and that popularity helped it become as memorable as it is today. Not to forget, this project popularized mechanics that are now in almost all major video game releases: quest markers, complex level-up systems, and the concept of daily missions for XP.

3 'Wii Sports' (2006)

The Nintendo Wii, to this day, remains as one of the largest and most memorable and large video game console drops of all time. This means, that the game that launched with it—not to be bought separately, no, but came with the console as a standard purchase—was going to be just as popular. That game is Wii Sports and truly redefined family gaming for all time.

What makes the pairing of Wii Sports and the Nintendo Wii so important is the way that it made video gaming an affair for the entire family, unlike any console to come before. The game paired with this Nintendo system made playing games easy, simple, and fun for veteran gamers and newbies alike. Wii Sports honestly helped bring families together.

2 'Grand Theft Auto V' (2013)

Michael sitting on a car in 'Grand theft Auto V'

The likes of Grand Theft Auto VI is projected to be one of the largest video game drops of all time as the release date nears. This isn't for no reason, though. It had to already be pretty highly anticipated before it was even announced. How is that possible? Well, it's all thanks to the legendary game to come before: Grand Theft Auto V.

This fifth entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise continues to be one of the most popular games on the market. With multiple editions released over the years, a super well-executed story mode, cinematic storytelling, and a very dedicated online player base, Grand Theft Auto V helped evolve the open world corner of gaming beyond what anyone expected.

1 'Minecraft' (2009)

Steve and Alex fighting the ender dragon in Minecraft

Minecraft. Oh, what can be said about Minecraft that hasn't been said time and time again? There's no denying that this blocky title has become one of the most popular video games ever made. One would be pretty much living under a rock if they'd not heard of Minecraft by this point. It. Is. Everywhere.

This game isn't just some video game, at this point. It's become a worldwide phenomenon—a movement. It's a game that doesn't have an age range, a specific genre (unless one counts sandbox as a hard-set genre), or any limits for that matter. Anyone can play and love Minecraft and that makes it easily one of the most accessible video games ever created.