The World Video Game Hall of Fame is housed in the Strong National Museum of Play. Guests come from all corners of the world to Rochester, New York, to view the exhibits. The museum itself was established in 1969 and opened to the public in 1982.  It was named after  Margaret Woodbury Strong, who was a Rochester native with a massive toy collection. The World Video Game Hall of Fame was added to the museum in 2015, inducting a class every year. The finalists for 2025 have been announced, with some iconic titles in the running.

World Video Game Hall of Fame 2025 Finalists

Not any game can enter the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The museum has four criteria that a game must meet: icon status, influence, longevity, and geographic reach. Games are judged on these criteria, with iconic games like Resident Evil and SimCity being inducted last year. The Strong Museum announced the finalists for this year and it has some great titles.

• Age of Empires
• Angry Birds
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Defender
• Frogger
• GoldenEye 007
• Golden Tee Golf
• Harvest Moon
• Mattel Football
• NBA 2K
• Quake
• Tamagotchi

Many of these titles have been nominated before but have not been chosen. GoldenEye 007 has been nominated three times since 2020 and still has not been inducted. It shows how strict the committee is about who they let in. Many would consider these titles iconic, but the committee makes sure only the best of the best. Fans also get a vote, along with the committee.

Other Games Already Immortalized

The World Video Game Hall of Fame already has a bunch of titles, many of them unknown to the casual fan. Wii Sports and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are two iconic Nintendo titles that are already in the exhibit. The first class in 2015 was six games, all of which are still popular today. Tetris, World of Warcraft, Super Mario Bros. (1985), Pacman, Doom, and Pong were the first games to enter the exhibit.

In total, over 1,000 games have been inducted into the exhibit, and more will be added every year. As the video game world continues to grow its footprint, other titles will undoubtedly be worthy of induction. Many studios are beginning to create TV shows based on video games with great success. If you are a video game fan, the Strong Museum is a destination to put on your bucket list. The 2025 class will be announced on May 8 and will forever be enshrined in the exhibit. Which ones will get in, and which ones will wait to be immortalized?