2025 World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees: Quake and GoldenEye Featured

Alright, so check this out: this museum, The Strong, you know, the one all about play and games, just announced that four more video games got their golden ticket to the World Video Game Hall of Fame. And no, it’s not like Willy Wonka, but kinda feels like it. Anyway, the lucky ones are Defender (by Williams Electronics), GoldenEye 007 (Rare made that), Quake (from those wild folks at id Software), and, believe it or not, Tamagotchi. Yep, those little digital pets we all lost on our keychains back in the day.

These games? They just clawed their way up from a pretty tough list this year. I mean, you had some heavy hitters too: Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Frogger – remember jumping over cars? Good times. And let’s not forget some others like Golden Tee, Harvest Moon (if virtual farming’s your thing), Mattel Football, and NBA 2K were all in the mix too.

So, what makes these four games extra special, you ask? Well, The Strong blabbered something about them having a big impact on pop culture and the gaming biz. Fair enough. They have this fancy-schmancy scoring system: icon status, longevity (which is kinda like “this game is still cool”), how far their influence spread, and how much they’ve shook things up, I guess.

I bet you didn’t know Quake was id Software’s second love child to get honored here. Doom, its big bad brother, was inducted back in 2015. Remember when it scared the daylights outta everyone? Good times, seriously.

Now, speaking about how these games made waves—Defender, GoldenEye 007, Quake, and Tamagotchi came with their A-games. They crafted a whole new vibe or something. Judges and curators had a lot to say, breaking down why these were so crucial. All historic and game-changing in their own quirky ways.

Anyhow—wait. Last tidbit, promise! Since 2015, nearly 50 games have walked this fame path. Last year? Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, Ultima, and SimCity joined in on the fun. Those games got some stories, right?

Okay, I’m done. Well, almost. The way things are shaping up, who knows what’ll hit the charts next? Or maybe something we’ll never see coming. Isn’t that just wild?