BAFTA Declares a 2 Month Old Game More Influential Than Tetris, Pong, and Half-Life 2

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has revealed the results of its public-voted poll for the Most Influential Game of All Time — and the list is capable of sparking widespread surprise and confusion, as noted by PC Gamer. According to this list, for example, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, released just two months ago, is ranked as more influential than Pong (the first-ever arcade video game), Tetris (one of the most iconic and widely recognized games in history), and Half-Life 2 (a landmark shooter that shaped not just game design but even inspired internet video trends like Skibidi Toilet).

No less surprising is the poll’s winner: Shenmue, a game released on Dec. 29, 1999, for the Sega Dreamcast — 15 months before the console was officially discontinued in March 2001. Despite modest sales of around 1.2 million copies worldwide, Shenmue topped the list ahead of Minecraft, a global juggernaut with more than 300 million copies sold.

According to BAFTA, Shenmue earned the top spot for its groundbreaking contributions to open-world design and its introduction of Quick Time Events (QTEs). 

The second place in the poll is taken by Doom, a title that nearly single-handedly defined the first-person shooter genre.

But the main confusion of the poll is placed lower on the list as there is Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 in the seventh place, suppressing such games as:

• Pong (1972) – the first commercially successful video game in history that helped to establish the video game industry. It was an arcade two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis that was also the first multiplayer title ever.
• Half-Life 2, a game, gathered 27 industry awards across multiple categories and redefined the FPS genre due to the integration of the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics. On top of that, it inspired numerous fan-made mods, some of which became standalone games, such as Counter-Strike.
• Tetris, a legendary puzzle game the second-best-selling video game franchise of all time, that is totaling 520 million units.
• Super Mario 64 – the first Super Mario game to feature 3D gameplay that gathered 17 industry awards across multiple categories.
• Grand Theft Auto – the first game in the Grand Theft Auto series that led to the creation of the second best-selling game ever, Grand Theft Auto V, with 210 million copies sold.

The outcome likely reflects the passion of a niche fanbase rather than broader industry impact. The voting period took place over the past month, concluding just days before the announcement on April 3, 2025, ahead of the 21st BAFTA Games Awards scheduled for April 8, 2025.

The BAFTA poll of most influential games:

• Shenmue 
• Doom
• Super Mario Bros
• Half-Life
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Minecraft
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• Super Mario 64 
• Half-Life 2 
• The Sims 
• Tetris 
• Tomb Raider 
• Pong 
• Metal Gear Solid 
• World of Warcraft 
• Baldur’s Gate 3 
• Final Fantasy VII 
• Dark Souls
• Grand Theft Auto 3
• Skyrim
• Grand Theft Auto