Bethesda’s Todd Howard Reveals His Picks for the Most Influential and Important Games of All Time

Todd Howard recently shared his thoughts on the Most Influential Game of All Time. Executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios highlighted two titles on the official BAFTA Games Awards account on X (formerly Twitter).

The first one that Todd Howard chose as Most Influential Game of All Time was Super Mario Bros., a 1985 platform video game developed and published by Nintendo, the successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. and the first game in the Super Mario series. In this title, players control Mario, or his brother Luigi, in the multiplayer mode, to walk through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from King Koopa (later named Bowser). The game has sold over 58 million copies across all platforms, including the original NES version and its various re-releases, ports, and remakes.

The second choice of Bethesda Game Studios executive producer for the Most Influential Game of All Time was Doom, a 1993 first-person shooter game developed and published by id Software. In this game, players assume the role of a space marine nicknamed Doomguy, starting on the moons of Mars and finishing in hell, fighting through hordes of undead and demons. By 1999, Doom 1993 had sold approximately 3.5 million copies, including 1.15 million shareware versions.

Howard explained his choice of games by picking titles that have shaped the landscape of modern gaming, influencing everything from mechanics to design.

It is worth noting that Todd’s perspective isn’t limited to just two titles. Executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios who was behind the creation of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Starfield, as well as the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series also pointed to Tetris and Pac-Man, as the most important games of all time because of their role in making gaming accessible and bringing it to the masses.
Todd Howard’s video on the official BAFTA Games Awards account on X (formerly Twitter) was dedicated to the upcoming 2025 BAFTA Games Awards. This year the Most Influential Game of All Time nomination considers player’s choices that can be expressed via BAFTA’s website til Thursday 20 March, 2025 5pm GMT.