In the year 2000, video gaming at large was still considered a niche interest, though the needle was beginning to move with Sony’s launch of the PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s growing dominion over handheld gaming devices, and the release of such titles as The Sims and Diablo II marking just some of the gaming milestones of the year. Needless to say, the 21st century has been a time of drastic evolution for the medium, not only in the dramatic advancement of technology, but in the popularization of online gaming, the depth and richness of the format’s storytelling experiences, and in the growing cultural significance of gaming as a prestige form of entertainment as well.
As such, selecting just six releases that stand as the very best video games of the 21st century so far is no easy feat, and it is almost certain that most gamers will have personal favorites that didn’t make the cut (please try to be civil about your disagreements). However, these six titles have enshrined themselves in the annals of video game history not only for their breathtaking quality and the countless hours of entertainment they have provided over the years, but for their enduring legacies, enormous pop-culture impact, and their groundbreaking influence as well.
6
‘Grand Theft Auto V’ (2013)
Grand Theft Auto was already a universally recognized title in gaming before 2013, but what Rockstar Games achieved with the release of Grand Theft Auto V completely revolutionized the medium in terms of game design and marketing. Upon release, the game took just three days to gross $1 billion, making it the fastest-selling entertainment property in history, but so much of its brilliance resides in how it continuously evolved in the ensuing years, ensuring diehard fans and casual gamers kept coming back to the game. This re-shaped how the industry viewed monetization, player support, and content updates even years after the initial release of the game. However, no one would have stayed invested had the game not been a masterpiece from launch, so what exactly made Grand Theft Auto V such an accomplishment from the outset?
Firstly, the campaign is a work of perfection, combining the brilliant design of Los Santos—an immersive, richly layered West Coast metropolitan city that functions as a parody of L.A.—with an innovate three-protagonist narrative. The open world format encourages seamless exploration of the coastal city with a sense of unprecedented freedom that allows gamers to participate in everything from daring heists to vehicle customization, and even recreational activities like skydiving and tennis. The online multiplayer only expands on this sense of freedom and limitless possibility, allowing friends to collaborate on criminal assignments, launch their own crime empires, or simply roam the streets of Los Santos.
5
‘Halo 3’ (2007)
The original Halo games produced by Bungie stand as a defining triumph of gaming in the early stages of the 21st century, and while all the releases have many notable strengths, it is impossible to look past Halo 3 as being the crowning glory of the franchise. The main reason for this is its perfect synergy between a richly rewarding campaign, groundbreaking multiplayer features, and a sense of social interaction and community between gamers that was unprecedented at the time and was instrumental in ushering in a new era of pop-culture relevance and inter-player engagement for the medium at large.
While the story of its campaign delivers an unforgettable and perfect conclusion to the arc of the original trilogy, it is the infectious mania and majesty of Halo 3’s multiplayer experience that truly defines its greatness. Its gameplay in this regard is faultless, delivering a grounded playing experience that was endlessly fun while still requiring skill and strategy to secure victory, and victory felt meaningful thanks to the skill-based ranking system the game employed. Furthermore, the groundbreaking Forge Mode allowed for gamers to create entirely new game modes and maps, a quality that enabled the community to make the online experience uniquely their own and saw it evolve exponentially over the years. The game’s Theater Mode and interactive pre-game lobbies only heightened this sense of ownership, creativity, and community, making Halo 3 a new frontier of online gaming and a beloved icon of the medium at large.
4
‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ (2009)
If Halo 3 was influential in pioneering the modern age of online gaming, then Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was a monumental step in evolving it as a platform that the medium could rely on for worldwide engagement and community investment. While previous Call of Duty games had made their own impact in such a regard, the 2009 first-person shooter completely revolutionized the landscape of online multiplayer gaming with its litany of kill-streak options and highly customizable class layout options, fast-paced matchmaking, chaotic gunplay, and its brilliant map design, which produced some of the greatest and most iconic maps online gaming has ever seen such as Rust, Terminal, and Favela.
Furthermore, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 also served as a major milestone with regard to gaming culture, with its competitive scene and clan tags being instrumental in the rise of esports, while its pre-game lobbies—fondly remembered for their lively banter, intense rivalries, and social connectivity—marks one of the most defining elements of Xbox 360 and PS3 era gaming. Given the game also contains a memorable campaign full of high-stakes action, beloved characters, and striking plot twists, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 excels on all fronts to be one of the most iconic achievements in 21st century gaming as well as one of the more engrossing and infectiously fun experiences the medium has presented to gamers.
Unbelievably, 2026 marks the 15th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Perhaps even more unbelievable is the very compelling argument that, even after all that time and the many innovations in gaming that have eventuated since its release, the Bethesda game remains unsurpassed in the field of open world RPG. It sees the player control the Last Dragonborn, a warrior who must navigate a stunning fantasy realm entrenched in a vicious civil war while readying to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon prophesied to destroy the world.
The way its open world encourages exploration is paramount to its endless replayability, as is the many different playthrough styles gamers can embrace and the litany of ways they can influence the political landscape of Skyrim. Furthermore, the game’s hyperactive modding community have ensured Skyrim has remained fresh for well over a decade by overhauling outdated graphics, adding in new quests, and crafting entirely new landmasses that allow players returning to the game to re-capture that intoxicating feeling of adventurous curiosity in earnest. Its enduring favor among the gaming community is a testament to its absorbing atmospheric detail, expansive storytelling possibilities, and enrapturing fantasy world, making for one of the most rewarding single-player games ever made and a defining highlight of video game design in the 21st century.
2
‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ (2018)
As gaming in the 21st century has evolved, the allure of a pure story-driven experience has become increasingly rare, at least in the form of major releases. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the greatest counterargument against this trend. Transpiring in the early 20th century as the age of the Old West draws to a close, it follows the Van der Linde gang, starting as they flee Blackwater in the wake of a botched ferry heist. The gamer plays as Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark), a veteran member of Dutch Van der Linde’s (Benjamin Byron Davis) posse torn between two clashing ideologies that are fracturing the gang: to embrace the new dawn of modern American civilization or to resist it and exist in the rapidly dwindling Old West.
This fascinating story of morality, freedom, and a fragmenting group of people is beautifully supported by the team at Rockstar Games’ astonishing commitment to artistry. The game’s morality system is masterfully implemented to make the world around Arthur feel dynamic and tailored to the gamer’s decisions, while the attention to detail is an unprecedented triumph of game design full of environmental nuances and engaging, authentic ecosystems. Red Dead Redemption 2 combines its open world sense of unrestrained adventure with a deeply emotional and tragic story of the death of the Old West, making for not only one of the greatest and most perfectly-written video games of all time, but one of the finest Western stories ever produced in any format.
1
‘Minecraft’ (2011)
It is the best-selling video game of the 21st century, has transcended gaming generations, and is every bit as popular today as it was upon release in 2011, if not more so. All these arguments consolidate Minecraft as being the greatest video game of the century, but why is it so popular and enduring? Developed by Mojang Studios, the sandbox game is the epitome of the adventure and creative freedom many gamers adore, allowing for so many experiences to be had whether players want to progress to defeat the Ender Dragon, stand against hordes of hostile mods in Survival Mode, or simply flex their creative muscles in Creative Mode.
The near-infinite, procedurally generated world allows gamers to explore a diverse range of biomes while setting out to accomplish anything from building their own cities and networks with Redstone electrical engineering to exploring dungeons and mineshafts in search of hidden treasures and valuable resources. The diversity of the game’s playthrough experiences has evolved exponentially over time thanks to Minecraft’s dedicated global community that has seen countless custom servers, mod packs, and game modes introduced to the fold. In essence, Minecraft is a masterpiece of sandbox fun that accommodates a wide variety of player interests, has cultivated a vibrant social network, and stands as one of the most timelessly iconic and commercially successful video games of all time, making it arguably the greatest achievement the medium has ever seen in its history, let alone the 21st century.
