2021 Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees | Courtesy of The Strong, Rochester, New York

The World Video Game Hall of Fame is welcoming four classic titles this year.

Animal Crossing, Microsoft Flight Simulator, StarCraft, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? emerged from a packed field of finalists that included Call of Duty, FarmVille, FIFA International Soccer, Guitar Hero, Mattel Football, Pole Position, Portal, and Tron to become 2021 inductees into the Hall of Fame.

Since 2015, the World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong has honored individual electronic games of all types — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile — that have made a lasting impact on pop culture, the video game industry, or society in general.

Related: The Video Game Industry Just Pressed Restart

Each year, a new class of inductees joins the ranks for permanent exhibition on the second floor of The Strong museum in Rochester, New York. While anyone is welcome to nominate a game for inclusion, The Strong says that final selections are made by consulting “on the advice of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.”

The World Video Game Hall of Fame is a key part of The Strong’s “Neighborhood of Play” expansion project which aims to create a community that will welcome more than 400,000 additional guests to the museum and its exhibits each year.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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