5 Most Influential Modern Games That Revolutionized or Created Their Genre

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The gaming world has changed dramatically since it began, and players today have countless options. While some game types have been around for decades, newer titles are the ones currently driving their popularity. These modern games haven’t necessarily created these genres, but they’ve brought them to a wider audience, inspired other developers, and fueled significant growth and innovation.

These games weren’t just fun – they truly transformed the gaming landscape. Each one raised the bar for its genre, pioneering new levels of design, difficulty, ease of play, and creativity. They redefined what players expected, and their impact is still felt in today’s games. From innovative combat to groundbreaking structures and multiplayer experiences, these five titles played a key role in shaping modern gaming.

5) PUBG

Although Fortnite is now the most popular battle royale game, it started with PUBG, or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Launched in 2017, PUBG made the battle royale genre a worldwide hit. Players quickly loved the exciting combination of a constantly shrinking safe zone, finding weapons and supplies, and competing against many other players. Compared to other shooters at the time, PUBG felt more realistic, and it continues to be a popular choice even as other battle royale games have moved away from that realism.

The huge popularity of PUBG kickstarted a wave of similar battle royale games, like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone, among many others. This genre now leads the way in how many games are designed as ongoing services, in competitive esports, and what people watch on streaming platforms. PUBG didn’t just change gaming—it redefined how people play multiplayer games and became one of the most important releases in recent years. Even established franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield have added battle royale modes, and the genre continues to thrive with new games on the horizon.

4) Hollow Knight

Released on February 24th, 2017, Hollow Knight quickly became a landmark title in the Metroidvania genre. While games like Metroid and Castlevania had already established the genre, it remained relatively uncommon. Team Cherry’s first game instantly changed that, proving what a modern Metroidvania could be with a limited budget. Hollow Knight featured a beautifully detailed world, refined combat, and a massive scope, all while striking a perfect balance between challenging gameplay and rewarding exploration for players of all skill levels.

Hollow Knight significantly boosted the Metroidvania genre, bringing it to a wider audience than ever before. Following its success, many highly-rated games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Blasphemous, Axiom Verge 2, and Metroid Dread were released. Even major game developers started revisiting the genre, as seen with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and God of War: Sons of Sparta. Hollow Knight demonstrated that immersive exploration and detailed level design could stand alongside large-scale, high-budget games. With the anticipated success of Hollow Knight: Silksong and the return of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, the Metroidvania genre is currently thriving like never before.

3) Slay the Spire

Before Slay the Spire, games where you build a deck of cards were mostly a niche hobby for tabletop players or small, independent projects. But MegaCrit’s popular game completely changed that. It combined the challenging, replayable structure of a roguelike with card-based battles, encouraging players to try different strategies and constantly change their decks. Slay the Spire proved that this type of game could be successful on consoles and PCs, appealing to a much wider audience than just card game enthusiasts.

There’s no question this game has had a huge impact. It essentially started the recent trend of deckbuilding roguelikes, inspiring popular games like Monster Train, Across the Obelisk, and Balatro. Game developers in many different genres have borrowed its combination of careful planning and unpredictable, replayable runs. What started as a small, experimental project became a major indie hit, changing how studios design card-based games. Now, with Slay the Spire 2 on the way, it will be interesting to see if the original game still holds up after all this time.

2) Overwatch

While Team Fortress 2 helped popularize the hero shooter genre, Overwatch, released in 2016, truly made it a mainstream hit. Overwatch succeeded because it was easy to understand, had memorable characters, and offered a clear structure, appealing to a wider audience than previous games. Winning wasn’t just about aiming skills; it depended on building a team with the right combination of heroes and how they worked together.

The popularity of Overwatch helped create a new genre of team-based shooters, inspiring games like Apex Legends, Valorant, and Paladins. It also significantly impacted competitive gaming with its professional look and focus on players filling specific roles. Overwatch demonstrated that shooters could succeed by being diverse, easy to pick up, and featuring memorable characters, setting the standard for multiplayer game design for the next ten years. The recent release of Overwatch 2 proves the game remains incredibly popular and continues to shape the shooter landscape today.

1) Dark Souls

When people talk about the most important games of recent times, Dark Souls consistently comes up. Released in 2011, it pioneered a style of action role-playing games focused on careful, strategic combat, a rich story told through the game’s world, and encouraging players to explore and discover things on their own. The game was notably challenging, but it taught players through trial and error, rewarding them for learning from their mistakes. While Demon’s Souls laid some of the groundwork, Dark Souls perfected this formula, and its influence can still be seen in many games today.

The success of Dark Souls essentially created a new genre of games—often called “soulslike”—that focuses on challenging combat and intricate world design. Games like Nioh, Lies of P, and Lords of the Fallen all took inspiration from its formula. Beyond that, many popular action games now include features like stamina management, interconnected levels, and carefully planned battles, proving just how much influence Dark Souls has had on the gaming landscape in a relatively short time. It’s rare for a single game to define a genre so thoroughly and gain such a large following.

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2026-02-26 02:12