Quake and GoldenEye Among 2025 Inductees to World Video Game Hall of Fame

Four more classics just hit the jackpot, making it into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The Strong National Museum of Play dropped the news Thursday — we’re talking Defender from Williams Electronics, GoldenEye 007 by Rare, Quake from id Software, and Bandai’s little digital pet, Tamagotchi. Yeah, a real mixed bag, huh?

So, there was this laundry list, kind of like 2025’s who’s who in gaming, and these games beat out some big names. Picture it: Age of Empires sitting awkwardly next to Angry Birds, and then there’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare trying not to brag. Frogger, Golden Tee, Harvest Moon, Mattel Football (bet you forgot about that one), and NBA 2K — all waiting in suspense. Sorry, pals.

Apparently, these four titles shook things up in pop culture and the gaming world big time, or so The Strong’s saying in their press release. Icon status, longevity, reach around the globe, and influence — those are the magic four metrics. Quake isn’t new to the Hall of Fame vibe for id Software; Doom already kicked down the doors back in 2015.

Now, why these four? Defender, with its flashy arcade vibes, GoldenEye 007 — kind of a cult classic for console shooters, Quake changing the multiplayer game, and who didn’t have a Tamagotchi yelling for attention in the ’90s? (Still remember mine beeping all night — drove me nuts!)

Since 2015, they’ve let 49 games into this elite circle. Last year, Asteroids, Myst… Resident Evil creeping us out as usual, Ultima, and SimCity all got their golden tickets. Not sure why I remember when SimCity got in, but it’s stuck in my brain. Go figure.