List of years in games

• Games in ancient times – Royal Game of Ur, Senet, Tic-tac-toe, Rock paper scissors
• 6th century in games – Chess
• 15th century in games – Trick-taking game
• 16th century in games – Bingo (UK game)
• 17th century in games – Hangman
• 18th century in games – Whist, Pinball
• 19th century in games – Snakes and Ladders, Sudoku, Ouija; Nintendo is launched.
• 1900s in games – Flinch
• 1910s in games
• 1920s in games – Escalado; Henry and Helal Hassenfeld found the Hassenfeld Brothers company (1923), later shortened to the name Hasbro (1968).
• 1930s in games – Monopoly, Scrabble
• 1940s in games – Cluedo
• 1950s in games – Tactics, Risk, Yahtzee, The first ever video games are developed; (Tennis for Two, Nimrod and Bertie the Brain)
• 1960s in games – Twister, Spacewar!, KerPlunk, Trouble, Operation, Battleship; Sega is launched

This decade saw the board wargame gain a level of popularity. It also saw the appearance of the earliest, simple video games, and the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

• 1970 in games – Buckaroo!
• 1971 in games – Uno
• 1972 in games – Pong
• 1973 in games
• 1974 in games – Connect Four, Dungeons & Dragons
• 1975 in games – Pop-Up Pirate
• 1976 in games – Blockade, Whac-A-Mole
• 1977 in games – Space Invaders; Atari 2600 launched
• 1978 in games – Top Trumps, Hungry Hungry Hippos
• 1979 in games – Asteroids, Trivial Pursuit, Guess Who?

• 1980 in games – Pac-Man, Missile Command, Rubik's Cube
• 1981 in games – Donkey Kong, Centipede, Frogger, Castle Wolfenstein, Ultima
• 1982 in games – Tron, River Raid, Q*Bert
• 1983 in games – Jenga, Dragon's Lair, Thunder Force, Bomberman
• 1984 in games – Boulder Dash, Kung-Fu Fighter, Tetris
• 1985 in games – Super Mario, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?; Nintendo Entertainment System launched in North America.
• 1986 in games – Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, Kid Icarus, Rampage, Bubble Bobble, Metroid, Mouse Trap; Master System launched in North America.
• 1987 in games – Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Double Dragon, Metal Gear, Contra, Street Fighter
• 1988 in games – Sega Genesis launched.
• 1989 in games – Prince of Persia; Game Boy and Atari Lynx launched.

Major shake-ups occur in the who's-who of US game publishing and distribution. Wizards of the Coast, which started the decade as a small West Coast publisher, buys veteran Avalon Hill later in the decade, only to be bought up in turn by industry juggernaut Hasbro. TSR and Iron Crown Enterprises both collapse.

The collectible card game (CCG) became a dominant business model, first by Magic: The Gathering then by several rivals. By the mid-nineties, hundreds of CCGs competed for market share, and most of these products were culled for weak sales. Collectible gaming also expanded from cards into dice, tiles, and miniatures.

The Settlers of Catan breaks Eurogaming into the American market, becoming an overnight bestseller and gateway game. Publishers such as Mayfair Games and Rio Grande Games begin meeting the new market demand with titles from Europe.

Online retailing begins to pose a challenge to "brick and mortar" game stores, though the full effects of e-commerce will not be felt until the following decade.

• 1990 in games – Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light; Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in Japan
• 1991 in games – Sonic the Hedgehog, Duke Nukem
• 1992 in games – Alone in the Dark, Mortal Kombat, Kirby
• 1993 in games – Magic: The Gathering, Doom, FIFA, Gunstar Heroes, Star Fox, Elefun
• 1994 in games – Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, The Need for Speed, EarthBound, Donkey Kong Country, Tekken, The Elder Scrolls, Earthworm Jim, Gator Golf; PlayStation launched; The National Lottery launches in the UK.
• 1995 in games – The Settlers of Catan, Jumanji, Rayman
• 1996 in games – Pokémon, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Bop It, Quake, Metal Slug, Crash Bandicoot
• 1997 in games – Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, Diablo, Snake (first phone game), Gran Turismo, GoldenEye 007; Nintendo 64 launched
• 1998 in games – Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, Radiant Silvergun, Spyro the Dragon; Game Boy Color and Dreamcast launched
• 1999 in games – Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, Team Fortress, RollerCoaster Tycoon

The internet continues to shake up the publishing and distribution of games. Online retailing becomes a serious threat to "brick and mortar" retailers. Desktop publishing proves to be a boon for hobby game designers, and the door is opened for many small publishers producing their own game designs. Z-Man Games and Fantasy Flight Games become major players in the US hobby game industry. Miniatures games dominate the collectible games market.

• 2000 in games – The Sims, Deus Ex, Hitman: Codename 47; PlayStation 2 launched
• 2001 in games – Halo, Gothic, Animal Crossing, Max Payne, Devil May Cry, Conker's Bad Fur Day; Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance launched
• 2002 in games – Battlefield 1942, Ratchet & Clank, Kingdom Hearts, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Mafia
• 2003 in games – Call of Duty, Beyond Good and Evil; Steam launched
• 2004 in games – Fable, Far Cry, Monster Hunter, Fate/stay night; Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable launched
• 2005 in games – Guitar Hero, Nintendogs, God of War, Club Penguin; Xbox 360 launched
• 2006 in games – Rayman Raving Rabbids, Viva Piñata, Gears of War, LocoRoco, Just Cause, Wii Sports; PlayStation 3 and Wii launched
• 2007 in games – Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Uncharted, Mass Effect, Portal, The Witcher
• 2008 in games – LittleBigPlanet, Moshi Monsters, Spore, World of Goo
• 2009 in games – Minecraft, Angry Birds, Borderlands, Plants vs. Zombies, Bayonetta, Words with Friends, Infamous, Just Dance

• 2010 in games – Alan Wake, Talking Tom, Fruit Ninja, Limbo, Xenoblade Chronicles, Cut the Rope, Red Dead Redemption; Kinect and PlayStation Move launched
• 2011 in games – Temple Run, Skylanders, Dark Souls, Rayman Origins; Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita launched
• 2012 in games – Candy Crush Saga, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Dishonored, Clash of Clans, Draw Something; Wii U launched
• 2013 in games – The Last of Us, Kahoot!, Yo-kai Watch; PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launched
• 2014 in games – Five Nights at Freddy's, Watch Dogs, Destiny, Shovel Knight
• 2015 in games – Bloodborne, Splatoon
• 2016 in games – Pokémon Go, Overwatch; Oculus Rift and HTC Vive launched
• 2017 in games – Fortnite, Nioh, Cuphead, Detention, Opus Magnum, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Bendy and the Ink Machine; Nintendo Switch launched; originally created in 1993, the Fidget spinner rises to popularity.
• 2018 in games – Dead Cells, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, Super Smash Bros Ultimate
• 2019 in games – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Death Stranding, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order; Stadia launched

• 2020 in games - Ghost of Tsushima, Cyberpunk 2077, Fall Guys; PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launched

• List of years in video games