The annualBAFTA Game Awardsceremony is one of the most prestigious nights on the industry’s calendar. Ahead of the 21st edition on April 8th, BAFTA held a poll to decide what the most influential game of all time was. Numerous games could stake a claim to that for different reasons, including the likes ofSuper Mario Bros.,Grand Theft Auto 3, andThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,among many, many others. The winner of the poll may come as a surprise to some, however. The winner undeniably helped create theblueprint for open-world games, but it doesn’t spring to mind immediately.
Indeed, the winner of the Most Influential Video Game of All Time BAFTA poll, as voted by players from around the world, isShenmue.Initially released on the Dreamcastin 1999,Shenmuepaved the way for many games that came after it. It used cinematic storytelling, day-night and weather cycles, and dynamic NPCs to create what was at the time an incredibly detailed open world.
Shenmue Beat Out Several Other High-Profile Games to Win the Poll
BAFTA’s Full Top 21 Most Influential Games of All Time Poll Results
In claiming this crown,Shenmuebeat the likes ofDoom, which is considered to be a pioneer of the FPS genre, andSuper Mario Bros., the game in which a certain famous plumber made his proper debut. Meanwhile,Ocarina of Timeis one of the highest-reviewed games ever, but it’s worth reiterating that this was a played-based poll based on which game had the most influence, not popularity. Still, the winner is surprising even if much of the list is not.
Other notable titles in the top 10 list includeHalf-Lifeand its sequel, which are still extremely popular to this day, and the ever-popular sandbox titleMinecraft. The most recent release to make the top 10 is the impressiveKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which was released in February 2025.Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s highly immersive open worldshows how influential many open-world games and RPGs are, and the game’s popularity is reflected by its inclusion so highly on this list. More established household names likeFinal Fantasy 7andGrand Theft Auto 3had to settle for 17th and 19th, respectively.
Overall, it’s an interesting poll. It’ll also be interesting to see which games take home rewards when the BAFTA Game Awards take place in a few days.
