The Strong National Museum of Play has officially announced the 2026 inductees for its prestigious World Video Game Hall of Fame, following the reveal of its finalist list earlier this year.
Four iconic titles have been selected to join the hallowed halls in 2026. This year's class includes: Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA International Soccer, and Silent Hill. These games were chosen from a competitive field of 12 finalists to earn their place in gaming history.
Back in March, the World Video Game Hall of Fame unveiled its 12 finalists for the 2026 class:
Angry Birds
Dragon Quest
FIFA International Soccer
Frogger
Galaga
League of Legends
Mega Man
PaRappa the Rapper
RuneScape
Silent Hill
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Tokimeki Memorial
From this impressive lineup, four were ultimately selected for induction.
Among the inductees, the Dragon Quest series, the masterpiece from Yuji Horii, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026. With its classic score by Koichi Sugiyama, iconic character and monster designs by Akira Toriyama, and a timeless adventure theme of a hero slaying a demon lord, the series became a cornerstone of the JRPG genre.
"It's almost impossible to imagine a world of RPGs without Dragon Quest," said Lindsey Kurano, an electronic games curator at The Strong. "Its influence on the genre and the video game industry as a whole is monumental."
The official website also highlighted the massive social phenomenon *Dragon Quest* sparked in Japan. To prevent children from skipping school to line up for the game, Enix (now Square Enix) famously changed the series' release date from weekdays to Saturdays—a testament to its incredible impact on Japanese culture.
Another inductee, Silent Hill, is a landmark horror game released by Konami in 1999. Through its use of 3D graphics, dynamic camera angles, and a narrative that emphasized psychological dread, it cemented its status as a titan of psychological horror and carved out a new direction for the genre.
"Beyond its commercial success, Silent Hill’s true genius lies in how it tapped into players' emotions, pushing the boundaries of what horror games could be," said Andrew Borman, the museum's director of digital preservation.
Established by The Strong National Museum of Play in 2015, the World Video Game Hall of Fame recognizes individual games that have enjoyed long-lasting popularity, crossed geographical boundaries, and left a significant mark on the video game industry, popular culture, or society at large. Anyone can nominate a game online, after which a committee selects 12 finalists. The final inductees are chosen through a combination of votes from an international panel of historians, scholars, and journalists, as well as a public player poll, with about four games being inducted each year.
For context, last year's inductees included *Tamagotchi* and *GoldenEye 007*. The Hall of Fame's roster already features legendary titles like *Resident Evil*, *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time*, *Sonic the Hedgehog*, *Pokémon Red/Green*, *Final Fantasy VII*, *Animal Crossing*, and *Minecraft*.
via： 「世界電子遊戲名人堂」官網