I wouldn’t say it’s quite as simple as that. It wasn’t always a linear downward trend. First couple of generations of video games were pretty terrible from a game development perspective. No disrespect to the developers or anything. Of course, they were amazing programs that took a lot of clever engineering to work, but still not very good games.
The really good games started coming out somewhere in the late '90s, I think? Then reached the peak in either 2000s or 2010s. From there, it’s been pretty much a downward trend. Most games in 2026 are so basic and shallow mechanically. AAA games are essentially semi-interactive tech demos.
The really good games started coming out somewhere in the late '90s, I think?
Many people have 1998 as the year when the most “best games of all time” came out, though 2001 and 2003 were also unbelievably stacked with all-time bangers.
Now that said, it heavily depends on the platform. For PC gaming, the peak might have been the early 90s, when we were seeing stuff like Rollercoaster Tycoon, SimCity 2000, Doom, Civilization, etc.
Well lately I’ve been playing Hades 2 and it’s absolutely amazing. Just stay away from AAA unless the reviews are phenomenal. Focus on AA publishers like Devolver and Annapurna.
I wouldn’t say it’s quite as simple as that. It wasn’t always a linear downward trend. First couple of generations of video games were pretty terrible from a game development perspective. No disrespect to the developers or anything. Of course, they were amazing programs that took a lot of clever engineering to work, but still not very good games.
The really good games started coming out somewhere in the late '90s, I think? Then reached the peak in either 2000s or 2010s. From there, it’s been pretty much a downward trend. Most games in 2026 are so basic and shallow mechanically. AAA games are essentially semi-interactive tech demos.
Many people have 1998 as the year when the most “best games of all time” came out, though 2001 and 2003 were also unbelievably stacked with all-time bangers.
Now that said, it heavily depends on the platform. For PC gaming, the peak might have been the early 90s, when we were seeing stuff like Rollercoaster Tycoon, SimCity 2000, Doom, Civilization, etc.
2003 was so stacked that even madden was good enough to win goty
It was a crazy year. Viewtiful Joe, Price of Persia: Sands of Time, SSX 3, Soul Calibur II, Star Wars: KoTOR? Damn, son.
Well lately I’ve been playing Hades 2 and it’s absolutely amazing. Just stay away from AAA unless the reviews are phenomenal. Focus on AA publishers like Devolver and Annapurna.