Community Canon: Gaming

Catan, previously known as The Settlers of Catan or simply Settlers, is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos). Its release, The Settlers of Catan became one of the first Eurogames to achieve popularity outside Europe. As of 2020, more than 32 million boxed sets in 40 languages had been sold. The game and its many expansions are also published by Catan Studio, Filosofia, GP, Inc., 999 Games, (Káissa), and…

PUBG Mobile is a free-to-play multiplayer battle royale game co-developed by LightSpeed Studios and Pubg Corporation. It is a mobile game adaptation of PUBG: Battlegrounds. It was initially released for Android and iOS on 19 March 2018.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn is the third and final add-on for the action role-playing open world video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It was developed by Bethesda Game Studios and released by Bethesda Softworks on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 4, 2012. The Microsoft Windows version was released on February 5, 2013, and the PlayStation 3 version was released on February 12, 2013.

Balatro is a 2024 poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by solo developer LocalThunk and published by Playstack. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 20, 2024, with a port to macOS on March 1. Ports for Android and iOS were released on September 26, 2024. A dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 version was released on February 25, 2026. In the game, the player must score points by playing poker hands from a…

Cyberpunk 2077 is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Based on Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk tabletop game series, the plot is set in the fictional cyberpunk metropolis of Night City in California, within the dystopian Cyberpunk universe. The player assumes the role of V, a mercenary who gets reluctantly imbued with a cybernetic "biochip" containing an engram of legendary rockstar and terrorist Johnny Silverhand. As Johnny's consciousness begins…

Final Fantasy XVI is a 2023 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The sixteenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, it was first released for the PlayStation 5, with a Windows version released in September 2024, and an Xbox Series X/S version released in June 2025. The game features segmented open environments and an action-based combat system involving melee and magic-based attacks. There are recurring series features including Chocobos for area travel, and…

Mortal Shell II is an action role-playing video game developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. The game was released on August 20, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. Mortal Shell II is a standalone sequel to Mortal Shell.

Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio. The game is the sixth installment in the Persona series, itself a spin-off from the Megami Tensei franchise. Published by Atlus in Japan and North America, and Deep Silver in PAL territories, it was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on September 15, 2016 and worldwide on April 4, 2017. An enhanced version featuring new content, Persona 5 Royal, was released by Atlus for PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31,…

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a 1997 action role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, set five years after its events. It was directed and produced by Toru Hagihara, with Koji Igarashi acting as assistant director.

The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective. Players use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus. In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage…

Celeste is a 2018 platform video game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls the player character Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression, who endeavors to climb Celeste Mountain, a fictional version of Mount Celeste. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including a personification of her self-doubt nicknamed "Badeline", who attempts to stop her from reaching the mountain's summit.

Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map. Each of the ten players independently controls a character known as a hero that has unique abilities and differing styles of play. During a…

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords is a 2002 action-adventure game compilation developed by Nintendo R&D2 and Flagship and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in December 2002 in North America and in March 2003 in Japan and Europe. The cartridge contains a modified port of A Link to the Past, originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, and an original multiplayer-only game titled Four Swords, which serves as the…

Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Founding members of the company were Terry Donovan, Gary Foreman, Dan and Sam Houser, and Jamie King, who worked for Take-Two at the time, and of which the Houser brothers were previously executives at BMG Interactive. Sam Houser heads the studio as president.

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer produced by Valve Corporation, designed to run games available on its Steam storefront. Built upon the experiences gained from Valve's earlier ventures with the original 2015 Steam Machine and the Steam Controller, the Steam Deck integrates a custom AMD APU and SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system. The Steam Deck represents Valve's pivot towards a fully in-house hardware development approach, following the challenges faced with Steam Machines'…

Gran Turismo 7 is a 2022 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the eighth main installment and the thirteenth overall in the Gran Turismo series, following Gran Turismo Sport (2017). The game was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Gran Turismo 7 features virtual reality (VR) support with PlayStation VR2 through a free in-game update.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‍ is a 2015 action role-playing game developed and published by CD Projekt. It is the sequel to the 2011 game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and the third game in The Witcher video game series, played in an open world with a third-person perspective. The games follow the Witcher series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.

Fable is a fantasy action role-playing game series originally created by Lionhead Studios and later developed by Playground Games. The franchise is owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. Set in the fictional land of Albion, the series emphasizes player choice, morality systems, and a satirical, fairy-tale inspired take on British folklore. The main series follows different heroes across several centuries of Albion's history, with each installment depicting a more technologically advanced…

The first generation (generation I) of the Pokémon franchise features the original 151 fictional species of monsters introduced to the core video game series in the 1996 Game Boy games Pocket Monsters Red, Green and Blue. Later, Pokémon Yellow and Blue were released in Japan.

Dead Space is a 2008 survival horror game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows as the debut entry in the Dead Space series. Set on a mining spaceship overrun by deadly monsters called Necromorphs following the discovery of an artifact called the Marker, the player controls engineer Isaac Clarke as he navigates the spaceship and fights the Necromorphs while struggling with growing psychosis. Gameplay has Isaac…

Monster Hunter Wilds is a 2025 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. A successor to Monster Hunter: World (2018), the game was released worldwide for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S, with support for cross-platform play, on February 28, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is currently in development, scheduled for release on December 4, 2026.

Street Fighter is a 1987 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the first installment in the Street Fighter series. It was a commercial success in arcades and introduced special attacks and some of the conventions made standard in later fighting games, such as the six-button controls and the use of command-based special moves.

Dragonite, known as Kairyu in Japan, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise, and the evolved form of Dragonair, which evolves from Dratini. First introduced in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue, it was designed by Shigeki Morimoto, and, along with Dratini and Dragonair, was the only Dragon-type Pokémon until Pokémon Gold and Silver. It is a powerful Pokémon, with two being featured on the team of the Elite Four's leader, Lance. It has appeared in most…

Path of Exile 2 is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. A sequel to Path of Exile (2013), the game was released as a paid early access title for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on December 6, 2024, and is set to be released in full on 11 December 2026.

Street Fighter is a 1987 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the first installment in the Street Fighter series. It was a commercial success in arcades and introduced special attacks and some of the conventions made standard in later fighting games, such as the six-button controls and the use of command-based special moves.

Silent Hill 2 is a 2001 survival horror video game developed by Konami's Team Silent and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2. The second installment in the Silent Hill series, Silent Hill 2 centers on James Sunderland, a widower who journeys to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife. An extended version containing a bonus scenario, Born from a Wish, and other additions was published for Xbox in December of the same year. In 2002, it was ported to Windows and…

The third generation (generation III) of the Pokémon franchise features 386 fictional species of creatures and 135 Pokémon introduced to the core video game series in the 2002 Game Boy Advance games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and later in the 2004 game Pokémon Emerald. These games were accompanied by the television series Pokémon Advanced, which aired from November 21, 2002, until August 28, 2003, in Japan.

Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player. Debuting in 2013, he has played as the mid-laner for T1 for his entire career. He has won a record 10 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles, two Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) titles, and a record six World Championship titles. Faker is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends player in history and has drawn comparison analogizing him to basketball player Michael Jordan for his…

Overwatch was a 2016 live service multiplayer first-person shooter video game by Blizzard Entertainment. The game was first released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2016 and Nintendo Switch in October 2019, with cross-platform play supported across all platforms. Described as a "hero shooter", Overwatch assigned players into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a large roster of characters, known as "heroes", with unique abilities. Teams worked to complete…

SimCity is an open-ended city-building video game franchise originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, SimCity, was published by Maxis in 1989 and was followed by several sequels and many other spin-off Sim titles, including 2000's The Sims, which itself became a best-selling computer game and franchise. Maxis developed the series independently until 1997, and continued under the ownership of Electronic Arts (EA) until 2003. EA commissioned various spinoffs from other…

Undertale is a 2015 role-playing video game created by American indie developer Toby Fox. The player controls a child who has fallen into the Underground: a large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth, separated by a magical barrier. The player meets various monsters during the journey back to the surface, some of which may engage in combat. The combat system involves the player navigating through mini–bullet hell attacks by the opponent. They can opt to appease monsters in order to…

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is a turn-based strategy game developed by Unfrozen and published by Hooded Horse and Ubisoft for Windows. An installment in the Heroes of Might and Magic series, it contains mechanics, role-playing elements and features not widely presented in the series; in addition to a single-player mode, the game supports multiplayer, co-op, and a map editor. A demo version of the game was published on Steam on October 9, 2025. It was released in early access on April…

EA Sports FC 27 is an association football simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and published by EA Sports. It was released on 25 September 2026 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. The Asian version was released on 2 October 2026 in South Korea, and is scheduled to be released for Thailand and Vietnam markets in the following weeks and China markets in two weeks later. It is the fourth…

The Legend of Zelda is a 1986 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System. It is the first game in the Legend of Zelda series. It is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and…

Subnautica is a 2018 action-adventure survival game developed and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment. The player controls Ryley Robinson, a survivor of a spaceship crash on an alien oceanic planet, which they are free to explore. The main objectives are to find essential resources, survive the local flora and fauna, and find a way to escape the planet.

The Legend of Zelda is a 1986 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System. It is the first game in the Legend of Zelda series. It is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and…

Counter-Strike 2 is a 2023 free-to-play first-person shooter video game developed and published by Valve. It is the fifth main entry in the Counter-Strike series, produced as an updated version of the previous entry, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012). As with its predecessor, the game pits two opposing teams, the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists, against each other in various objective-based game modes.

Elden Ring is an upcoming epic dark fantasy action film written and directed by Alex Garland, and based on the 2022 video game Elden Ring developed by FromSoftware. It stars Kit Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Ben Whishaw, Nick Offerman, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Emma Laird, Peter Serafinowicz, and Jonathan Pryce.

Helldivers 2 is a 2024 cooperative multiplayer third-person shooter video game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The sequel to Helldivers (2015), the game is set in the 22nd century and follows the Helldiver Corps of Super Earth, a division of shock troops dispatched to combat various threats to humanity and to spread managed democracy.

Call of Duty is a 2003 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the first installment in the Call of Duty franchise, released on October 29, 2003, for Microsoft Windows. The game simulates infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II using a modified version of the id Tech 3 engine. Much of its theme and gameplay is similar to the Medal of Honor series; however, Call of Duty showcases multiple viewpoints staged in the American, British, and…

Fortnite is a 2017 online video game and game platform developed and released by Epic Games. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: Fortnite Battle Royale, a battle royale game in which up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing; Fortnite Save the World, a cooperative hybrid tower defense-shooter and survival game in which up to four players fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with traps and…

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a 2024 role-playing video game developed by Studio Zero and published by Sega. Metaphor: ReFantazio was first announced under the working title Project Re:Fantasy in December 2016, with no further information revealed until 2023, and was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S by Atlus in Japan and by Sega internationally on October 11, 2024. A Nintendo Switch 2 version will be released on November 12, 2026.

PUBG: Battlegrounds, originally titled PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), is a 2017 battle royale game published by Krafton and developed by Krafton's PUBG Studios. Inspired by the Japanese film Battle Royale (2000), the game is based on mods created by Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene and was developed under his creative direction. Played from a third-person or first-person perspective, up to one hundred players parachute onto an island where they search for weapons and equipment to fight…

Left 4 Dead 2 is a 2009 first-person shooter game by Valve. The sequel to Left 4 Dead (2008) and the second game in the Left 4 Dead series, it was released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2009, Mac OS X in October 2010, and Linux in July 2013.

Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous Mario Kart games, with players controlling characters from the Mario series and other Nintendo characters in races around tracks. Tracks are themed around locales from the Super Mario series populated with power-ups that help players gain advantages in races. Different difficulties are selectable prior to a race; harder difficulties make gameplay faster. In the new…

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the first installment of the Chrono series. The game's plot follows a group of adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe.

Free Fire, formerly known as Garena Free Fire, is a free-to-play battle royale game developed and published by Garena for Android and iOS. Released on December 8, 2017, the game gained widespread popularity, becoming the most downloaded mobile game globally in 2019. By 2021, it had over 150 million daily active users and surpassed $1 billion in lifetime revenue. As of February 2024, Free Fire had 100 million active users.

Mass Effect is a 2007 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the first game in the Mass Effect series, and takes place within the Milky Way galaxy in the year 2183, where civilization is threatened by a highly advanced machine race known as the Reapers. The player assumes the role of Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier who must stop a rogue agent from carrying out the Reapers' galactic invasion. The game involves…

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a 2025 Metroidvania game developed and published by Australian independent developer Team Cherry. The sequel to Hollow Knight (2017), the story follows Hallownest's former princess-protector, Hornet—a major secondary character in Hollow Knight—after she is captured and transported to the unfamiliar land of Pharloom. Gameplay sees the player navigating through the large, interconnected areas of this kingdom, where they must battle enemies, traverse platforming…

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, in Europe on November 24, in Australia on November 30, and other regions thereafter. It is the successor to the original PlayStation as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox.