The Strong National Museum of Play has declared the 2021 finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame. There are huge loads of recognizable games among the current year’s choice: Animal Crossing, Call of Duty, FarmVille, FIFA International Soccer, Guitar Hero, Mattel Football, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Pole Position, Portal, StarCraft, Tron, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
The Hall of Fame is meant to recognize “individual electronic games of all types — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile — that have enjoyed popularity over a sustained period and have exerted influence on the video game industry or on popular culture and society in general,” as per the declaration.
This year has a shifted harvest of candidates. Creature Crossing is lauded for being “a success with casual and advanced gamers alike” that generated bounty more continuations. Valve’s Portal acquired the nominee for being “a major advance in puzzle games.”
“Portal provided a unique gaming experience accompanied by witty dialogue, an ever-twisting plotline, and unforgettable characters,” The Strong National Museum of Play wrote in the nominee announcement. “It sold a respectable four million copies, but it was most lauded for its technical and design achievements.”
In earlier years, four to six games have proceeded to enter the Hall of Fame. 2020’s inductees were Minecraft, Bejeweled, Centipede, and King’s Quest.
The last picks for 2021 will be declared at The Strong museum on Thursday, May 6 at 10:30 a.m. EDT.