By Sagar V. Mankar 
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, has revealed its twelve finalists for the 2025 World Video Game Hall of Fame. This year’s contenders include popular titles like Angry Birds, Quake, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Gaming fans have until March 13 to participate in a daily player’s choice poll. The top 3 games receiving the most votes will be submitted as a single collective ballot to the selection committee, essentially giving the public one vote in the final decision process.
The Strong Museum has deep roots in American culture. According to museum records, it was established in 1969 and opened to the public in 1982, inspired by Rochester native Margaret Woodbury Strong’s personal toy collection. The World Video Game Hall of Fame, one of the museum’s main attractions, began in 2015 to recognize games that meet four key criteria: icon status, influence, longevity, and geographic reach.
Last year’s inductees included several groundbreaking titles, such as Resident Evil, Myst, Asteroids, SimCity, and Ultima, which joined the prestigious ranks in 2024.
The complete list of nominees for the 2025 Hall of Fame includes:
- Age of Empires
- Angry Birds
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Defender
- Frogger
- GoldenEye 007
- Golden Tee Golf
- Harvest Moon
- Mattel Football
- NBA 2K
- Quake
- Tamagotchi
Six of this year’s nominees are making return appearances on the finalist list. Meanwhile, this marks the third nomination for both GoldenEye 007 and Angry Birds.
Angry Birds was previously nominated in 2015 (the Hall of Fame’s inaugural year) and again in 2023. Meanwhile, GoldenEye 007 has consistently appeared as a finalist since 2020.
The selection process combines expert judgment with public opinion. While the selection committee has the final say, public voting allows fans to influence the outcome. The three games receiving the most public votes will count collectively as a single ballot in the final decision.
Museum officials have scheduled the announcement of the 2025 inductees for Thursday, May 8. The chosen games will join legendary titles like Pac-Man, Tetris, Doom, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, Microsoft Solitaire, Minecraft, Call of Duty, and The Legend of Zelda in The Strong’s permanent gaming exhibit.