The Strong Museum in New York has announced the inductees to its 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame, and the list is made up of some heavy hitters. This year's four inductees include Animal Crossing, Microsoft Flight Simulator, StarCraft, and Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

　　These winners emerged from a pool of other finalists that also included FarmVille, FIFA, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, Mattel Football, Pole Position, Portal, and Tron; those games, and others, can be nominated again next year.

　　You can find commentary from the museum's panel of experts for each inductee to the World Video Game Hall of Fame below, while a list of all the inductees since the Hall of Fame opened in 2015 can be found at the bottom of the page.

　　

Animal Crossing:

"The freedom of play in Animal Crossing gave the game wider gender and age appeal than many other video game titles of its time," research historian Racquel Gonzales said. "The low stakes of Animal Crossing also allowed people to play at their own leisure without penalty. These elements may help explain why its latest installment proved such a huge hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was searching for a little neighborly sociability."

　　

Microsoft Flight Simulator

"It's hard to overestimate what a groundbreaking program Microsoft Flight Simulator was when it debuted in 1983," assistant vice president for interpretation and electronic games Jeremy Saucier said. "For the first time, amateur and professional aviators could navigate the skies--without ever leaving home. And the joy of flight is universal, which is perhaps why Microsoft Flight Simulator has continued to captivate gamers for decades."

　　

StarCraft

"StarCraft added a new twist to the strategy game formula while leading a revolution in multiplayer gaming," digital games curator Andrew Borman said. "It's regarded as one of the best real-time strategy games of all time and significantly impacted many of the real-time strategy games that have followed in the past two decades."

　　

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

"Between the still-growing video game franchise (including a Google Earth tie-in) and the game's recent run as a show on Netflix, Carmen Sandiego is as recognizable a character as ever. Is she an evil villain or a misunderstood genius? You'll have to track her across the globe to find out!" archivist Julia Novakovic said.

　　The World Video Game Hall of Fame opened at the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York in 2015 with the aim of honoring the best, most influential games ever. To enter the Hall of Fame, a game must have "enjoyed popularity over a sustained period and have exerted influence on the video game industry or on popular culture and society in general."

　　

World Video Game Hall Of Fame Inductees

Animal Crossing (2021 inductee)BejeweledCentipedeDonkey KongDoomFinal Fantasy VIIGrand Theft Auto IIIHalo: Combat EvolvedJohn Madden FootballKing's QuestThe Legend of ZeldaMicrosoft Flight Simulator (2021 inductee)MinecraftThe Oregon TrailPac-ManPokemon Red and GreenPongThe SimsSonic the HedgehogSpace InvadersSpacewar!StarCraft (2021 inductee)Street Fighter IISuper Mario Bros.TetrisTomb RaiderWhere in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (2021 inductee)World of Warcraft