When it comes to the most important games of the decade, there are quite a few possible contenders. However, there are two that certainly rise to the top.
Despite what the gaming community might think of them, Fortnite and Minecraft have definitively made their respective marks on the gaming industry, and the world. Today, we'll be looking at five reasons that each of them is the most important game of the decade. Let's get into it.
10 Fortnite: The Cultural Impact
Fortnite's popularity isn't just relegated to the gaming community. The title has received worldwide attention since its release. As the game has become so ubiquitous, it's received just as much mainstream attention as it has from games media.
The game has been steadily keeping kids from their work in school, so not all of the coverage has been positive. Either way, its mark is something that cannot be understated.
9 Minecraft: The Longevity It Has Had
Minecraft has been around since 2009, and while it's received many updates and changes over the years, its popularity has never waned. The game has been around for a decade, and all the while has been steadily increasing its player base and adding new features for fans to enjoy. It's rare for a game to receive support for 3-4 years.
But 10? It's practically unheard of. That's why it's just a massive deal that Minecraft has continued to grow all the way into 2019, and there's no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
8 Fortnite: The Money That It's Made
Fortnite is a free to play game (except for that base game that no one cares about), so it's absolutely incredible just how much money the title has made for developers Epic Games. The title nabbed Epic a reported $3 billion in profit in 2018 alone, showing how powerful the title is.
Epic Games has managed to monetize the game through cosmetics alone, with no pay to win elements included. This allows fans to play the game fully for free, or spend a little bit to dress up their character. This is how you successfully monetize a game, Epic's proved that handily.
7 Minecraft: Its Sales
That's not to say that Minecraft isn't doing well, however. As of 2019, Minecraft has sold a staggering 180 million copies in total. What? That massive amount has only been matched by the likes of Tetris, and it's impossible to know which game is currently in the lead for the highest selling game of all time.
No matter who is the victor, the fact that Minecraft managed to hit this milestone in just ten years is a testament to the staying power that it has, and the mark it has permanently left on the industry.
6 Fortnite: Cross-play
Fortnite's power isn't to be understated. The game essentially bullied Sony into allowing cross-play with other systems. While Xbox and Nintendo had been allowing this for some time, Epic's massive influence over the games industry forced Sony's hand, and we now have cross-play between all three of the major console manufacturers.
This is something that could have never happened ten years ago, and Fortnite's role in making this change happen cannot be minimized. It also singlehandedly proved that the Switch can handle voice chat and doesn't need that silly little app, so thanks for that.
5 Minecraft: The Player Generated Content
While Minecraft's single-player content is, well, endless, its multiplayer is no slouch either. A huge variety of new gameplay modes have been created by the player base over the years.
Whether it be the Hunger Games-style free for all Survival Games, the incredibly difficult Ultra Hardcore mode or the party style minigame servers, there's no shortage of things to do while playing Minecraft. There's something for everyone in this game. This is just part of the reason it's remained so popular over the years.
4 Fortnite: Every Platform
Fortnite's cross-play accomplishment was one thing, but the fact that it has managed to make its way to every system, including phones, is something. The fact that the game has managed to find its way to just about every electronic device out there is amazing.
Each version of the experience delivers on the quality that players expect. With a game this big, it simply has to be perfect anywhere you play it. Epic Games has made sure that this is the case.
3 Minecraft: The Fanbase
Minecraft's huge fanbase has never let up on the game. Whether they be messing around in Survival Mode, building in Creative Mode, playing with friends on a server or creating their own mods, Minecraft's popularity has never waned.
Those 180 million players sure do stay consistent, huh? Even after 10 years Minecraft has continued to hold onto a player base that every other game could only dream of having. The staying power that this game has is truly off the charts.
2 Fortnite: The Launch Of The Epic Game Store
The profit that Fortnite racked in allowed Epic to launch its own digital storefront, the Epic Game Store. This was the first storefront to actually give Steam competition, and while players don't necessarily love the service, it's sticking around for the long haul.
The Epic Game Store gives developers a larger cut of the check, making it a good looking alternative to Steam. It's attracted all sorts of exclusives, such as titles like Shenmue 3, so winning over developers doesn't seem to be an issue for the service. It's the players that aren't the biggest fans.
1 Minecraft: Everything
While Fortnite is an important game, it just can't match Minecraft. Minecraft is an absolute juggernaut of a game. It has launched a variety of different spin-offs, formed communities that haven't broken after ten years, made the gaming side of YouTube what it is today and so much more.
Minecraft is and continues to be a game that fans of all ages play and love for a huge array of different reasons. While Fortnite could very well end up being the most important game of the '20s, the '10s belong to Minecraft.