The first actual video game was called Spacewar and was developed for a specific computer which was so gigantic that it would occupy entire rooms at the MIT in the late 60s. From there, we eventually got the Magnavox Odyssey, then Pong, with the medium continuously evolving over the years. Some of those games were lost to history, but some of them had so many sequels that they are still going strong today. This begs the question: which game series is the longest-running in history and just how many games were created under its banner?
This article will look at the 30 franchises with the most longevity, with a single caveat: to be considered active, a franchise has to have released a game, be it a sequel, a port or a remake, in the last five years. That’s it! There are of course bevies of old games which were influential, and which might have had sequels, but whose star faded over the years. These games, such as Pong, or Frogger, still deserve to be remembered, but that’s an article for another day.
In the meantime, please enjoy this ranking of the 30 longest-running video games franchises since the advent of the medium. Some of the games you will see here are obvious classics, but we are convinced that you will notice some outliers which have flown under the radar for a long, long time.
30 Madden NFL (1988) - 36 Games
Another sports franchise which has been running for thirty years, Madden NFL has steadily been releasing one new game every year for as many consoles as possible since 1988. On occasions, the series does deviate from this lucrative plans, releasing mobile versions, or a unique version of its game for the Nintendo 64 in 1997.
The result is 36 unique games, despite the franchise being only thirty years old.
Despite having very little differences between iterations, it's still sold over 130 million copies in total.
29 Donkey Kong (1981) - 30 Games
Starting in 1981, Donkey Kong was the original Nintendo star.
The original arcade game literally saved the Japanese company and made Shigeru Miyamoto’s career.
The big ape has been in 30 “original” games since, but that number is much higher if you include the endless remakes of the original arcade hit. The series successfully branched off after a long hiatus, starting in 1994 with Donkey Kong Country, a game which revamped the character for a new generation. It has since grown to include other subseries such as Mario vs Donkey Kong.
28 Wolfenstein (1981) - 9 Games
Surprisingly, the Wolfenstein series did not start with the innovative Wolfenstein 3D. It actually started all the way back in 1981, with the little known Castle Wolfenstein, a stealth-based shooter which was released for a large number of computer systems. The sequels were much more successful and, despite a long hiatus in the early 2000s, the series is as popular as ever with the last few games created under its banner. Most notably, the critically-acclaimed New Colossus was the 9th game released in the franchise.
27 Super Mario (1981) - 450+ Games
The series technically started in 1981, since Mario was the main character in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. The first game to bear the plumber’s name was released in 1983, a title which had Mario and Luigi battle critters in the sewers of Brooklyn. Since then, the Nintendo mascot has appeared in over 450 different games (!!!), mostly on Nintendo consoles but also on PC and mobile. Of these, 18 can be considered original Mario platformers, while 47 have him as the actual star (which includes the RPG games). The rest are sports games, remakes, and spin-offs such as Yoshi’s Island.
26 Pac-Man (1980) - 41 Games
Pac-Man might be a simple game by concept, but it started a craze when it was first made available in 1980. Pac-Mania struck the globe hard, to the point where the character had pop songs mentioning his name. Nearly 40 years after its creation, the series has issued 41 licensed games, branching out from the original maze gameplay to side-scrolling, party games, kart racing, and 3D platformers. People my age will also remember the character for its memorable turn in an animated Christmas special in the early 80s.
25 Megami Tensei (1987) - 40 Games
Another role-playing game series created in 1987, Megami Tensei spans many subgenres and birthed so many spinoffs that calculating the exact number of games in the franchise is a daunting task. There are 12 main games, but that number goes up to 16 if you include the Devil Summoner subseries, and 25 if you include the games set in the same universe. Finally, if you include the Persona titles, themselves spinoffs of a single Megami Tensei title (Shin Megami Tensei If….), then you get about 40 individual games.
24 Final Fantasy (1987) - 100+ Games
The incredibly popular Final Fantasy was first released in 1987 and named as such because Hironobu Sakaguchi, the series’ creator, was convinced that this would be his last effort in the gaming industry. The game was so successful that he just had to stay with his franchise.
The series sold another 100 million copies before Sakaguchi finally left Square.
The series has since had 15 main entries, but has had so many spinoffs, including fighting games, racing games and strategy games, that you get approximately 100 titles once everything is tallied.
23 The Legend of Zelda (1987) - 26 Games
Looks like 1987 was a pretty strong year for the creation of blockbuster franchises. The Legend of Zelda was also created that year and has since captured the imagination of gamers at large and Nintendo fans in particular. There has been 19 games which can be placed on the company’s official timeline, and unlike many of the franchises on this list, LoZ has had very few spinoffs. Even if you include the terrible CD-i games, the Tingle subseries, the weird crossbow game and Hyrule Warriors, you still get a paltry 26 titles.
22 Metal Gear (1987) - 18 Games
To complete the haul of legendary games which first appeared in 1987, we have Metal Gear, which was originally a top-down shooter released for the MSX2 computer in Japan. Later ported to the NES, the game was completely different from what the series would eventually become. Now renowned for its stealth gameplay, as well as its endless cut scenes, the series has seen 18 titles, with the chronology of each being confusing to newcomers. The first game following its creator’s departure from Konami was met with mixed reviews, but fans hope that it can rebound in the future.
21 Metroid (1986) - 14 Games
Since its 1986 origins, the Metroid series has only seen the release of 14 titles, including remakes, spin-offs, and a pinball game.
How could a series that has been this popular for so long give birth to so few titles?
The answer is that while beloved by fans, Metroid has never sold as well as some of Nintendo’s other franchises. The company did not even do anything special for its 30th anniversary, while Luigi got to have a full year dedicated to him. Hopefully, the upcoming Metroid Prime 4 will show Nintendo how valuable the venerable series really is.
20 Castlevania (1986) - 35 Games
Still strong after all these years, the Castlevania series has come a long way since 1986. Though the 35 games in the series more often than not remain close in spirit to the original NES classic, Konami did try to bring the franchise into the 3D world a few times, to varying success. Now with a Netflix animated series to its name, which is set to enter its second season soon, and two of the series’ heroes on their way to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems like Castlevania is more relevant than ever.
19 Carmen Sandiego (1985) - 19 Games
Turns out that the world has been looking for Carmen Sandiego since 1985, through 19 different titles, and over two dozens of systems and consoles. Though the TV show upstaged the game series for a while, the franchise always went back to its roots: new titles are released every few years, with the last one being a PC game made in 2015. The series is set to expand once more, with (what else?) an animated Netflix show to be made available in 2019.
18 R.B.I. Baseball (1988) - 13 Games
The first R.B.I. Baseball, released in 1988, was a Tengen cartridge for NES, meaning that it was unlicensed by Nintendo. It was a port of a Japanese game and used the name of MLB players for added realism. The sequel, however, was its own thing, and the series kept building on its own name and engine until a 20-year hiatus, which started in 1996. Though nowhere close to its former glory, new games are still being released to mediocre reviews, with 13 titles bearing the series’ name so far.
17 Might and Magic (1986) - 30 Games
Starting in 1986, this RPG and Strategy series has been a favourite of PC gamers, standing out as one of the first popular games in its genre.
The game’s world, immense for its time, was praised for its imagination and non-linearity.
Its success was such that it was eventually ported to many consoles through the years. The main Might & Magic series has only ten games to its name. However, if we include the many spin-offs, such as Heroes of Might & Magic, the number of games is closer to 30.
16 Family Stadium (1986) - 36 Games
One of Japan's favourite baseball series, it has also been going on since 1986. There are 36 games in the franchise, with only one of them making it to the US. That game was renamed R.B.I. Baseball, so this one is closely linked with the earlier entry on our list. Family Stadium distinguishes itself with its cartoonish graphics, as well as its arcade-style gameplay which emphasizes a fast pace over realism. Though it had been quiet since the days of the Wii, the series has recently made a comeback on Nintendo Switch.
15 Dragon Quest (1986) - 31 Games
Another franchise from the class of ’86, Dragon Quest has always been more popular in Japan, where productivity drops down severely on days when new games are released. Still, its popularity in the Western world has consistently increased every year, a marked difference from its days of being introduced as Dragon Warriors through a Nintendo Power magazine giveaway. Since then, the series has had 11 main titles, for a total of 31 games once you include everything else bearing the series’ name.
14 Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1985) - 27 Games
The first of these difficult tactical RPGs was released in 1985. Not all of them have been released outside of Japan, but a total of 27 games exist, with only 13 belonging to the main series. The rest are ports and crossovers.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms also birthed Dynasty Warriors, a series which has become so popular that it now has its own spinoffs to take care of.
Interestingly, a series set in ancient China also has a crossover with Level 5’s Yo-kai Watch series, though it has been a Japanese exclusive so far.
13 Tetris (1984) - 150+ Games
You can't really accurately define what a spinoff of Tetris would really be since the gameplay always remains the same. Only the music, backgrounds, and game modes come and go. Still, other games have worn the name despite being entirely different, such as Tetris Attack or Tetrisphere. Should these be counted? Just remember that the series was created in 1984 and that, since then, so many ports and variants and versions have been released that it is impossible to accurately calculate how many of them were created. Just counting official variants, it’s safe to say that at least 150 versions exist.
12 Dragon Slayer (1984) - 60+ Games
The Dragon Slayer series is mostly known in Japan, where it has received frequent updates since 1984. It is sporadically released in the rest of the world, with the most famous example possibly being Faxanadu, a NES game which barely mentioned the series' origins. Nevertheless, there are between 40 and 60 titles in existence, depending on whether or not you count the various ports and subseries which have evolved independently. The most famous of these is probably Legend of Heroes, which has basically eclipsed the original in the East.
11 King's Quest (1983) - 9 Games
One of the first influential point-and-click adventures, King’s Quest is the game that built Roberta Williams’ reputation and, at the same time, made Sierra On-Line a household name of the genre in the 80s and 90s. There are only 9 entries in the game, which the first one coming in 1984. Since then, there has been very few attempts at updating the series, mostly just improving the graphics for a port. The series might be a classic, but it has always been under the radar somehow.