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shibbykins on 21 August 2017
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I started making a list, but I realized that my favorite franchises are the ones that dominate whatever genre they are in. Think of an genre, and the current game that sits on top of that genre.

Open world sandbox: GTA
Narrative driven: The Last of Us
FPS: Was CoD for a decade, currently this one is moving to Player Unknown Battlegrounds
RPG: The Witcher 3
Action Adventure: Zelda

I think the important genres change, and obviously the game in that genre that is the most important also changes, RPG was certainly Final Fantasy for maybe even the majority of the genre's existence, but western RPGs have become so important and Witcher is the prime target of anyone making a western rpg today, that it is certainly leading game design in that genre.

GTA is something everyone is always trying to emulate, it's one of the most prolific series to have ever existed, and helped propel the PS2 to it's insane install base. GTA3 had such a huge impact that the entire western industry has been chasing the overly expensive AAA market and completely ignored AA game development.

Zelda has lead the industry with game design for years, OoT is a road map for the last 20 years of game design in a 3D story. BotW has finally revitalized it's place back ontop of this genre.

The Last of Us is largely considered the peak of last gen, and is a masterpiece in story telling. Notable series also include Mass Effect and Halo.

CoD ran the FPS world for a decade, but before that, it was counter strike, and before that was quake and doom, this genre changes a lot and there are many notable games, but I feel like Player Unknown Battlegrounds is taking the genre in a new direction that we haven't seen since Counter Strike. Of course I'm ignoring Overwatch because I feel like it is more than just an FPS, it feels almost like a moba, and thus I didn't include it, but if you do, it's obviously on top and maybe should be, however PUBG is not something to overlook, it will change this genre forever.