Genres
Video game genres: where each name came from, what defines it and the games that shaped it.
Genre names start as shorthand among players and reviewers and harden into labels on store pages. Each genre page traces the name to its first uses, sets out what players argue about at its edges, and lists the games that shaped it.
For the full story of one name, read why roguelikes are called roguelikes. More in Stories.
4X
What is a 4X game? Explore, expand, exploit, exterminate: the strategy genre of Civilization and Master of Orion, who named it in 1993, and the key games.
Auto battler
What is an auto battler? Games like Dota Auto Chess and Teamfight Tactics where you place units and they fight on their own: its origins and the key games.
Battle royale
What is a battle royale game? Last-player-standing shooters like PUBG, Fortnite and Apex Legends, where the name and the genre came from, and the key games.
Boomer shooter
What is a boomer shooter? Retro first-person shooters in the style of Doom and Quake, like Dusk and Ultrakill: where the name came from and the key games.
City builder
What is a city-building game? From The Sumerian Game and SimCity to Cities: Skylines and Anno: how the genre began and the key city builders.
Cozy game
What is a cozy game? Gentle, non-violent games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: what makes a game cozy, where the label came from, and the key games.
Extraction shooter
What is an extraction shooter? Games like Escape from Tarkov, Hunt: Showdown and Arc Raiders where you must get out alive to keep your loot, and the key games.
Grand strategy
What is a grand strategy game? Nation-scale strategy like Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings and Hearts of Iron, how it differs from 4X, and the key games.
Hero shooter
What is a hero shooter? Team shooters with distinct heroes, like Overwatch, Valorant and Marvel Rivals: who first used the name, and the key games.
Idle / incremental game
What is an idle or incremental game? From Progress Quest to Cookie Clicker: numbers that grow on their own, prestige resets, and the key games.
Immersive sim
What is an immersive sim? Games like Deus Ex, System Shock and Dishonored built on simulated systems, who coined the term, and the key games.
Looter shooter
What is a looter shooter? Shooters built around random loot, like Borderlands, Destiny and The Division: where the genre started and the key games.
Metroidvania
What is a metroidvania? The genre named after Metroid and Castlevania, who first used the word, why critics want it gone, and the key games.
MOBA
What is a MOBA? Team games like Dota 2 and League of Legends: how they grew out of real-time strategy mods, the MOBA vs ARTS naming dispute, and the key games.
Real-time strategy
What is a real-time strategy game? From Dune II to StarCraft and Age of Empires: who named the genre, which game was first, and the key RTS games.
Roguelike
What is a roguelike? The genre named after Rogue (1980): random dungeons, permadeath and turns, where the word came from in 1993, and the classic games.
Roguelike deckbuilder
Roguelike deckbuilders like Slay the Spire and Balatro: how the genre mixes card games and roguelike runs, where it started, and the key games.
Roguelite
Roguelite or roguelike? How rogue-lites keep permadeath and random runs but add progress between runs, who coined the word in 2013, and the key games.
Soulslike
What is a soulslike? Games in the mould of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls: hard, deliberate combat and lost souls, the debate over the label, and the key games.
Survival crafting (survival game)
What is a survival crafting game? Games like Minecraft, Rust, Valheim and Subnautica where you gather, craft and stay alive: its roots and the key games.
Survival horror
What is survival horror? From Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark to Resident Evil, who first used the name in 1996, and the key survival horror games.
Survivors-like (bullet heaven)
What is a survivors-like or bullet heaven? Games like Vampire Survivors where your character attacks on its own, where the names came from, and the key games.
Visual novel
What is a visual novel? Story games of text, art and choices, from Shizuku and Fate/stay night to Doki Doki Literature Club: the name's origin and key games.
Walking simulator
What is a walking simulator? Story-led exploration games like Dear Esther, Gone Home and Firewatch: how a jibe became a genre name, and the key games.