World Video Game Hall of Fame 2018 nominees include Metroid, Half-Life and Minecraft

This year’s finalists for induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, which is organized by The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, have been announced. Finalists include the original Metroid, Half-Life, Tomb Raider and Call of Duty.

Twelve games, including console, computer and arcade titles, are up for consideration this year. Here’s the full list of 2018 World Video Game Hall of Fame nominees:

• Asteroids
• Call of Duty
• Dance Dance Revolution
• Final Fantasy 7
• Half-Life
• John Madden Football
• King’s Quest
• Metroid
• Minecraft
• Ms. Pac-Man
• Spacewar!
• Tomb Raider

“These 12 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists span decades, gaming platforms, and countries of origin—but what they all have in common is their undeniable impact on the world of gaming and popular culture,” says Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games, in a news release. “Whether it’s a true innovator and original like Spacewar!, a pop culture icon like Ms. Pac-Man, or a game like Minecraft that’s still played by millions around the world, they’re among the most influential games of all time.”

Spacewar!, created in 1962, is the oldest game on the list of Hall of Fame nominees, while Minecraft, first released in 2009, is the youngest.

The Strong’s criteria for games that warrant Hall of Fame status, according to its website, include “icon-status, the game is widely recognized and remembered; longevity, the game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time; geographical reach, the game meets the above criteria across international boundaries; and influence, the game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. (A game may be inducted on the basis of the last criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.)”

Anyone can nominate a game for induction into the Hall of Fame, The Strong explains, and inductees are selected by an advisory committee composed of “journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.”

Last year’s inductees were Donkey Kong, Halo: Combat Evolved, Pokémon Red and Green, and Street Fighter 2. The finalists who didn’t make it last year were Final Fantasy 7, Microsoft Windows Solitaire, Mortal Kombat, Myst, Portal, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider and Wii Sports.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame 2018 inductees will be announced May 3.