Franchises

Namco maze series designed by Toru Iwatani. The arcade original, titled Puck Man in Japan, was released on 22 May 1980; Midway Manufacturing released it in North America in October 1980 as Pac-Man. The player eats the dots in a maze while avoiding four ghosts, and power pellets make the ghosts vulnerable.

Gothic first-person shooter franchise that began with People Can Fly’s 2004 Painkiller. Stand-alone expansions and The Farm 51’s Hell & Damnation remake followed; Anshar Studios and 3D Realms rebooted the series in 2025.

Sega rail-shooter series. Smilebit's Xbox game Panzer Dragoon Orta has the prisoner Orta escape on a dragon, and it includes a port of the original Panzer Dragoon.

Rare first-person shooter series following Carrington Institute agent Joanna Dark against dataDyne conspiracies—from the 2000 N64 classic and Game Boy Color companion through the Xbox 360 prequel Perfect Dark Zero and later XBLA/NSO remasters.

Atlus Japanese role-playing series spun out of Megami Tensei. High-school casts awaken Personas to confront Shadows and social pressure—from Revelations: Persona (1996) through Persona 3–5, Golden/Royal expansions, Reload remakes, and spin-offs like Arena, Q, Strikers, and Tactica.

Genki’s mech combat games set in abandoned Old Tokyo. Phantom Crash on Xbox is a sport called Rumbling, where you spend winnings on a custom machine.

FarSight Studios’ pinball compilations of real Gottlieb and Williams tables, published by Crave Entertainment in North America. The Gottlieb Collection (2004) was followed by The Williams Collection (2008), also sold in PAL as Gottlieb Pinball Classics and Williams Pinball Classics.

Activision platform series starring Pitfall Harry. The Lost Expedition, developed by Edge of Reality, is a 3D adventure through a connected Peruvian jungle.

PopCap tower-defense series created by George Fan. Defend lawns with Crazy Dave’s plants against Dr. Zomboss—from the 2009 original and GOTY ports through Garden Warfare shooters, Battle for Neighborville, and the 2025 Replanted remaster.

Japanese media franchise of video games, animation, and a trading card game, managed by The Pokémon Company. Game Freak's role-playing games, first released on the Game Boy in 1996, are the core of the series.

Nintendo and licensed handheld games based on E. C. Segar’s sailor—from the 1982 arcade climber and Parker Brothers home ports through Game Boy titles and Popeye: Rush for Spinach on Game Boy Advance.

Valve first-person puzzle-platform series set in the Half-Life universe. Chell is tested in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center by GLaDOS, using a device that links two surfaces with portals.

Jordan Mechner’s cinematic platform franchise, rebooted by Ubisoft with The Sands of Time trilogy and later entries including the 2008 cel-shaded reboot, The Forgotten Sands, The Lost Crown, and The Rogue Prince of Persia.

Bizarre Creations street-racing series. Project Gotham Racing 2 scores Kudos for stylish driving on courses in real cities, and those points unlock cars and events.

Radical Entertainment open-world action-adventure series published by Activision. Amnesiac shapeshifter Alex Mercer fights a Blacklight outbreak in Manhattan; Prototype 2 follows Sgt. James Heller in the devastated New York Zero.