Bethesda's Todd Howard Reveals His Two Choices For Most Influential Game Of All Time

The director behind Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield was asked to pick the most influential game of all time. Todd Howard decided there are actually two titles that fit that billing: Super Mario Bros. and Doom. But that's not all, as the Bethesda Game Studios executive producer also offered up what he thinks are the two most important titles, too.

On X, the official BAFTA Games Awards account asked Howard for his selection regarding the most influential game of all time. While the acclaimed developer is currently busy with The Elder Scrolls VI (and Fallout 5), he started his response with a small, but intriguing detour. "Well first, I think, the two most important games of all time are Tetris and Pac-Man for what they do for gaming overall and bringing so many people to it," Howard said.

Todd Howard gives his picks (multiple, naturally) for the Most Influential Game of All Time! And what a combo @bethesda
👏 Don't miss out, have your say and vote now!https://t.co/mSbfZizOJ1
See that link ☝️ click to cast your vote 😉 pic.twitter.com/Qjb6LwpdGs
— BAFTA Games (@BAFTAGames) March 17, 2025

As for the actual question, Howard selected Super Mario Bros. and Doom as the most influential games because he sees their DNA in modern games--even three decades later. "Two games where if you trace things games are doing today, you can trace so much of that back to those games," Howard said.

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