VGChartz’s Lee Mehr: “Whether looking back at Tennis for Two as the first competitive video game, Spacewar! as the first documented case of an e-Sport tournament, or the first pure cooperative experience in Fire Truck, multiplayer has been a cornerstone of gaming. Today, it’s now the driving force in both multi-million-dollar competitions and social interactions for better or worse. Publishing executives have collectively sacrificed fat stacks and reputable game studios for the faint hope of discovering a new Fortnite. From Sony to Microsoft to Ubisoft, this frenzied chase for the next diamond mine has fundamentally altered publishers’ output trajectory both in quantity and style.
Even with such unfortunate business realities, there’s still a bright side: the successes that capture the spirit of competition, comradery, or both simultaneously. As evidenced below, 2025 was a commendable year for multiplayer of any stripe. Each of our finalists captured special stories that we w…
