11 Longest Running Video Game Franchises of All Time
Few companies have been able to sustain franchises through gaming's unpredictable market shifts over the last five decades. As the medium moved from arcades to living rooms and tastes transitioned with technologies, only a fraction of a percentage of franchises from gaming’s nascent days has survived.
Below we’ve compiled the franchises that have stood the test of time longer than any others. These are the 11 longest-running* video game franchises of all time.
*To be considered for this list, a franchise must have content currently in development or content released within the last five years. This list captures only franchises that originated as games; long-running licensed franchises such as Spider-Man, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars are therefore excluded.
First release: Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982)
Latest release: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (2024)
20 years before Microsoft began its Xbox business, the company entered the gaming market as a software developer for early home computers. Among its first batch of games was Microsoft Flight Simulator, the first in its still-running series of aviation simulations.
After a dozen-plus releases, Flight Sim regained mainstream popularity in 2020 with Microsoft Flight Simulator, the series’ first game to be released on console. IGN’s reviewer Seth Macy awarded it a review score of 10 and called it “the most awe-inspiring simulation [he’s] ever experienced.”
Next up is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, announced during the recent Xbox Games Showcase.
First release: Castle Wolfenstein (1981)
Latest release: Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot (2019)
Wolfenstein began as a stealth-focused arcade game in September 1981 with the release of Castle Wolfenstein. The series has moved through several
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