Gamer Shelf

Hundreds of games are released every year, then played and forgotten by the next. Only a dozen or so will be remembered a decade from now, and only a few of those will have any lasting impact on the medium as a whole.

Which upcoming titles stand the best chance of leaving that meaningful mark? Which will be remembered, studied and mimicked endlessly? Which will inspire new subgenres or introduce groundbreaking new features? We know the games that have done so in the past, of course – names like Mario, GTA, Sims and Warcraft – but predicting the trendsetters of the future is a much more difficult task.

Here are 20 with the most potential. If change is inevitable, these are the ones that will bring it to us.