Ask anyone who was actually there, hovering over a chunky CRT monitor or clutching a grey PlayStation controller, and they’ll tell you the same thing. 1998 wasn’t just a "good" year for the industry. It was the year the industry grew up. Honestly, looking back at the list of games released in 1998 feels like looking at a genetic map for every modern triple-A title you see today. If you stripped away the 4K textures and ray-tracing from your favorite 2026 releases, you’d find the skeleton of 1998 underneath.
It was a weird, frantic time. Technology was finally catching up to the wild ambitions of developers who had spent the 16-bit era dreaming of cinematic worlds.
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The Year 3D Finally Made Sense
Before '98, 3D gaming was kind of a mess. Navigating a world often felt like driving a forklift through a vat of pudding. Then The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time happened. It didn't just give us a bigger world; it gave us the "Z-targeting" system. Think about that for a second. Every single third-person action game you’ve played since—from Elden Ring to Assassin’s Creed—uses a lock-on mechanic that traces its lineage directly back to Link’s adventure on the Nintendo 64.
Nintendo EAD, led by Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma, solved the camera problem that had been plaguing the industry. They turned a technical hurdle into a fluid, tactile experience. It’s hard to overstate how revolutionary that was.
But it wasn't just Nintendo. On the PC side, Valve was about to change the narrative landscape forever. Half-Life arrived in November and basically killed the "cutscene." Gordon Freeman never sat through a cinematic where the player lost control. The story happened to you, around you, while you were still holding the crowbar. That sense of immersion was terrifyingly new. You weren't just watching a sci-fi movie; you were stuck in Black Mesa. Gabe Newell and his team realized that the strongest tool in gaming wasn't fancy graphics, but the feeling of agency.
Stealth and Sophistication
Then there was Kojima. Metal Gear Solid hit the PlayStation and suddenly games weren't just toys anymore. They were "experiences." Hideo Kojima used the hardware to break the fourth wall in ways that still feel clever today. Remember having to look at the back of the physical CD case to find Meryl’s codec frequency? Or Psycho Mantis "reading" your memory card? It was meta before meta was a thing.
It also pioneered the idea that a game could be political, messy, and deeply cinematic. Voice acting went from "Jill Sandwich" levels of cheese to something approaching legitimate drama. It proved that the PlayStation wasn't just for kids; it was for people who wanted a story that stayed with them long after the console was switched off.
The Birth of the Competitive Meta
While some were busy saving Hyrule, others were getting their lives ruined by StarCraft. Blizzard Entertainment didn't just release a real-time strategy game; they accidentally created a national sport for South Korea. The balance between the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss was a mathematical miracle. It wasn't perfect at launch, obviously—patches were needed—but the foundation was so solid it sustained a professional scene for over two decades.
StarCraft introduced the concept of the "meta" to the masses. APM (Actions Per Minute) became a metric of skill. This wasn't just about clicking on units; it was about economic management, psychological warfare, and scouting.
- StarCraft (PC): Redefined RTS through asymmetrical balance.
- Unreal (PC): Pushed the graphical envelope and started the engine wars.
- Starsiege: Tribes (PC): Introduced massive-scale team-based multiplayer with jetpacks.
Wait, we have to talk about Tribes. Most people skip it when discussing games released in 1998, but that’s a mistake. It featured huge outdoor maps and 32-player matches at a time when most people were still on 56k dial-up modems. It was the grandfather of Battlefield. The "skiing" mechanic—a physics glitch that let players slide down hills at high speeds—became the defining feature of the series. It’s a perfect example of how 1998 was a year of happy accidents and bold risks.
Darker Tones and Mature Themes
If 1998 had a mood, it was "gritty." We saw the release of Resident Evil 2, which took the "spooky mansion" vibe of the first game and turned it into a full-scale urban nightmare. Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield’s dual-protagonist system gave us different perspectives on the Raccoon City collapse. It was bigger, bloodier, and much more stressful.
Meanwhile, Black Isle Studios released Fallout 2. If the first game was a proof of concept, the sequel was a sprawling, nihilistic masterpiece. It was a game that let you be a hero, a porn star, or a slave trader. The moral ambiguity was staggering. It didn't hold your hand. It just dropped you in a wasteland and asked, "Who are you when the world ends?"
- Thief: The Dark Project: Taught us that not every protagonist needs to be a tank. Sometimes, staying in the shadows is more powerful than a sword.
- Baldur’s Gate: Saved the CRPG (Computer Role-Playing Game) from extinction by marrying Dungeons & Dragons rules with a modern interface.
- Grim Fandango: Proved that adventure games could have the soul of a film noir, even if they featured skeleton travel agents in the Land of the Dead.
Why Does This Specific Year Matter So Much?
You might wonder why we don't talk about 1995 or 2004 with the same reverence. Well, we do, but 1998 was the "Goldilocks" zone. The tech was finally capable of rendering recognizable human emotions, but the budgets hadn't yet ballooned to the point where publishers were afraid to take risks.
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In 1998, a team could still try something weird.
Look at Spyro the Dragon. Insomniac Games figured out how to render vast distances on the PlayStation hardware by using a clever level-of-detail (LOD) system. Or Banjo-Kazooie, which took the collect-a-thon formula of Mario 64 and polished it to a mirror shine. These weren't just sequels; they were refinements of brand-new genres.
The Survival Horror Boom
Beyond Resident Evil 2, we had Parasite Eve. Square (now Square Enix) decided to mix JRPG mechanics with body horror. It was weird. It was cinematic. It felt like a fever dream set in New York City. The "Cinematic RPG" was born here.
The Underdogs
Not every hit was a blockbuster. Suikoden II flopped commercially in the West because the print run was tiny, yet it’s now considered one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Its story of political betrayal and friendship is more mature than 90% of what's on the market today. Then there’s Xenogears, a game so ambitious and heavy with Gnostic philosophy that the developers literally ran out of money and turned the second half into a glorified visual novel.
The Lasting Legacy of 1998
When you look at the landscape of games released in 1998, you see the prototypes for the next 25 years.
- Half-Life led to Counter-Strike and Portal.
- Ocarina of Time established the 3D action-adventure template.
- StarCraft created the esports blueprint.
- Metal Gear Solid made "cinematic" a requirement for triple-A games.
- Baldur's Gate paved the way for Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
It was a perfect storm. The transition from 2D to 3D was maturing, the internet was becoming a viable tool for multiplayer, and storytelling was breaking away from "save the princess" tropes.
Actionable Steps for Retrogaming Enthusiasts
If you want to experience the magic of 1998 today, you don't necessarily need to hunt down a dusty console on eBay, though that’s certainly an option. Here is how to dive back in:
1. Check for Modern Remakes
Don't start with the original Resident Evil 2 if you hate "tank controls." The 2019 remake is a masterpiece that honors the 1998 original while making it playable for modern thumbs. Similarly, Metal Gear Solid is now widely available on modern platforms through the Master Collection, though be warned: the controls are a time capsule.
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2. Source the "Enhanced Editions"
For the PC classics like Baldur’s Gate or StarCraft, look for the "Enhanced" or "Remastered" versions. Beamdog did incredible work making Baldur’s Gate run on modern resolutions without breaking the soul of the game. StarCraft: Remastered keeps the exact same gameplay but makes it look crisp on a 4K monitor.
3. Use Emulation with Care
If you’re going the emulation route for N64 titles like Ocarina of Time, look into community projects like "Ship of Harkinian." It’s a PC port of the original game code that allows for widescreen support, 60fps, and modding. It is, frankly, the best way to play the game in 2026.
4. Research the "Lost" Titles
Don't just stick to the big names. Spend an afternoon looking into Suikoden II or The Last Blade 2. These games represent a level of 2D artistry that was eclipsed by the 3D craze but remains breathtakingly beautiful.
The 1998 era was about discovery. Every time you turned on a console, you were seeing something that had literally never been done before. While the graphics have aged, the design philosophy remains the gold standard. We are still living in the shadow of 1998, and honestly? It’s a pretty great place to be.