It’s very easy to argue that the “mindset” of most video gamers is to “keep looking forward toward the next big game release.” After all, there’s almost always something on console or PC that we’re looking forward to getting. The Nintendo Switch 2 is getting a new title in a few days, and many are pumped for that, while others are eagerly awaiting a certain PS5 exclusive that’ll arrive in a few months.
And yet, there are just as many gamers, and sometimes even organizations, that seem obsessed with the games of old, and want to “experience them again” in one form or another. The games of the 90s and 2000, and even the 80s to some extent, are still beloved by most, and it makes you wonder…why is that the case? Why is there a “Retro Gaming Revival” going on right now? We’ll express it through three key points.
#1 – Nostalgia Is A Powerful Thing
Without a doubt, one of the biggest reasons why people are going into a “Retro Gaming Revival” mindset is simply because they love the games of their youth. Sure, not all gamers grew up in the “heyday” of the 90s and 2000s, but many did. Back when the insult of “video games are for children” was going on, many of us were, in fact, children. Now, though, we’re adults, and we appreciate the games that were made in those periods and want to see them again and see if they still hold up. It’s not unlike certain movies or TV shows from past decades that you can’t help but watch to see if they’re still as fun as you remember.
A great example of this is Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The title came out on the Nintendo GameCube back in 2004 and was immediately declared one of the best RPGs ever made. Then, Nintendo decided to go “off that path” and make different stylings for the franchise, and it didn’t exactly work out. People wanted to experience what TTYD gave them back on the GameCube, but Nintendo didn’t do that. So, when the remaster was released on the Nintendo Switch, people were thrilled, and those who had “heard the legend” of how great this game was were eager to play it.
Nostalgia is also what led to things like the NES and SNES Classic Edition consoles, where Nintendo bundled the best games from the systems and gave them a “mini-version” of the console to play on. The consoles sold out in a hurry, showing that the nostalgia was more than enough to sell it out.
You can even see this now with things like Xbox Marketplace, PS Plus, and even Nintendo Switch Online, where they’ll bring back classic games to play because the publishers know that players want to enjoy them.
As we said, nostalgia is a powerful thing, but it’s also a little more nuanced than that if you can believe it…
#2 – What’s Old…Is Honestly Better Than Some Of The “New”
Let’s be very blunt here. Every single gaming decade had failures, flops, missed opportunities, and bad launches. You can say that for every company of importance, too, from Atari to Microsoft to Nintendo to Activision Blizzard and so on and so forth. There’s always going to be missteps.
However, if you really think about it, the last decade has been a maelstrom of stories about gaming developers and publishers making “bad moves” that result in lackluster games, broken titles at launches, and games being hyped as “the next big thing” and then turning out to be the most mid thing ever and dying in less than two weeks.
The difference between now and the 90s and 2000s was that patches and “immediate fixes from the dev team” literally weren’t possible. If you sent in the “gold disc” to the CD printer, and it was the wrong disk? Your game would flop so hard that you likely would have to shut down your entire company because you failed that badly.
As such, when you look at the games of the 90s and 2000s, you see a quality to them that is almost undeniable, and we talk a LOT more about the successes of that era than the failures. This is a stark contrast to recent years, where it seems the “successes and failures” are in equal measure.
Arguably, the best example of this is with Halo. Bungie was the team behind the original trilogy and certain spinoff titles, and they put their all into it. Literally. There was a LOT going on with Bungie, and even with the 2nd title ending on a legendary cliffhanger, they made sure that the multiplayer was as peak as possible AND that they went full-tilt on the “final game” of the trilogy so that no one would be left wanting.
Fast forward to more modern times, and the newest trilogy wasn’t even close in quality to what Bungie did, and 343 Studios, with Microsoft “helping out” with certain choices, did so poorly with Halo Infinite that it had to be released in “chunks.”
Microsoft/Xbox has already noted that the new “Halo Studios” won’t be a dedicated studio like Bungie was, and instead focus on a lot of contract workers.
So, why play the new games that are bad or mediocre when you can go replay the classic titles that you KNOW are quality? Exactly.
#3 – Remasters and Remakes Galore
Finally, and arguably most importantly, the reason that there might be a “Retro Gaming Revival” going on is that there are plenty of developers and publishers who constantly remind people about certain retro games via the remasters and remakes that come out almost every year. In 2025, there have been multiple announcements and releases of such games, including a remaster of the original Gears of War title.
Or, there’s the full-on remake of a certain “Solid” title that Konami has been hyping up for years. Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater will completely revisualize the game and make it look even more stylish than it did on the PS2 when Hideo Kojima was in charge. Many are looking forward to the game’s remake because of how good it was before, and now, it’ll look even cooler and arguably play even smoother, all the while maintaining what made it fun in the first place.
You could also argue that game developers and publishers are getting a bit “heavy-handed” with the tactic of remasters and remakes because, at times, they’re focusing more on them and trying to make them “successful again” than they are brand new entries.
Square Enix knows all about that, as its “Remake Saga” is something that’s technically over a decade in the works, and we’re still not done with that! Just as important, while the first of the remake games with Cloud Strife and co. did well during the pandemic era, its sequel, which was released last year, wasn’t as big a hit. They put a LOT into that remake, and yet, the results were honestly a bit middling. One can only wonder what they’ll do with the final entry when the time comes.
Plus, Square Enix is dropping a remaster/remake of a certain tactics title that fans have been asking for, so the streak continues!
In the end, the companies will keep doing this so long as they think there’s a desire for them. Meanwhile, gamers might just go and play the originals because they know that they stand on their own, and that’s why many want to preserve these classics for all time.
