Video games have grown from a single blinking dot on a lab oscilloscope into a global entertainment industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Along the way, they’ve built up decades of history, deep lore, and enough odd little facts to fill a library.
This collection of video game trivia questions and answers covers everything from beginner-friendly facts to genre-specific deep cuts. Grab a friend, keep score, and see how many you can answer without peeking.
Table of Contents
Easy Video Game Trivia Questions and Answers
These video game trivia questions cover the basics every gamer should know. They’re a great warm-up before the harder rounds.
- What year did the PlayStation 1 release in the US?
Answer: 1995. - How many Pokémon appear in the original Generation 1 games?
Answer: 151. - What is considered the first commercial arcade video game?
Answer: Computer Space (1971). - What is the best-selling video game of all time?
Answer: Minecraft, with over 300 million copies sold. - What did Nintendo make before it entered the video game industry?
Answer: Hanafuda playing cards. - What was the first video game played in space?
Answer: Tetris, on a Game Boy aboard the Mir space station. - What does “Pokémon” stand for?
Answer: Pocket Monsters. - Who is Sega’s official mascot?
Answer: Sonic the Hedgehog. - What is the best-selling game console of all time?
Answer: The PlayStation 2, with roughly 160 million units sold. - In which game did Mario first appear?
Answer: Donkey Kong (1981). - What is the name of Link’s horse in The Legend of Zelda series?
Answer: Epona. - What color is Yoshi most commonly shown as?
Answer: Green. - Who is Crash Bandicoot’s younger sister?
Answer: Coco Bandicoot. - What year did the original Mortal Kombat release?
Answer: 1992. - What is the highest-grossing arcade game of all time?
Answer: Pac-Man. - What special ability lets Kirby copy enemy powers?
Answer: His Copy ability, gained by inhaling foes. - What sword does Cloud Strife wield in Final Fantasy VII?
Answer: The Buster Sword. - What company owns Fortnite?
Answer: Epic Games. - Which sandbox game lets players mine blocks and fight zombies?
Answer: Minecraft. - What is the in-game currency used in Animal Crossing?
Answer: Bells. - What console did GoldenEye 007 release on?
Answer: Nintendo 64. - What year did the first Call of Duty game release?
Answer: 2003. - Who is the hero of The Legend of Zelda series?
Answer: Link (not Zelda, who is the princess). - What studio developed The Witcher series?
Answer: CD Projekt Red. - What color is the shell in Mario Kart that seeks out first place?
Answer: Blue. - What is Sonic the Hedgehog best known for?
Answer: His super speed. - What game series features a supersoldier named Master Chief?
Answer: Halo. - Which mobile AR game had millions of players catching creatures outdoors in 2016?
Answer: Pokémon GO. - What free-to-play battle royale lets players build structures for cover?
Answer: Fortnite. - Which puzzle game involves fitting falling blocks together?
Answer: Tetris. - What is the name of the plumber duo in the Mario games?
Answer: Mario and Luigi. - What console pioneered motion controls for mainstream gaming in 2006?
Answer: The Nintendo Wii. - What company makes the Xbox console?
Answer: Microsoft. - What massively multiplayer game is set in the world of Azeroth?
Answer: World of Warcraft. - What is the top-selling American football video game franchise?
Answer: Madden NFL. - What franchise features the Master Sword and the Triforce?
Answer: The Legend of Zelda. - Who is the main playable character in Tomb Raider?
Answer: Lara Croft. - Which open-world franchise lets players roam fictional crime-ridden cities?
Answer: Grand Theft Auto. - What elemental type is Pikachu?
Answer: Electric-type. - What company created the Nintendo Switch?
Answer: Nintendo. - What color hat does Mario traditionally wear?
Answer: Red. - What classic arcade game has a yellow circle eating dots while dodging ghosts?
Answer: Pac-Man. - What was Minecraft’s original working title before launch?
Answer: Cave Game. - What horror survival franchise is set in Raccoon City?
Answer: Resident Evil. - What does the abbreviation PS5 stand for?
Answer: PlayStation 5.
Must Visit: 75+ Fun Baby Shower Trivia Questions & Answers (Free Printable!)
Medium Video Game Trivia Questions and Answers
Ready to level up? These medium-difficulty video game trivia questions dig deeper into franchise lore, studios, and gameplay history.
- What is the name of the theme song played during the final battle against Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII?
Answer: One-Winged Angel. - What was the first home video game console ever released?
Answer: The Magnavox Odyssey, in 1972. - What was Lara Croft’s name before Core Design changed it?
Answer: Laura Cruz. - What genre is Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn?
Answer: An MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game). - What fungus turns humans into infected creatures in The Last of Us?
Answer: Cordyceps, a real-world fungus reimagined for the story. - What is Solid Snake’s real first name in the Metal Gear series?
Answer: David. - What fictional town is Life is Strange set in?
Answer: Arcadia Bay. - How many colossi appear in Shadow of the Colossus?
Answer: 16. - What Sega Dreamcast game follows teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki?
Answer: Shenmue. - What is Kratos’ signature weapon in the newer God of War games?
Answer: The Leviathan Axe. - What are the primary enemies called in the Kingdom Hearts series?
Answer: Heartless. - Who are the two playable protagonists in Resident Evil 2?
Answer: Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. - What studio develops the Dark Souls series?
Answer: FromSoftware. - How many controller ports does the Nintendo GameCube have?
Answer: Four. - What platform was the original Doom first released on?
Answer: MS-DOS. - What Fallout companion is a loyal robotic-collared dog?
Answer: Dogmeat. - What wearable computer device do players use in the Fallout series?
Answer: The Pip-Boy. - What Triforce piece does Link carry in Ocarina of Time?
Answer: The Triforce of Courage. - What giant creature helps the player character in The Last Guardian?
Answer: Trico. - What are the three starter Pokémon in Diamond and Pearl?
Answer: Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup. - Which studio developed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?
Answer: Bethesda Game Studios. - What is the primary in-game currency in Roblox?
Answer: Robux. - Which actor voices Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077?
Answer: Keanu Reeves. - What is Joker’s real name in Persona 5?
Answer: Ren Amamiya. - What does the abbreviation “PUBG” stand for?
Answer: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. - What fictional kingdom is the setting for The Legend of Zelda series?
Answer: Hyrule. - What game engine powers Fortnite and countless other major titles?
Answer: Unreal Engine. - What horror film inspired the social-deduction game Among Us?
Answer: John Carpenter’s The Thing. - Which studio created both The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises?
Answer: Bethesda Game Studios. - What is the fictional wasteland setting of Fallout 3?
Answer: The Capital Wasteland, a ruined Washington, D.C. - Who created The Sims franchise?
Answer: Game designer Will Wright. - What real card game did Blizzard spin off from the Warcraft universe?
Answer: Hearthstone. - What franchise features Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and the villain Sephiroth?
Answer: Final Fantasy VII. - What studio developed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
Answer: CD Projekt Red. - What is the default nickname for a custom Wii avatar?
Answer: Mii. - What animal is Sonic the Hedgehog based on?
Answer: A hedgehog. - Which Nintendo console flopped commercially and gave players headaches from its all-red display?
Answer: The Virtual Boy. - Who is the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed II?
Answer: Ezio Auditore. - How many swords does Geralt of Rivia typically carry in The Witcher games?
Answer: Two — one steel, one silver. - Which country banned English-language esports terms from official government use in 2022?
Answer: France. - Which racing simulator markets itself as “the real driving simulator”?
Answer: Gran Turismo. - What Animal Crossing character is a nocturnal, museum-curating owl?
Answer: Blathers. - What franchise’s first game was set on PlayStation and centers on the T-Virus outbreak?
Answer: Resident Evil. - What EA franchise let players explore Wakanda in an announced open-world title?
Answer: A Black Panther game. - What company owns and publishes World of Warcraft?
Answer: Blizzard Entertainment.
Hard Video Game Trivia Questions and Answers
Time to separate the casuals from the true experts. These hard video game trivia questions dive into deep-cut history, records, and industry facts.
- What was the first video game to include downloadable content (DLC)?
Answer: Total Annihilation, released in 1997. - What is widely considered the first horror video game?
Answer: Haunted House, released for the Magnavox Odyssey in 1982. - Who originally owned the Buster Sword in Final Fantasy VII lore, before Cloud?
Answer: Angeal Hewley. - How many unique Power Moons can be collected in Super Mario Odyssey?
Answer: 880. - What was Spyro the Dragon originally going to be named?
Answer: Pete. - What was the US launch price of the Game Boy Color?
Answer: $69.99. - When was the Atari 2600 officially discontinued?
Answer: January 1, 1990. - Who holds the Guinness World Record for the largest private video game collection?
Answer: Antonio Romero Monteiro, with more than 24,000 games. - What job did Game Boy inventor Gunpei Yokoi originally hold at Nintendo?
Answer: Maintenance work on the factory floor, before moving into toy design. - Which band earned more from Guitar Hero licensing deals than from any single album?
Answer: Aerosmith. - Who was the youngest esports player to become a millionaire from one tournament?
Answer: Jaden “Wolfiez” Ashman, age 15, at the Fortnite World Cup. - What is the best-selling Wii U game of all time?
Answer: Mario Kart 8. - Which video game holds the record for the most collectibles packed into a single title?
Answer: Donkey Kong 64, with 3,821 collectibles. - What animal was Yoshi originally designed to resemble before he became a dinosaur?
Answer: A horse. - According to widely cited estimates, roughly how much larger is Minecraft’s generated map than Earth’s surface?
Answer: Several times larger — some estimates put it at more than eight times the surface area of Earth. - What is a group of Endermen officially called in Minecraft?
Answer: A haunting. - What game is widely regarded as the worst video game ever made?
Answer: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600. - How many copies of Wii Sports have sold worldwide?
Answer: Roughly 83 million, making it one of the best-selling games ever. - How many total games were released for the Virtual Boy?
Answer: 22. - Who is known in the industry as “The Father of the PlayStation”?
Answer: Ken Kutaragi. - What was Sega’s mascot before Sonic the Hedgehog?
Answer: A spaceship named Opa-Opa. - When was Google Stadia officially discontinued?
Answer: January 18, 2023. - What classic puzzle game has been ported to more platforms than any other video game?
Answer: Tetris. - Which game holds the record for the most possible endings in a single title?
Answer: Star Ocean: Second Evolution, with 100 endings. - What was Minecraft called during its earliest development phase?
Answer: Cave Game. - What is considered the earliest known mobile phone game?
Answer: A version of Tetris, ported to early Hagenuk mobile handsets. - Which home console was the first to feature proper built-in internet capability?
Answer: The Sega Dreamcast. - What was the first video game to feature a real in-game save system?
Answer: The original Legend of Zelda (1986). - Who built Tennis for Two, widely credited as one of the earliest true video games, in 1958?
Answer: Physicist William Higinbotham at Brookhaven National Laboratory. - What esports tournament holds the record for the largest single prize pool ever awarded?
Answer: The International (Dota 2), which has topped $40 million. - What year was Sega founded, decades before it made its first video game?
Answer: 1960. - What well-known family restaurant chain did Atari founder Nolan Bushnell also start?
Answer: Chuck E. Cheese’s. - How many playable characters were in the original Super Smash Bros. (1999)?
Answer: 12. - Which NES cartridge shipped bundled with Duck Hunt on the same disc as Super Mario Bros.?
Answer: The original Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt combo cart. - Roughly what is the current world record speedrun time for the original Super Mario Bros.?
Answer: Under five minutes — close to 4 minutes and 54 seconds.
Video Game Trivia Questions by Genre
Beyond difficulty, video game trivia questions and answers can also be sorted by genre. This section groups questions by the style of game, so fans of a specific type can jump straight to their favorite category.
Retro Arcade Trivia Questions and Answers
- What food inspired the visual design of Pac-Man?
Answer: A pizza missing one slice. - What was Mario’s original job and name before Donkey Kong made him a plumber?
Answer: A carpenter named “Jumpman.” - What 1981 arcade game features a frog crossing roads and rivers to reach home?
Answer: Frogger. - What alien-shooting arcade game helped ignite the golden age of arcades in 1978?
Answer: Space Invaders. - What are the names of the four ghosts that chase Pac-Man?
Answer: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. - What arcade racer popularized the sit-down driving cabinet in the early 1980s?
Answer: Pole Position. - What classic Atari game has players collecting treasure while dodging quicksand and crocodiles?
Answer: Pitfall!
RPG and Simulation Trivia Questions and Answers
- What life-simulation franchise lets players build and control virtual households?
Answer: The Sims. - Which numbered Final Fantasy game introduced Noctis and his friends traveling by car?
Answer: Final Fantasy XV. - What farming and life-sim indie game became a massive hit after one developer built it solo?
Answer: Stardew Valley. - What Bethesda fantasy RPG franchise includes Skyrim as its fifth mainline entry?
Answer: The Elder Scrolls. - Which Nintendo game lets players fish, catch bugs, and slowly pay off a home loan to a raccoon?
Answer: Animal Crossing. - What 2023 RPG, based on Dungeons & Dragons rules, became Larian Studios’ biggest critical success?
Answer: Baldur’s Gate 3. - What city-building simulation franchise, launched in 1989, put players in charge of urban planning?
Answer: SimCity.
Action, Shooter, and Battle Royale Trivia Questions and Answers
- What 1993 first-person shooter set the technical template modern shooters still follow?
Answer: Doom. - What sci-fi shooter series follows a supersoldier called Master Chief battling an alien alliance?
Answer: Halo. - Which battle royale game blends building mechanics with last-player-standing combat?
Answer: Fortnite. - What long-running military shooter franchise released its very first title in 2003?
Answer: Call of Duty. - What 2019 battle royale game is set in the same universe as Titanfall?
Answer: Apex Legends. - What open-world action RPG combines soulslike combat with a fantasy world designed alongside George R.R. Martin?
Answer: Elden Ring. - What stealth-action franchise follows twin operatives Solid Snake and Liquid Snake?
Answer: Metal Gear Solid.
Sports and Racing Game Trivia Questions and Answers
- What football video game franchise was originally titled “John Madden Football”?
Answer: Madden NFL. - What racing franchise features real-world drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt across day-and-night tracks?
Answer: NASCAR. - What golf video game franchise is named after a famous professional golfer?
Answer: Tiger Woods PGA Tour. - What racing simulator brands itself as delivering the most realistic driving experience possible?
Answer: Gran Turismo. - Which kart-racing franchise features power-ups like the homing blue shell?
Answer: Mario Kart. - What year did EA release its first FIFA football (soccer) video game?
Answer: 1993. - What basketball simulation series lets players build custom rosters and play as real NBA teams?
Answer: NBA 2K.
FAQs
What are some good video game trivia questions?
Good video game trivia questions mix well-known facts (best-selling games, iconic characters) with lesser-known details (release dates, developer history, and franchise origin stories). A strong mix keeps both casual players and hardcore gamers engaged.
What are the top 10 trivia games?
Popular platforms for playing trivia include Sporcle, FunTrivia, Nibble, Kahoot!, Trivia Crack, HQ Trivia-style apps, QuizUp, Jackbox Party Pack’s trivia titles, ProProfs Quiz Maker, and Water Cooler Trivia. Each offers a different style, from solo quizzes to live multiplayer competitions.
What are 10 interesting facts about video games?
A few standouts: Minecraft is the best-selling game ever, Tetris was the first game played in space, Mario’s mustache exists because early hardware couldn’t render a clear mouth, Sega was founded decades before making its first game, the PS2 is the best-selling console in history, Aerosmith earned more from Guitar Hero than album sales, the Nintendo Wii sparked the motion-control era, Pac-Man’s design was inspired by pizza, esports prize pools now reach tens of millions, and Nolan Bushnell of Atari also founded Chuck E. Cheese’s.
What was the first video game ever?
Most historians credit Tennis for Two, built by physicist William Higinbotham in 1958, as one of the earliest true video games. Pong, released commercially in 1972, is often cited as the first commercially successful video game.
Who is the most famous video game character?
Mario is widely regarded as the most recognizable video game character in the world, appearing in more games than almost any other character since his 1981 debut in Donkey Kong.
Conclusion
From arcade pizza-ghosts to record-breaking esports prize pools, gaming’s history is packed with surprises. However many of these video game trivia questions you answered correctly, you now know a little more about the industry behind your favorite games.
William Vicky is the lead writer and trivia curator at Trivia Questioners, with a passion for uncovering fascinating facts across history, science, pop culture, and general knowledge. He loves crafting questions that challenge and delight readers of all ages.
