July 17, 2026, 2:55 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Even though many still refuse to acknowledge it (including some within the industry itself), video games have long established themselves as an influential cultural asset. The medium is more successful and significant than ever and has already produced countless classics. Yet now, the well-known classic “Doom” has been uniquely honored.
“Doom” Honored as Historically Influential
The background is a recently published list by the Washington Post for this year’s 250th anniversary of the USA. This list includes what the renowned paper considers the 25 most influential works of American culture that have significantly shaped society there and from which a kind of development of the country can be derived.
For each decade since American independence, the “Post” selected a significant cultural product. Included are the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” (for the decade 1806-1815), the book “Moby Dick” (1846-1855), Mickey Mouse (1926-1935), and also “Doom” (1986-1996).
4 of the Best Action Games for Intense Hours
Bizarre! These Absurd Devices Can Run “Doom”
Pioneering Yet Misunderstood
There are several reasons for the inclusion of “Doom” alongside the U.S. national anthem and other major works of U.S. history. Id Software’s decision in 1993 to make parts of the game available for free over the Internet led to a massive fan surge. Entire university networks crashed. At one point, the game was even installed on more computers than Windows 95.
For the “Post,” this represented an early form of user-generated content, long before the term even emerged. Moreover, programmer John Carmack provided digital tools for fans to get creative themselves. The technical innovations and significance for the video game medium as a whole, but especially for first-person shooters, are also important aspects.
“Doom’s” influence and legacy also have their dark sides. In the mid-1990s, the U.S. military used “Doom II” for training. After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, “Doom” was scapegoated alongside other media. This sparked a wave of recurring debates about the alleged influence of such games–debates that also took place in Germany under the political term “killer games.”
“Doom” Remains a Milestone
Despite all controversies, “Doom” remains an exceptional phenomenon in the world of computer and video games, with its appreciation only growing. In addition to the Washington Post list, the Library of Congress, one of the largest and most significant libraries in the world, has included the music of “Doom” in the National Recording Registry this year. Thus, the soundtrack is also considered particularly important and worth preserving.
Also of interest: 4 of the Best Action Games for Sweaty Hours
The “Doom” franchise itself is unstoppable. It was rebooted in 2016, and “Doom: The Dark Ages,” released in 2025, is the latest installment with great success. But the original “Doom” from 1993 still enjoys great popularity, especially among tinkerers. The list of absurd devices on which “Doom” is playable has been growing for a long time, and there’s no end in sight.