Events
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards
- March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”
- March 15-19 — Game Developers Conference (formerly Computer Game Developers Conference); moves to San Jose, California where it stays for six consecutive years; hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival
- March 15 — Gama Network hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) at GDC
- May 13-15 — 5th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3); the 2nd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3
- May 13 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (at E3); inducts Sid Meier of Firaxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
- July 3 — Gamer Billy Mitchell scores a perfect 3,333,360 points on the Pac-Man arcade game
- Team Fortress 2 is announced for release during the year, but gets delayed until 2007.
- July 21 during the Macworld Conference & Expo, Steve Jobs announced that Halo: Combat Evolved would be released for Mac OS and Windows simultaneously. Before this public announcement, game industry journalists under a non-disclosure agreement had previewed the game in a private showing during E3 1999.
Notable releases
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- January 31 - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (PC)
- January 31 - Silent Hill (PS)
- February 8 - Mario Party (N64)
- February 28 - Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance (PC)
- March 16 - EverQuest (PC)
- March 31 - RollerCoaster Tycoon (PC)
- April 10 - Warzone 2100 (PC)
- April 27 - Super Smash Bros. (N64)
- April 30 - Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (PC)
- April 30 - Star Wars: Episode I Racer (N64, PC)
- April 30 - Pokémon Stadium (N64)
- June 1 - Heroes of Might and Magic III (PC)
- June 14 - Descent³ (PC)
- June 18 - Counter-Strike (original PC MOD)
- June 30 - Kingpin: Life of Crime (PC)
- July 31 - Outcast (PC)
- August 11 - System Shock 2 (PC)
- August 27 - Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (PC)
- August 31 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (PS)
- September 7 - Sonic Adventure (DC)
- September 9 - Soulcalibur (DC)
- September 9 - Final Fantasy VIII - (PS)
- September 28 - Homeworld (PC)
- September 30 - FreeSpace 2 (PC)
- September 30 - Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (PC)
- October 11 - Jet Force Gemini (N64)
- October 31 - Half-Life: Opposing Force (PC)
- October 31 - Ultima IX: Ascension (PC)
- October 31 - Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
- October 31 - Nocturne (PC)
- November 2 - Asheron's Call (PC)
- November 9 - RollerCoaster Tycoon: Corkscrew Follies (PC)
- November 11 - Medal of Honor (PS)
- November 23 - SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle (PC)
- November 26 - Unreal Tournament (PC)
- December 2 - Quake III Arena (PC)
- December 12 - Planescape: Torment (PC)
- December 31 - Battlezone II: Combat Commander (PC)
Hardware
- Nintendo's Game Boy Light (GBL) handheld console in Japan only
- Sega Dreamcast, an Internet-ready 128-bit home console
- SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld
- Tiger Electronics Game.com Pocket Pro handheld
Business
- Activision acquires Elsinore Multimedia, Expert Software, and Neversoft Entertainment
- Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Accolade, Gremlin Interactive (renamed Infogrames Sheffield House), GT Interactive Software (GTIS), and Ozisoft
- Take-Two Interactive acquires TalonSoft
- ZeniMax Media acquires Bethesda Softworks
- 3d6 Games, Inc. founded (closes November 1, 2002)
- 7 Studios founded
- BAM! Entertainment, Inc. founded
- Bohemia Interactive Studio founded
- February 22 — "Black Monday" (or "Chainsaw Monday"): Sierra reorganizes to cut costs, closing several studios.
- April — Liquid Entertainment founded
- October — 7FX founded as subsidiary of a Czech company
Lawsuits
- Nintendo v. Bung Enterprises Ltd.; Nintendo sues Bung over patent infringement
- Sony Corporation v. Bleem LLC