Top 16 Books About Video Games Updated 04 /2024

In the past, I've talked about good fiction books to read if you like video games. But what if you're more interested in the medium as a whole? People have written a lot of books about the video game industry that are not stories. List of 10 best books about the history of video games:

Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier

Many of these books are about things that happened a long time ago. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier talks about a lot of modern-day games and how much work it takes to make them, whether they're indie or big-name. He talks about how unsustainable that might be for the industry as a whole. There are stories about games like Destiny, Diablo 3, and Dragon Age: Inquisition in here. All of them are worth reading.

The History of the Future by Blake J. Harris

It's hard to write about a new part of the game industry that is still developing as we speak, but that's what Blake J. Harris is going to try to do in his follow-up to the hit game Console Wars. It's called "The History of the Future," and in it, Harris talks about Oculus and VR pioneer Palmer Luckey. He talks about how Luckey went from being a kid who made things with technology to selling his company for a lot of money.

Masters of Doom by David Kushner

Masters of Doom by David Kushner is one of the best video game history books ever. It talks about how the most famous FPS of all time was made and how it changed the way people played games. A story about how these young geniuses made games like Doom and Quake.

Jacked: The Outlaw Story Of Grand Theft Auto by David Kushner

Another book by David Kushner looked into the history of Grand Theft Auto, one of the most infamous games ever made and also one of the best-selling. There are a lot of things to know about Rockstar, and this book talks about everything about Grand Theft Auto from its beginnings to its controversies, like "Hot Coffee." Since GTA 5 came out in 2012, you won't hear about how it set a record for sales. It may be time for a follow-up.

Stay Awhile and Listen by David L. Craddock

Check out David L. Craddock's book about the making of one of the best video games of all time if you like Diablo as much as I do, and if that's the case for you as well. With the game Diablo 4 coming out in the next few years or so, this is even more true.

Console Wars by Blake J. Harris

As someone who likes video games, you might not expect a book in this genre to be "thrilling," but that's what Blake Harris does in this story about the battle between Nintendo and SEGA in the 1990s, which is a must-read for anyone who likes games. Harris writes in a way that makes you feel like you're in the room as these conversations happen.

The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent

The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent is a good place to start if you want to learn more about video games as a medium. It includes a lot of different games. It talks about how the entertainment industry started out and how it grew to become the most important in the world in the early days.

Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World by David Sheff

Those who are fans of Nintendo should read Game Over, which tells the story of how Nintendo went from being a simple playing card company to being the best video game company in the world. These two books are great together because they focus on the SEGA race a lot.

Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life by Chris Kohler

Only a small part of Japanese gaming is Nintendo. Chris Kohler's book is for you if you want to learn more about that country and its video games in more depth. Everyone from Shigeru Miyamoto to Hideo Kojima gives their thoughts in this book, and it's a good read for people who like video games.

Replay: The History of Video Games by Tristan Donovan

One of the best ways to learn more about the history of gaming is to look at this one. It includes comments from people like Nolan Bushnell, Will Wright, John Romero, and Hironobu Sakaguchi, who made Final Fantasy. There are a lot of good ideas in this book, and it's a good book to read with some of the other classics above.

We Are Watching Eliza Bright By A.e. Osworth

AE Osworth has written a new thriller about the video game industry. They talk about gender in the video game industry right away. The main character in the book We Are Watching ELiza is living her dream of becoming a video game coder. Then a person at the popular video game company she works for sexually harasses her, which makes her even more angry. So, Eliza tells her story to a journalist, who then posts it all over the internet. When she is harassed by other gamers, it comes back at her right away. But it's not just people who are on the internet who do this. Eliza thinks someone is following her.

Firebreak By Nicole Kornher-stace

This new science fiction book is like a mix of Ready Player One and Black Mirror. In the near future, two corporations have split up the 45 states that make up the United States of America. This is how it works: Mallory watches a lot of war game SecOops instead of getting involved in the chaos around her. But then she takes on a side job where she's trying to link a real missing girl to one of the SecOps characters, and Mal finds herself in the kind of danger she's only seen in the game now.

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