The Best Documentaries About Video Games

Ranker Film
Updated August 11, 2023 624 votes 186 voters
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Documentaries About Video Games
Voting Rules
Documentaries about video games and gaming culture.

Oh the life of a gamer. Who doesn’t have a childhood that involved playing video games well into the wee hours of the night? If you’re a serious gamer there are a variety of documentaries out there that tackle the history of video games, celebrate the classics like Street Fighter and the Atari, and even take a close look at the concepts behind fan favorite video games. This list of the best documentaries about video games has something for every kind of gamer.

What are the best documentaries about video games out there? See below and remember the good old days when the first batches of Nintendo’s and Sega systems came out. Back then, the graphics seemed absolutely amazing; now technology has shifted us into realistic graphics that we never imagined could be possible twenty years ago! The documentaries on this list look at many different aspects of the video game industry, including the history behind games and gaming systems, looking into the lives of serious gamers and covering different video game conventions and competitions.

This list has the best video game documentaries, including: Thanks For Playing, Chinatown Fair: A Documentary, Rise of the Video Game and Second Skin. Vote for your favorite documentaries today and add any not included.
Most divisive: Get Lamp
Ranked by
  • Atari: Game Over
    1

    Atari: Game Over

    Zak Penn
    31 votes
    • Actors: Zak Penn, Joe Lewandowski, Robert Rentschler, Paul Sanchez
    • Released: 2014
  • Indie Game: The Movie
    2

    Indie Game: The Movie

    Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky
    38 votes
    • Actors: Jonathan Blow, Phil Fish, Edmund McMillen
    • Released: 2012
    Indie Game: The Movie is a 2012 documentary film by Canadian filmmakers James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot. The film documents the struggles of independent game developers Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes during the development of Super Meat Boy, Phil Fish during the development of Fez, and also Jonathan Blow, who reflects on the success of Braid. After two successful Kickstarter funds, interviews were conducted with prominent indie developers within the community. After recording over 300 hours of footage, Swirsky and Pajot decided to cut the movie down to follow the four developers selected. Their reasoning behind this was to show game development in the "past, present and future" tenses through each individual's story.
  • The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
    3
    • Actors: Steve Wiebe, Mark Alpiger, Walter Day, Steve Sanders, Robert Mruczek
    • Released: 2007
    Named "Video Game Player of the Century" in 1999, Billy Mitchell sets a record score in "Donkey Kong" that many felt would never be broken. In 2003 Steve Wiebe, who has recently lost his job, learns about the record, sets out to beat it and does. So both men embark on a cross-country battle for inclusion in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records as the supreme king of the electronic game.

    Available On:

    free

  • Video Games: the Movie
    4

    Video Games: the Movie

    Jeremy Snead
    28 votes
    • Released: 2014
    Through interviews with developers, publishers and consumers, filmmaker Jeremy Snead examines video game history and culture and how the games are consumed.

    Available On:

  • Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
    5

    Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade

    Lincoln Ruchti
    18 votes
    • Released: 2007
    Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade is a documentary film directed by Lincoln Ruchti about the golden age of video arcade games. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival and has also been shown at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as other film festivals.

    Available On:

    free

  • Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters
    6
    • Released: 2011
    Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters is a 2011 American documentary film that follows the lives of several gamers from around the country as they prepare to compete in the 2010 Classic Tetris World Championship held in Los Angeles, California. It recounts the development and rise of Tetris as one of the most-played video games of all-time, the role it has played in shaping the lives of the gamers it chronicles, the mystery surrounding the whereabouts of former Nintendo World Champion Thor Aackerlund, and the conception & execution of the first ever Classic Tetris World Championship by gaming enthusiast Robin Mihara. The film was directed by Adam Cornelius and screened at over 15 film festivals both domestic and internationally, beginning with its World Premiere at the Austin Film Festival on October 21, 2011 and including an appearance at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the largest film festival of its kind. It debuted on DVD and Video On Demand on August 21, 2012. An expanded version of the film's soundtrack from composer Chris Pickolick has also been released.

    Available On:

    free