Sports

Artificial intelligence ranks the best sports games of all time

By Adam Thompson Lindys Sports

Updated May 30, 2026 8:37 AM

What's the best sports video game of all-time? Ask 100 people, get 25 different answers.

But we don't have time to ask 100 people. This is 2025, and we're all just doing what we can. But we can ask AI – and it'll tell us in mere seconds.

So I asked ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Grok for "The Top 10 greatest sports video games of all time, ranked."

Only three games were chosen in the Top 10 in all three programs. One particular classic was chosen in the Top 3 of each list. Before looking, can you guess what it was?

Here are the selections:

Best Sports Video Games: Honorable Mention

A total of 10 video games received a vote from one of the AI systems, but not from the other two. That's not counting the answer of "entire FIFA series" by Copilot. Try a little harder, Microsoft.

Copilot did get more creative in its other answers, however. Football Manager 2012 was the only PC game selected (4th). It also chose the only pro wrestling entrant, choosing the 2000 game WWF No Mercy (5th), available on N64.

Chat GPT was the only bot to choose NFL 2K5 (3rd), FIFA 2021 (5th), Rocket League (7th) and SSX 3 (9th), a snowboarding game from 2003.

Grok chose FIFA 2013 (6th), Fight Night Champion from 2011 (8th), NFL Street 2 (9th) and NCAA Football 2014 (10th).

Now, here are the Top 8 sports video games of all time, based on the bots who weren't around when any of them were released.

Artificial intelligence ranked the top sports video games of all time. Photo by Sara D. Davis on Getty Images

8. NHL '94 (1993)

The hockey classic on Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo defined the genre and set the template for essentially every hockey game since. It's arcade-style fun but with a real simulation style options made it well ahead of its time.

7. MVP Baseball 2005 (2005)

Everything was taken to a new level on the diamond with this game, on PS2, Xbox and other consoles. It added a dynasty mode that no other game had matched to that date, detailed pitching mechanics and in-game strategies that simply didn't exist before.

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6. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (1994)

Over 30 years later, you can still find versions of this game at Dave & Busters and other arcades. It was available on all consoles and introduced us to the "on fire" moments and multiplayer action, turning NBA stars into on-court superheroes.

5. NBA 2K11 (2010)

"The gold standard for basketball sims," declared Grok, which made this its No. 1 sports game ever. It still has a nostalgic and dedicated group of gamers for its deep Association mode and the inclusion of Michael Jordan.

4. Wii Sports (2006)

It was the first really inclusive sports game and took over the world for a brief bit, selling over 80 million copies. It looks crude now, but it was revolutionary at the time and a huge party game, with bowling, tennis, golf and boxing. It served as the inspiration for the next generation of gaming.

3. Madden NFL 2005 (2004)

The massive football franchise blew things out of the water with this edition's improvements, including the Hit Stick, massive playbooks, better realism on contact and an all-inclusive franchise mode. Over 20 years later, it's still the benchmark that other team sports games attempt to emulate.

2. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (1987)

Do you know who King Hippo and Super Macho Man are? Of course you do, because this Nintendo benchmark created as many memorable side characters as any game ever has. It was simple to play but incorporated dexterity and strategy, and of course had one of the most iconic final bosses of all time.

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (2000)

Previous skateboarding games were just about causing havoc and doing tricks. Tony Hawk's franchise went above and beyond in 2000 and it was ranked in the Top 3 of all three AI lists. There was a career mode, a Create-A-Trick, an easy two-button system that made it universally able to use. Musical superstars were borne from its still-iconic soundtrack.

It became not just a fun game to play, but a cultural staple. Not bad for an action sports video game.

This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 8:14 AM.