The Washington Post has officially named 'Doom,' the 1993 hit from id Software, as one of the 25 most culturally significant works in American history. Notably, it stands alone as the only video game to grace this prestigious list.

This selection arrives as a celebratory marker for America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, aiming to curate the cultural pinnacles of each era. By dividing the timeline from 1776 to 2026 into decade-long segments, the curators have pinpointed one singular cultural milestone per period.

The list is an eclectic mix, ranging from Thomas Paine’s 'Common Sense,' which arguably ignited the American Revolution, to Herman Melville’s 'Moby Dick,' the iconic denim jeans by Davis and Levi Strauss, Mark Twain’s 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' and the early Victor Talking Machine. It also includes Walt Disney’s 'Mickey Mouse,' William Anders’ iconic Earthrise photograph from the moon’s orbit, and Michael Jackson’s legendary album 'Thriller.'

Doom secured its spot as the defining entry for the 1986-1995 decade. It managed to elbow out other pop-culture titans like Amy Tan’s 'The Joy Luck Club,' Spike Lee’s 'Do the Right Thing,' 'The Simpsons,' and the sitcom 'Seinfeld.' The Washington Post notes that when id Software released a shareware version of Doom in December 1993, the game spread so aggressively across university networks that it reportedly caused server overloads and found its way onto more computers than Microsoft’s Windows 95.

The Washington Post further argues that Doom laid the essential groundwork for modern digital entertainment, introducing the 3D first-person perspective, self-distribution models, and the birth of user-generated content. While the game faced a dark chapter in 1999 as a scapegoat following the Columbine High School massacre, the report makes it abundantly clear: the tragedy was the result of a gunman’s actions, not the game itself.

Following Doom, the 1996-2005 decade was represented by the Wachowskis’ 'The Matrix' starring Keanu Reeves, while the 2006-2015 period went to 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians,' cited as the catalyst for modern influencer culture. The most recent decade is defined by Beyoncé’s album 'Lemonade.'