2002 in video gaming

## Events

* Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Will Wright of Maxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
* BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) holds 5th annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award
* Big Fish Games is founded with Paul Thelen as the only employee.
* 8th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
* Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character
* G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel
* Gama Network hosts the 4th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
* Game Developers Conference hosts the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards
* SEGA establishes the Sega Mobile division to develop, produce, and distribute video games for mobile phones and PDAs; establishes the Sega.com Business Solutions division to service video game developers and publishers
* Rockstar Games embroiled in controversy for its *Grand Theft Auto III* and *Grand Theft Auto: Vice City* video games
* March 22 — *The Sims* overtakes *Myst* as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units
* July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 3rd annual Executive Summit

### Business

* January 2 – Cyberactive Media, publishers of GameWeek, is closed down.
* February 19 — Sierra Entertainment, Inc. renamed from Sierra On-Line
* May 10 — Tiwak renamed from Yeti Interactive
* November 15 — Xbox Live, the largest online network for video game consoles is launched.
* November 26 — Squaresoft and Enix announces a fusion. The new name is Square Enix.
* Activision acquires Luxoflux Corporation, Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Shaba Games LLC, and Z-Axis Ltd.
* Empire Interactive PLC acquires eJay AG (renamed eJay Entertainment GmbH)
* Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Eden Studios and Shiny Entertainment
* Microsoft acquires Rare Ltd.
* PCCW: Jaleco USA merges with its VR1 Entertainment (renamed Jaleco Entertainment) division
* Sony Corporation acquires Aiwa Corporation
* Vivendi Universal acquires Massive Entertainment
* Bankrupt/Defunct: Encore Software, Inc. (assets acquired by Navarre Corporation)
* .400 Software Studios founded
* Realtime Worlds Founded by David Jones

### Notable releases

North American release dates:

* February 22 - *Jet Set Radio Future* (Xbox)
* March 4 - *Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3* (GBA, Xbox)
* March 26 - *Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast* (PC)
* March 31 - *Dungeon Siege* (PC)
* April 30 - *Resident Evil Remake* (GC)
* May 2 - *The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind* (PC)
* May 16 - *Final Fantasy XI* (Japan) (PS2)
* May 20 - *Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix* (PC)
* June 1 - *The House of the Dead III* (Arcade)
* June 6 - *The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind* (Xbox)
* June 16 - *Neverwinter Nights* (PC)
* July 3 - *Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos* (PC)
* August 19 - *Medieval: Total War* (PC)
* August 25 - *Super Mario Sunshine* (GC)
* August 25 - *Super Monkey Ball 2* (GC)
* August 27 - *SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs* (PS2)
* August 28 - *Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven* (PC)
* September 10 - *Battlefield 1942* (PC)
* September 15 - *Animal Crossing* (GC)
* September 17 - *Kingdom Hearts* (PS2)
* September 23 - *Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus* (PS2)
* September 23 - *Tekken 4* (PS2)
* September 30 - *No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)*
* October 9 - *TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)*
* October 22 - *Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance* (Xbox)
* October 27 - *Grand Theft Auto: Vice City* (PS2)
* November 1 - *Age of Mythology* (PC)
* November 4 - *Ratchet & Clank* (PS2)
* November 6 - *The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal* (PC)
* November 10 - *Resident Evil 0* (GC)
* November 11 - *MechAssault* (Xbox)
* November 15 - *Metroid Prime* (GC)
* November 18 - *Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance* (GC)
* November 18 - *Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell* (Xbox)
* November 20 - *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance* (PS2, Xbox, GBA)
* December 13 - *The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker* (Japan) (GC)