1998 in video gaming

Events

* Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame
* BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards
* 4th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 1st annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
* Game One channel (subsidiary of Canalplus); Infogrames Entertainment SA and Canal+ launch the Game One television channel

Notable releases

* January 21 – "Resident Evil 2" (PS1)
* February 28 – "Tekken 3" (PS1)
* March 29 – "Parasite Eve" (PS1)
* March 31 – "StarCraft" (Win)
* April 30 - "Panzer Dragoon Saga" (Sat)
* May 6 – "" (Win)
* May 22 – "Unreal" (Win)
* August 21 – "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" (Win)
* August 31 - "I-War (Independence War)" (Win)
* September 3 – "Metal Gear Solid" (PS1)
* September 30 – "Fallout 2" (Win)
* September 30 – "Pokémon Red" and "Blue" (GB)
* October 20 – "Xenogears" (PS1)
* October 30 – "Grim Fandango" (Win)
* October 31 – "" (Win)
* October 31 – "SiN" (Win)
* November 20 – "Half-Life" (Win)
* November 21 – "" (N64)
* November 30 – "" (Win)
* November 30 – "" (Win)
* November 30 – "" (Win)
* November 30 – "Baldur's Gate" (Win)
* December 10 – "" (N64)
* December 20 – "" (Win)

Hardware

* Bandai's WonderSwan handheld in Japan
* Majesco Sales Inc.'s Genesis 3 home console
* Nintendo:
** Game Boy Color (GBC) handheld console
** Camera & Printer accessories for the Game Boy handheld console
* Sega's NAOMI arcade system board and Dreamcast home console
* SNK's Neo Geo Pocket (NGP) handheld

Business

* Activision acquires CD Contact Data and Head Game Publishing
* Eidos Interactive acquires Crystal Dynamics
* Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Virgin Studio and Westwood Studios, Inc.
* Hasbro, Inc. acquires Atari Corporation (from JTS Corp.), Microprose, and Tiger Electronics
* JTS Corp. (Atari Corporation) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
* BreakAway Games, Ltd. founded
* Elixir Studios Ltd. formed
* Lego Media established by LEGO Group
* Metro3D, Inc. founded
* Rockstar Games founded
* Square Co., Ltd. and Electronic Arts form Square Electronic Arts LLC to publish a wealth of Square Co., Ltd. titles in the U.S.
* Sunrise Interactive founded
* Troika Games founded
* WildTangent, Inc. founded