Video game art refers to the idea of treating video games as art, as well as artistic practices that use games as a subject or medium. Since the 2000s, this field has been shaped by the question, “Can games be art?” A major flashpoint came in 2005, when film critic Roger Ebert argued that video games could never be art. His claim drew strong responses from game creators and critics, who countered that games are still a developing medium and may eventually mature into art.
The debate centers on the fact that games have scores, rules, goals, and victory conditions, and require active player interaction. From Ebert’s perspective, this makes them fundamentally different from traditional art forms associated with a single artistic vision. At the same time, the 21st century saw video games gain increasing recognition through indie game culture, museum exhibitions, and academic research. In these contexts, games began to be discussed as part of visual art and media art.
Within media art, the genealogy of game-related art is broader than simply “video games entering museums.” It includes 1970s–80s interactive art, 1990s–2000s mod and hacker art, tactical interventions in online games, and later practices that use game engines for image-making, world generation, and simulation. Based on the provided context, the term covers both the struggle for artistic legitimacy and the artistic use of games themselves.