15 Popular Games That Were Originally Designed for Something Else
Many games we know and love today didn’t start out as entertainment. They evolved from practical tools, teaching aids, or even political statements.
The journey from original purpose to popular pastime often reveals fascinating stories about human creativity and adaptation. Here is a list of 15 popular games that were originally designed for something entirely different than what they became famous for.
Scrabble
Scrabble emerged during the Great Depression as an unemployed architect’s solution to boredom. Alfred Butts created ‘Lexiko’ and later ‘Criss-Cross Words’ after losing his job in 1931.
He designed the game by analyzing letter frequencies in publications like The New York Times. For years Butts refined his creation before entrepreneur James Brunot purchased the rights, renamed it Scrabble, and turned it into the vocabulary-building phenomenon we know today.
Minecraft
Minecraft began as a test project. Markus Persson, its creator, was experimenting with random world generation and block physics. He wasn’t aiming to make a global hit.
The game’s open-ended format started as a sandbox to test features, but its creative freedom drew in millions.
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Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike wasn’t originally a full game. It started as a fan-made mod for Half-Life by two developers looking to create a more realistic tactical shooter.
They never imagined it would become a competitive staple. But the fast pacing and teamwork mechanics gave it serious staying power.
The Sims
The Sims came from a home design simulator. Will Wright built it after losing his house in a fire. It was meant to be a digital tool for building and decorating houses.
But then he added tiny people to walk around and live in them—and that’s when things got interesting.
Chess
The strategic board game originated as a military training tool. Chess developed in India around the 6th century as ‘Chaturanga,’ designed to teach military strategy to commanders.
The pieces represented different military units with their unique movements reflecting actual battle capabilities. As the game spread through Persia into Europe, it evolved from practical training into intellectual recreation while maintaining its strategic foundations.
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World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft didn’t start as a massively multiplayer game. It was a concept born from real-time strategy roots—Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.
The team wanted a more immersive take on the fantasy world they’d built. What they made instead turned into a universe where people literally lived online.
Pong
Pong came from a training exercise. Atari engineer Allan Alcorn built it as a way to get better at making games.
His bosses told him it wasn’t for commercial release—it was just for practice. Then it got installed at a bar and people lined up for blocks to play it.
Fortnite
Fortnite was never supposed to be a battle royale. It was a co-op survival builder where players fought zombie-like creatures called Husks.
Then the developers saw the success of PUBG and added a battle royale mode almost as an afterthought. That mode exploded—and the original game faded into the background.
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League of Legends
League of Legends was inspired by a Warcraft III mod called Defense of the Ancients. That mod was used for learning map scripting and game balancing.
It was clunky and hard to access. So Riot Games turned the rough concept into a polished standalone title—and built an esports empire.
Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go came from a mapping project. Niantic had already created a real-world AR game called Ingress, which was used to encourage physical exploration.
Pokémon Go used that foundation but layered on nostalgia and Pokémon branding. Suddenly, people were wandering into cities, catching creatures with their phones.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil was meant to be a remake. Capcom planned to rebuild a 1989 horror game called Sweet Home. However, during development, the direction shifted to create something original.
What emerged was a survival-horror classic filled with puzzles, tight spaces, and viral chaos.
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Grand Theft Auto
The original idea for GTA was very different. It was supposed to be a racing game with police AI chasing players for speeding. But a bug made the police more aggressive.
Testers loved it. So developers leaned into the chaos—and crime became the core gameplay.
Rocket League
Before Rocket League, there was Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. It was part racing game, part soccer experiment.
Not many played it, but it had a small cult following. Psyonix retooled the formula, gave it a shorter name, and ended up with a hit that now hosts international tournaments.
Monopoly
Monopoly was created to demonstrate the dangers of wealth concentration. Elizabeth Magie designed ‘The Landlord’s Game’ in 1903 as an educational tool to illustrate how monopolies create economic inequality.
Her goal was to teach Georgist economic principles through gameplay. Parker Brothers later purchased and modified the concept, transforming it into the property-trading game millions enjoy today.
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Dota 2
Dota 2 was never planned as a standalone game. It came from a Warcraft III custom map.
That map was complex, hard to get into, and had no official support. But fans kept it alive, refining its mechanics.
Valve eventually stepped in, polished it up, and made it its own beast.
The Lasting Impact of Repurposed Play
Games don’t always start with the flash and polish we see today. Some are born from mistakes.
Others from experiments. What they all share is flexibility—the ability to adapt and find their place in the world.
The next big hit might be hiding in someone’s debug folder right now.
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