Most action games emphasize fast-paced, high-stake battles in which the player attempts to complete objectives in order to win and advance through the level. These games are played on platforms like computers, game consoles, mobile phones, and handheld systems.

The best known examples of the genre include Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter, Mortal العاب اكشن Kombat, and Tekken. Action games have been around for decades, but they experienced a resurgence of popularity in the mid-1990s with the release of Super Mario 64 and the debut of the PlayStation.

The action game genre originated in the 1960s, as arcade games began to be popular. They consisted of basic video games in which the player had to compete against a computer, such as Taito's Space Invaders.

A genre of games that were similar to this were shoot 'em up games, such as Atari's Asteroids. Shoot 'em up games feature fast paced, high action games with intense shooting gameplay and often a three dimensional graphics. There were a wide variety of genres that came out in the 1970s, like Pong. These games could be played on home computers, like the Apple II, or on dedicated video games consoles.