10 Most Important Video Game Easter Eggs Of ALL TIME

by Joe Pring

1. The Konami Code

Contra Konami Code
Konami

What began as a simple cheat code in 1986's Gradius would ultimately become gaming's greatest Easter egg, bar none. Of all the entries on this list, The Konami Code is the only one to have transcended its native medium and infiltrated mainstream pop culture. The input (up up down down left right left right B A) has become synonymous with and popularised the concept of cheats, been referenced by global institutions (inputting the code on WWF-UK's website is a great one), and paid homage to more times than anyone can count.

Fortunately for everyone that isn't Konami, the code can't be copyrighted, meaning it's cropped up in places you'd least expect over the years. Epic Games locking a minigame behind the string of inputs in Fortnite is the most high-profile example, but other contemporaries include BioShock Infinite, Tetris, Dead by Daylight and pretty much anything published by its namesake.

If you've got time to burn on the internet today, satisfy your inner procrastination demon and go wild with this list.

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Contributor

Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.