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Video Games You Never Knew Were Based on a True Story

Lots of games are based on true stories. Like JFK Reloaded — that guy really existed! Here’s some other games you may not have realized are based on things that happened in real life.

BioShock Infinite

Somehow, some way, this game is bafflingly a retelling of the Bay of Pigs disaster

Super Mario Galaxy

Based on the infamous incident at NASA where a plumber mistook a space shuttle for a bathroom and was accidentally jettisoned into space

The Last of Us

This game was accidentally based on true events that will happen in the year 2068

Crazy Taxi

The iconic driving series’ creator Stephen Frost has openly admitted the games are based on a taxi ride he once took that, while not expressly crazy, was at least slightly over the speed limit

Skyrim

Every single event in this game actually, literally happened to Todd Howard

Call of Duty

Fans of the shooter series were crushed to learn that war is a real thing that has killed millions of people

Ms. Pac-Man 

The arcade staple is a tribute to creator Turo Iwatani’s mother, who in 1980 was murdered by a ghost. 

The Oregon Trail 

This PC classic about a trek through America rife with violence and disease was based on Motley Crue’s highly successful 1981-1982 “Boys in Action” tour. 

Contra 

Though largely assumed to be generally based on action movies from the ‘80s, this Konami classic was actually inspired by the oft forgotten initial Vietnam War strategy that saw America just dropping two guys in there and hoping for the best.

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