An action video game is a video game in which the player must use his skill and reaction time. Among the various video game genres, the action genre is the broadest and most encompassing, encompassing many sub-genres such as fighting video games, first-person shooter video games, platform video games.

While the first action video games were for the computer, much of the action video game genres became popular in the arcades, which gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. At the time, the vast majority of video games focused on challenging the player skill, which led them to adopt that short and addictive style of play that characterizes the arcade. Sports and driving themes were common, but other video games with more varied (and usually violent) themes began to form part of the action genre.