Who are the mascots of PC gaming?
I recently read a thread elsewhere that says one big reason for Nintendo’s enduring popularity is their use of mascots: Mario, Link, Kirby, and Samus. But I have to say, PC gaming has its own mascots too. And if you grew up on PC gaming, you know exactly who I’m talking about. To me, these are the most obvious PC gaming mascots:
Sir Graham
Sierra’s signature character. He’s the protagonist of King’s Quest, the game that pretty much “made” PC gaming. If you’ve ever typed “look at tree” only to die instantly, you know this guy.
Guybrush Threepwood
For a good long time, the Monkey Island series was the jewel of PC adventure games, and Guybrush was the poster child. For an entire generation of smart-alecks, Guybrush was what made pointing and clicking actually cool.
Commander Keen
PC’s answer to Mario, but with a football helmet and a pogo stick. If you played Keen, you knew that saving the galaxy could happen in between spelling homework and dinner. The alien menace never stood a chance.
Duke Nukem
Duke started out as just another run-and-gun guy, but Duke Nukem 3-D turned him into a legend. Those one-liners were the soundtrack of every ‘90s gaming session. If your parents ever walked in at the wrong time, you know exactly which line I mean.
B.J. Blazkowicz
Possibly the oldest mascot here, since Wolfenstein dates back to 1981. But it was Wolfenstein 3-D where B.J. got a face and a vendetta. He’s been fighting Nazis since before most of us knew what a floppy disk was.
Jill of the Jungle
Jill is the game that put Epic on the map. She was Epic’s answer to Commander Keen, and while the graphics weren’t exactly cutting edge, the level design made up for it. Plus, Jill could turn into a bird. That never gets old.
Doomguy
Probably the most recognizable of the bunch. When people think of PC gaming, Doomguy’s battered face at the bottom of the screen is what flashes in their mind. Doom is forever, and so is the guy with the shotgun.
Gordon Freeman
For a whole generation, Half-Life is PC gaming. Gordon Freeman in that orange hazard suit, holding his crowbar, is basically the Valve logo in human form. He never says a word and still manages to be iconic.
Vault Boy
You don’t actually play as Vault Boy, but he’s everywhere in Fallout. His little thumbs-up and cheesy grin follow you from the vault to the wasteland. With the TV series, he’s basically mainstream now. No mascot is more cheerful about the end of the world.
Kerrigan
The Zerg Queen of Blades herself. If you’re into Starcraft—and millions are—Kerrigan is the face you remember. Blizzard made her the ultimate badass, and she wears it well.
Geralt of Rivia
Geralt first found fame on PC. The original Witcher didn’t even get a console port, so for a while Geralt was our little secret. Now he’s everywhere, but if you played those early games, he still feels like a PC icon.
Chell
Portal’s silent protagonist. You only ever see her in reflections or through portals, but somehow she sticks in your memory anyway. If there’s ever a Hall of Fame for “quietly iconic,” Chell gets a spot.
Faith Connors
Maybe not as famous as some others here, but Faith deserves her place. Mirror’s Edge is the best first-person parkour you’ll ever play, and Faith’s red glove and city-leaping acrobatics are instantly memorable.
Madeline
Celeste is one of the greatest indie platformers ever made, and Madeline is what makes it work. She’s determined, stubborn, and endlessly relatable. I’ve never wanted to climb a mountain so much in my life.
Goose
The newest mascot, but maybe the most beloved. Untitled Goose Game turned one honking bird into the hero none of us expected but all of us needed. An awkward bird never looked so adorable.
So there you have it: the PC gaming mascot hall of fame. They may not have a theme park, but let’s be honest, nobody’s ever wanted to watch Mario lock eyes with Doomguy at the breakfast table. The world just isn’t ready for that much star power in one room.
Most that you included aren’t really associated with PC anymore though. Geralt, Doomguy, Vault boy, BJ Blazkowicz etc are very popular on consoles too. The only one I would say qualifies for real would be Gordon Freeman, since half-life is usually referred to as one of the great PC classics.
Even then outside of expansions and the VR exclusive Alyx half life has been on consoles.
Even Half Life 1 was on PS2.
On top of that, the last 3 I’d say were never really PC specific to begin with.
Sure, a lot of these characters have gone multiplatform. But let’s be real, they’ll always have PC in their blood.
Doomguy was fragging demons on a beige tower long before he set foot on a console. Geralt was busy crashing Windows installs before he ever picked up a PlayStation trophy. Vault Boy practically has “runs best on PC” stamped on his forehead. Console gamers might have visiting rights now, but these mascots grew up in the wild west of PC gaming, and that’s where their roots (and all the weird mods) are.
And honestly, you can play Mario games on PC too—emulation is a thing—but everyone still thinks of Mario as a Nintendo icon. Same logic applies here. PC or bust.
Define “long.” I disagree with the Doomguy proposal explicitly, because Doom appeared on the Sega 32x in November of 1994 which was barely a year after the initial PC release. One of the defining aspects of gaming in the mid '90s was the monumentally cynical gold rush of trying to cram Doom onto any damn fool console as fast as possible, in a vain attempt to capture part of the lightning and make those sales. And until the Playstation and arguably the N64, every attempt failed spectacularly in various ways.
The definitive Doom experience remaining locked to the PC for those few years was absolutely not for a lack of trying. Every greedy video game exec on the planet wanted Doom on their system. id themselves assisted with several of these ports in various ways and they had absolutely no intention of leaving Doom only on PC, either, if they could help it.
Totally fair, but let’s put “long” in context—by ’90s gaming standards, a year was practically an eternity. That’s like five TikTok trends or three failed live-service shooters today.
And sure, there were console ports flying around faster than a cacodemon on nightmare mode, but let’s be honest: nobody was lining up to play Doom on the 32X, Jaguar, or 3DO. Most people didn’t even know what a 32X was, let alone own one.
The SNES version had about as much horsepower as a Roomba with a dying battery.
Meanwhile, on PC, Doom was running smooth, loud, and proud, exactly how John Romero intended—mouse, keyboard, and all. Even the execs chasing that gold rush had to admit: the real party was on DOS. If you wanted Doom at its best, you were booting it up on a beige box, not squinting at a blurry mess on a doomed add-on.
So yeah, everyone wanted Doom, but only the PC really delivered. The ports were like decaf coffee. Sure, you can drink it, but why would you?
I’ll give you characters that started on PC, but several of the characters you listed were always multiplat.