36 Years Ago, One Far Side Comic Predicted The Future Of Video Games

Published Aug 20, 2026, 5:58 AM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

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In case you've never come across them before, The Far Side is a semi-surrealist single-panel comic strip created by Gary Larson defined by its offbeat and irreverent humor. Running from 1980 to 1995, the author suddenly stepped back from producing them in his mid-40s, but they have remained just as relevant and prescient today, for the most part.

While some of the humor is relatively absurd, and the cartoons feature everything from animals to aliens to cavemen, they do serve as remarkably cutting commentary on many of life's moments, as well as the human condition. Now, it has emerged that they may have been even better at that than we thought, as they predicted one of modern society's most pervasive new movements.

36 Years Ago, The Far Side Predicted Gaming In 2026

Over on Reddit, one user shared a post featuring one of the single panel Far Side comics, in which concerned parents stare at their son, who is glued to a video game. Meanwhile, the parents' thoughts are dominated by newspaper articles advertising for professional video game players and experts, all in a variety of highly paid jobs.

The joke here really is that the parents think it's a bit of a vain hope, but the fact that so many people are paid to play video games in 2026 makes it remarkably prescient, however inadvertent that might be. The responses were filled with players who remember the comics well, as well as some pointing out that those jobs remain a pipe dream for 99.9% of video game players.

"I believe the number of people who make a living as “pro-gamer” and “pro-athlete” are roughly the same. Although it’s hard to track cause a lot of pro-gamers are freelance/streamers," one comment read.

While another added, "It’s still basically a pipe dream. Like everybody thinking they are going to get paid to “influence”. For every one that makes it, there’s a million fools chasing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow."

"When I was a kid my dad would routinely cut out Far Side comic sketches and include them in my bagged lunch, or place in a birthday card, or Valentine’s Day card, etc. Basically, whatever/whenever he felt it was relevant. They were usually spot on criticisms or just witty humor centered around everyday events," a third said.

Gaming Offers Tons Of Routes Into Careers

Though the chances of simply playing video games as a career remains relatively low (though it's obviously not impossible), it is now the biggest entertainment industry on the planet. As such, there are now tens of thousands of jobs tied to it that players can get by being experts in gaming, presumably much to the chagrin of a generation of Far Side-esque parents who told us all it was a waste of time.