TheWorld Snooker Championship (WSC) is a series ofvideo games based onsnooker featuring licensing from theWorld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The first game in the series was released in 2001 and the last in 2011; a new licensed World Snooker game,Snooker 19, was released in 2019. The first four games were published byCodemasters and developed byBlade Interactive Software. Later games were published bySega,Deep Silver andKoch Media.

The first game was simply named "World Championship Snooker" and released in 2000. In 2004, following a change in publisher, the series was renamedWorld Snooker Championship to better reflect the name of the tournament body and theactual tournament.

In 2005 the box art features the snooker playerPaul Hunter who died in 2006 from cancer. When the game was re-released as a budget title fromSold-Out Software, he remained on the cover and in-game, but a memorial notice is included on the back of the case ("Paul Hunter 1978 - 2006").

The 2007 version is the first to feature fully licensedpool tournaments. In previous versions, pool is a side mode that can only be played in matches against the computer or other players.

From 2008 onwards, the series was renamed WSC Real: World Snooker Championship. The branding was changed to reflect more realistic gameplay, including the ability to play in first person and view shots from any angle, and characters' lifelike emotions.

The first game was released in 2000 forPlayStation and later in 2001 forMicrosoft Windows. The box art featuresStephen Hendry,Ronnie O'Sullivan andMark Williams.

World Championship Snooker 2002 was released on 28 September 2001 exclusively forPlayStation 2. The second game's box art also features Williams, Hendry and Sullivan. Gameplay on WCS 2002 improves from the previous version, and "player aids", such as a cueball line, shows the direction of the shot being played.

World Championship Snooker 2003 was released onPlayStation 2,Xbox, andMicrosoft Windows. The box art features world championsPeter Ebdon, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan,John Higgins,Ken Doherty and Mark Williams. The game is the first in the series to feature pool modes, with botheight-ball andnine-ball pool included.

The game includesBig Break presenterJohn Virgo and a version of the "John Virgo's Trick Shot" mode in-game.

World Championship Snooker 2004 was released onMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 2 andXbox. The box art featuresStephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan. The 2004 edition features an expanded roster, including almost every member of theWorld Snooker Tour (exceptJimmy White, likely due to him having his own licensed series of games), and licenses for official arenas such as theCrucible Theatre.

The game also introducedonline multiplayer to the series, with players able to play single matches and tournaments. The game is the last in the series published by Codemasters.

World Snooker Championship 2005 is the first licensedWorld Snooker Championship video game. The box art featuresPaul Hunter,Ronnie O'Sullivan andSteve Davis. This is the first game in the series with the name "World Snooker Championship". The game was published bySega instead of Codemasters.

The game is also the first released on a handheld console, as theWorld Snooker Challenge 2005 on thePlayStation Portable. The game features a playable "League of Champions" mode, where famous past snooker matches can be replayed. The game includes additional modes such asbar billiards. In "free play" mode, variables such as table size can be altered.

World Snooker Championship 2007 was released on 12 January 2007. The box art featuresJohn Higgins,Ronnie O'Sullivan andShaun Murphy. This is the first game in the series to be released on theseventh generation of consoles, withPlayStation 3 andXbox 360 releases. This installment also added a new mode called "Golden Cue," where custom matches can be played.

A new assist that would appear in all WSC games from this point on shows a provisional finishing position for the cue ball as a circularsilhouette. This circle expands or retracts depending on the player's skill and difficulty of the shot involved.

World Snooker Championship: Season 2007-08 was released exclusively onNintendo DS on 26 October 2007. The game's box art featuresMark Selby and John Higgins. The game is the only release in the series for a Nintendohandheld console. The edition was panned for its lack of online play.

WSC Real 08: World Snooker Championship was released on 14 November 2008 for theWii. The box art featuresRonnie O'Sullivan andSteve Davis. The game is controlled with theWii Remote, and was shipped with a cue attachment. The game was released on other consoles as WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship. It was later released simultaneously forMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 3 andXbox 360 on 3 April 2009. The version is identical apart from the addition of some graphical improvements.

WSC Real 11: World Snooker Championship was released on 15 April 2011 forPlayStation 3 andXbox 360. The box art featuresRonnie O'Sullivan. A gameplay function introduced in this edition is the ability to retake shots a certain number of times per game. The 2011 edition features improvements to thecharacter creation system.

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