Modern war-themed shooter games -- whether it's FPS, battle royale, simulation, or third-person shooter -- certainly feature a variety of cool rifles from all over the world. Well, from hundreds of assault rifles that you have seen and used to destroy your opponents, this writer thinks these seven United States-made rifles are the ones that appear the most often in many video games. What are those? Let's have a look at the list.

Note: There are indeed "classifications" for assault rifles, battle rifles, and carbines primarily to distinguish the ammunition types and barrel length or effective range. But with advances in rifle and ammunition technology, these differences have become increasingly blurred, at least since the Cold War. Maybe we will discuss this on another occasion. 

1. M16

• Appearances: GTA III, GTA: Vice City, GTA: Vice City Stories, COD: Black Ops, COD Warzone, CrossFire, MGS3, MGS: Peace Walker, Left 4 Dead, PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege, etc.

After the end of World War II and the Korean War, the US Army needed replacements for the M1 Garand (the semi-automatic mechanism and eight-round en bloc clip were outdated) and the M2 Carbine (the .30 carbine ammunition was weak). They got three choices: T44 from Springfield from Massachusetts, USA, FAL from Fabrique Nationale from Belgium, and AR-10 from ArmaLite from Hollywood, California, USA. Although the AR-10 was considered the best light automatic rifle they had tested at the time, for some reason the US military chose the T44; which was later modified to the M14. 

And that decision turned out to be bad when they entered the Vietnam War in 1955. The M14's 20-bullet magazine and deteriorating accuracy when used in automatic fire struggled against a barrage of AK-47s belonging to North Vietnamese guerrillas. At the suggestion of Air Force General Curtis LeMay and the urging of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, the US military decided to adopt the AR-10 which had been upgraded to the AR-15; which was later modified again into the M16. In 1964, the M16 became the standard weapon of the US armed forces and was deployed in various jungle operations during the Vietnam War. 

However, the M16 has a low field reliability with the rate of damage/jam can occur twice in every 1,000 shots. Five years later, the M16A1 variant came to replace the standard version. Until now the M16 variant is still used by the US military and more than 80 countries including Indonesia. 

2. M4A1

• Appearances: Counter-Strike, Ghost Recon, Battlefield 3, CrossFire, Killing Floor, The Division 2, Payday, etc.

With the adoption of the M16 by the US military, the carbine variant - or short-barreled rifles - was also needed for close-range operations. Throughout the Vietnam War they used the CAR-15, Colt's M16 variant, but it's low range, accuracy, and significant muzzle flash were considered problematic. In 1982 Colt and the US military were jointly developing a new variant called the XM4 Carbine. 

After a number of modifications, in early 1991 the XM4 was renamed the M4, and three years later it was officially adopted by the US military to replace the M16A2. This weapon was first used in the Kosovo War in 1999 and was heavily deployed in the War on Terrorism operation launched by former US President George W. Bush from 2001 to this day. The regular M4 has semi-automatic and 3-bullet burst modes, while the M4A1 has semi-auto and automatic modes. 

If you've always felt the M16 and M4 look the same, don't be surprised. As mentioned above, both are designed from the same weapon platform: the AR-15. 

3. AR-15

• Appearances: Counter-Strike, Ghost Recon, Battlefield 3, CrossFire, Killing Floor, The Division 2, Payday, etc.

The “grandfather” of the M16, this weapon was originally born as thean AR-5 bolt-action rifle in 1954 for the crew of the XB-70 prototype bomber. Although the aircraft was not produced and the AR-5 was not adopted, the success of getting a contract from the American military prompted the new company ArmaLite to continue improving the rifle's capabilities. 

In 1957 the US military was searching for replacements for the M1 Garand and M2 Carbine. AR-10 was one of them but failed to be selected. ArmaLite then sells licenses and manufactured products to several countries including Guatemala, Myanmar, Italy, Cuba, Sudan, and Portugal in limited quantities. The Sudanese Special Forces themselves used the AR-10 until 1985. An improved version, the AR-15, had more luck in that it was eventually adopted by the US military as the M16 -- but not before ArmaLite was forced to sell the copyright to the AR-10 and AR-15 to the Colt company due to financial problems and limited manpower and production capacity in 1959. Since then Colt has produced the AR-15 and its variants in America. 

Although originally designed for military purposes, the name AR-15 is now used as a designation for the semi-automatic versions of the M16 and M4 rifles sold to civilians.

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4. XM8

• Appearances: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, MGS 4, Mercenaries 2, CrossFire, Saints Row 2, COD: Black Ops 2, etc.

In the 1990s, the US military wanted "smart" weapons that could fire 20mm high-explosive airburst ammunition, a type of grenade that could explode in midair, through the OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) project. But the project failed and eventually the US military looked for another alternative: a “modular” rifle whose function could be modified in the field as needed. One of the prototypes of that concept is the XM8. Although based on the G36 made by Heckler & Koch (H&K) from Germany, the XM8 is a collaboration between H&K and General Dynamics from America. 

Around 200 prototypes were tested in 2003. At that time the weapon was widely criticized for its lack of ergonomics, short battery for the sight, its weight, and handguards that melted after spewing a lot of bullets. However, in 2004 the US Congress rejected $26 million in funding for a mass trial after it had undergone repairs. 

The XM8 was reconsidered as a replacement for the M4, but that decision was postponed in April 2005 until it was officially canceled in October. Interestingly, this assault rifle was eventually adopted by the Malaysian Navy Special Forces, PASKAL. So far it is known that the XM8 can be modified into four variants: XM8 Carbine (assault rifle), Compact Carbine (submachine gun), Sharpshooter Rifle (sniper rifle), and Automatic Rifle (heavy machine gun). Regarding the futuristic design, it is reported that the US military did ask H&K to design it like the weapon from Starship Troopers, a film adaptation of a science fiction novel that was famous in the '90s. 

5. ACR

• Appearances: COD MW2, Warface, CrossFire, Escape from Tarkov, Battlefield 4, Ghost Recon Wildlands, etc.

Otherwise known as the Adaptive Combat Rifle, this modular assault rifle was designed by Magpul Industries from Austin, Texas, hoping that it could be one of the weapons the US military would choose if they needed a replacement for the M4 one day. ACR was only produced for 10 years from 2010 to 2020 due to low sales. 

Originally the weapon was named Masada, but in 2008 Bushmaster Firearms International took over the production, development and sale of the Masada to civilians and changed its name to Bushmaster ACR. The funny thing is, on the other hand, the Remington company has also been contracted to produce it for the US military and law enforcement. This version is then known as the Remington ACR. The Polish Military Counterintelligence Service SWW (Służba Kontrwywiadu Wojskowego) adopted the ACR as one of their standard issue rifles.

6. Mk 14

• Appearances: COD MW2, COD MW3, CrossFire, Medal of Honor, Insurgency, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Killing Floor, etc.

Like the M4, the Mk 14 has a pretty long history. It was derived from the M14 rifle that replaced the M1 Garand as US military standard-issue weapon in 1959 with a 20-bullet magazine and automatic fire capability. Five years later, the lighter M16 replaced the M14's general role in the Vietnam War. Even so, the M14 remained in limited use in all branches of the US military, primarily as a sniper rifle which is why until the early 2000s it still had a variety of variants -- including the Mk 14. 

The Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle itself is an M14 with a shorter barrel and is equipped with a retractable stock and a number of railings for accessories. Initially this variant was intended for US special forces divisions such as the Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and Green Beret. This weapon was adopted into service in 2002. 

7. P416

• Appearances: Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Watch Dogs, The Division, etc.

Another weapon based on the AR-15 platform. But it was not made by Colt, instead by the Patriot Ordnance Factory, which hails from Phoenix, Arizona. The semi-automatic or civilian version is named the P415. Manufactured since 2011, one of the advantages of this weapon is its mechanism that can be used easily by left-handed people. For some reason, the Tom Clancy series calls P416 “Goblin”. 

That's more or less a list of the seven most iconic US-made assault rifles that often appear in the gaming world. Which one has always been your best friend on the battlefield? Stay tuned for information about other games and anime and don't forget to follow Dunia Games' Facebook and Instagram for more interesting updates.

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Written by Sidharta F. Rasidi: Twitter @StoPlayinGame