Gaming is the #1 leisure activity in the world. We cannot escape gaming; whether it’s hardcore competitive gaming on Fortnite or casual Minesweeper–gaming is here to stay.
According to truelist.co, “Over 227 million people in the US play video games one to a few hours per week, which accounts for over 75% of all Americans”. Of course, this is only within the US, but worldwide there are nearly 4 billion gamers.
Gaming, which began in 1971–focused on primitive computer-console games that scientists had developed for research purposes. Nowadays, gaming has evolved to hyper-realism. Real life and virtual reality have become indistinguishable, which causes people to live within the digital format more and more as the evolution of gaming progresses.
The demographics of gaming told by statistica.com are split near 60/40–with the majority being male; however, the difference has increasingly balanced out over the years as it has become more inclusive within the gaming community for new demographics to take shape.
The most popular games of today in esports and mainstream gaming follow a path set in the 2010s, which have become the following: League of Legends, Valorant, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and of course… Minecraft.
We’ve crafted a list of the Top 7 Games in the world based on popularity and accessibility!
#1 Minecraft
The most popular game–Minecraft has held a whopping 12-year growth lead amongst its competitor titles in the gaming world. Minecraft, a simplistic and sandbox-like game has garnered the attention of the globe.
A game that has grown more and more throughout the years from outlets such as multiplayer servers and YouTubers–Minecraft is king. Minecraft, which is available through its Java launcher has since introduced the integrative “Bedrock” launcher. Bedrock allows Minecraft to expand cross-platform through a console, PC, and even mobile.
Minecraft has 141 Million monthly active users and is increasing this number daily because of its inclusiveness to cross-platform.
#2 League of Legends
The second most popular game today is League of Legends. A game that has built most of its notoriety throughout the last decade by running up numbers within the esports genre. League of Legends or “LOL” can be summarized as the most popular esport in the world in 2022.
Why is LOL the most popular esport in the world?
We believe it is because of the universal components that make up the game, which causes the game is popular amongst different cultures and countries. On Twitch, LOL has the record for most unique viewers in an active stream for gaming and also has the record for most all-time Twitch views.
#3 Grand Theft Auto
Particularly the game known as GTA 5, Grand Theft Auto 5 stole the hearts of everyone in 2013 and since then, we’ve seen billions of dollars rack up in Rockstar’s pockets as they delivered one of the most successful and content-driven games of the 21st century.
Since 2013, Rockstar has produced new updates and DLC content for GTA 5, causing people to continuously stick around the platform. There are even people who build customized multiplayer servers that surpass the limits of vanilla GTA.
Nowadays, GTA VI is all the rave. A game that has players begging, it seems that the next edition of GTA will surpass the hype of the last.
#4 Fortnite
The game that broke the internet, is Fortnite. Fortnite is the culture-bomb of the gaming world. The game has broken barriers and bridged the gap between Hollywood and gaming.
We saw the first piece of culture attach itself to gaming when Drake joined a Ninja stream back in 2018, causing the world to take notice of this new and popular franchise.
A game that’s purpose is to throw you into a game as quickly as possible while not charging you to play the base game was a model that many began to copy.
Epic Games’ most popular game of all time would be free to play, but would rack up billions in VBucks and online purchasable content!
#5 Call of Duty
The most storied franchise out of all the games listed is without a doubt–Call of Duty.
Call of Duty got its start in the early 2000s as just a simple computer game, and now there are millions at stake yearly for its championship prize and we continue to see the evolution between the BR component and multiplayer competitive gaming.
In 2020, everything changed as “Warzone” became the meta of gaming. During a time of pandemic isolation and digital transformation–gaming on Verdansk with your friends and family became the way to stay connected. There were more newcomers into gaming than ever before during this time and Warzone took a hefty percentage of the lot.
#6 Valorant
The new kid on the block–Valorant. Mouse-and-keyboard control gameplay shows us that consoles do not rule at all. We begin to understand why PC gaming is king and just why it is so important to have the hardware if you want to become a competitive gamer.
As techacake.com suggests, Valorant has become one of the most popular FPS games surpassing 13 Million active players per month. Valorant has become increasingly popular as more Esport teams take on the franchise as an extension of their competitive teams. It will be interesting to see how Valorant grows as a true player amongst the giants of gaming.
#7 Apex Legends
One of the most difficult games to master (besides build-mode Fortnite), may be Apex Legends. Apex Legends. Apex has become super popular within 2022, as many huge streamers and content creators have begun to flock to the game.
We believe people are flocking toward Apex because other publishers like Activision and EA are not adapting fast enough to the player’s needs, and the players have spread their wings to fly away.
Brandon Shields
Shields is the current CEO and Founder of Team Havoc Studios.
