What is the Most Popular Game in the World?

We all have games that we believe our popular. Our biases sometimes block our ability to recognize when a video game is growing in popularity. One game may not appeal to someone else, and that’s okay. We’re programmed to have likes and dislikes. In a world that is ruled by opinions and gatekeeping it’s hard to determine which game is considered the most popular.

What is the Most Popular Game in the World?

Most Popular Games in 2022

This year, we have come across some great titles in gaming. When we were introduced to Elden Ring there were tons of players around the world discussing strategies to beat bosses. With the introduction of new-gen consoles, we have had titles with stunning visuals, creative battle scenes, and compelling stories. Some would say Horizon II: Forbidden West would make the list of the ‘most popular game’, whereas others, would stick to the classics. They would say Battle Royale games like Fortnite are ‘most popular to play’.

Most Popular Titles of All Time

We took a deep dive to find which titles are considered the best of the best. In terms of revenue and the community, we have come to the conclusion that Minecraft is the most popular game in the world, followed by, GTA V.

Minecraft was released in 2011, and to this day, it has sold over 238 million copies with a growing community between 2.8 million and 3.6 in 2022. There’s a reason why this 3D sandbox game has garnered plenty of loyal fans. It’s because there are no goals and you’re giving your players freedom to create whatever they want. Players can explore a vast world and choose between five different game modes to play from. With an overwhelming amount of mods, texture packs, enhancements, and seeds you can have a wonderful experience.

Minecraft has communities you can join to help make your experience an even better one. Players can join forums to talk about mods, create drawings of their worlds, and you can create servers to play with your friends. It’s no wonder that Minecraft continues to grow in popularity.

Another popular title that’s always having updates and new missions is GTA V. GTA V came out in 2013 and was instantly praised for its single-story mission. This action-adventure title released an online addition to the game where you could create a character and build your own legacy. You could play with friends and players around the world, find opportunities to make money to buy cars and homes, and take on fun heist missions.

To this day, it continues to have new game modes and features, as well as, players creating mods to make the gameplay an even better experience.

What Makes a Popular Game

Gorgeous visuals: Graphics really can make or break a game. With the release of new-gen consoles, people are hoping for games to really immerse us in a unique world. We want the game to fit the world and gameplay, so when developers create that visually appealing world, we’re excited. We’re even more grateful when the world hides Easter eggs and places secrets in their world.

Great storytelling: Titles such as Halo, Horizon Zero Dawn, & Elder Scrolls have unique stories that really captivate the player. When you’re playing a game, the worst thing that can happen is wanting to skip the story because you’re just not feeling it. Players want to hold on deeply to beloved characters and they want to learn what drives them to want to go on this adventure.

Fun gameplay mechanics: Stories are great and all, but playing the game, is where it’s at. You can’t thoroughly enjoy a game if the mechanics are difficult to navigate. Let’s look at games such as Among Us. It’s a simple stealth game that focuses on player interaction to determine who killed the character. As you’re sneaking around trying to finish chores, there are players roaming around, who can kill you off. It’s up to you and the rest of your team to discuss who killed that character. Interactive games such as these are an instant hit because they really help to immerse in the gameplay.

Popular Titles by Genre

Simulation: If you’re looking to build your world try playing sandbox games such as The Sims or Stardew Valley. The Sims has sold over 200 million copies and since its release in 2014, it continues to impress The Sims community, by creating packs and expansions to help boost gameplay. It’s one of the best titles to play if you really want to escape life and create your own.

MMORPG: Final Fantasy 14 continuously ranks as one of the best MMORPG titles. With their latest expansion and final expansion titled Endwalker, it caused a huge spike in new players joining the community. Due to the influx of new players the queue lines would last over an hour. Communities from the World of Warcraft title would leave the game to play FFXIV. They were impressed with the story, how easy it was for newcomers to join and grow, and the players were friendly leaving a lasting impression.

Multiplayer: You knew this was coming. Fornite is top of the list for popular games to play. It’s considered one of the most popular Battle Royale games to play today. With their updates, interesting events that allowed popular singers such as Ariana Grande to perform a virtual concert known as The Rift Tour, and cross-play support makes this game THE game to play with friends.

RPG: The Witcher 3 is a great role-playing game that requires you to travel in a world filled with monsters and quests to help Geralt with his story. With The Witcher series being popular on Netflix, it’s no wonder, some new players wanted to play this title to see what they were missing. This game has beautiful visuals, fun boss battles, and challenging quests to make your immersion a captivating one.

It’s difficult to determine what makes a game popular, and due to people all having their own biases, this question is always a difficult one to answer. Perhaps in the future, there will be a title out there that surpasses Minecraft and GTA V. For right now, it’s hard to say, but gamers are eagerly waiting for that next big game to hit the market.