Video games are no longer taboo today. Seeing the crazy records that some titles manage to pull off in terms of popularity, we even think that gaming has something to last for a long time! Here are the 10 most played games in the world these last years.
The releases follow one another, the big productions give way to small indie titles and yet, 10 names monopolize the top of the most played games.
The gallery below shows the 10 most played games to date, with rankings dating back 6 years at most. The numbers are generally counted from 2020 to give you the most accurate ranking possible.
Minecraft, CSGO and… GTA 5? Which game is the most played today?
However, it is difficult to establish an ultra precise ranking, but this one is as accurate as possible. Based on official data from developers and publishers, the list below will easily answer the question “but what is the most played game today?”
10. The Sims 4
If you’re curious, you must have seen the absolutely insane amount of DLC released by the developers in the last months.
It’s no wonder the game is one of the most popular in the world even though it’s a paid game… and even though all of its additional content is really expensive when put together.
The last count was in May 2021, exactly one year after the May 2020 count. And one common thread emerges: the game is played by 1 million unique people very regularly.
9. Apex Legends
We remember its surprise launch, without any leak or announcement. Simply, EA had said “here is a new game, Battle Royale in COOP, and it is available now”.
A few years later, the game is literally one of the most played in the world thanks to its free access, and some well thought mechanics.
By May 2021, between the various Steam, Origin and console records, we’d be at a nice, fat million players on a good day.
8. Dungeon Fighter Online
The name Dungeon Fighter Online probably doesn’t ring a bell, and yet it is the title with one of the biggest communities in the world, even today… 16 years after its launch.
With its unique 2D style and vivid gameplay, it is especially popular in Asia. In 2021, more than 700 million registered accounts are counted, with about 1.2 million still very active!
A well-deserved 8th place after the most famous Western titles, just to show that Asian gamers are not joking!
7. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
With an official review in 2020 and another in 2021, we know precisely that Counter Strike Global Offensive deserves this 7th place thanks to 1.3 million players on average.
That’s quite a performance for a title as old as it is, but you should know that there are 46 million Steam users who have the video game in their library. But only 3% of these people actually play it!
6. Minecraft
A video game mastodon, Minecraft is usually placed at the top of the list of the best-selling video games of all time.
And while there are a few ways to play it totally free (we detailed those methods by the way!), paying players are making their attachment to Mojang’s title known.
Official counts are not ultra recent, but already show 1.5 million players in 2015. Since then, the popularity has only increased and it wouldn’t be surprising to see up to 3+ million individual people launching the game regularly.
However, the official numbers are these and place Minecraft in 6th place only!
5. GTA 5
GTA 5 is a bit of a cheat. Available for more than 8 years now, the title has touched 3 generations of consoles and PC… enough to boost its player base.
However, the original PS3 players have massively deserted the game, leaving room for a new wave of young beginners.
In 2021, the official figures are not known, but by looking at the number of players on Steam, on the PSN (Playstation Network) and on Xbox, we already reach about 6 million players.
Add to that the gamers on the Epic Games Store and the Rockstar Launcher, and we probably get a well-deserved 5th place!
4. Roblox
Another free game and it’s not a surprise. To convince so many people though, it had to struggle!
While we were guiding new players on the creation of skins and the arrival of Roblox on Switch and PS4, shortly after meeting and interviewing the president of Roblox, you should know that the video game boasted an excellent performance in April 2021.
Over the whole month of April 2021, 202 million players were counted… That is to say an average of almost 7 million players per day, enough to take this 4th place!
3. Crossfire
It dates back to 2007 and for almost 15 years, Crossfire has remained one of the most played games in the world. But in the West, there weren’t many players: ultra-popular in Asia, it’s essentially this public that is fond of this little free-to-play game that has roughly the same recipe as Counter Strike Global Offensive.
In short, while it reached incredible records (up to 650 million unique players), it has fallen a bit since its glory days. Between 2020 and 2021, it is estimated that it will have only 8 million players.
2. League of Legends
Gamers, whether they’ve ever dabbled in League of Legends or not, know how popular the MOBA is.
Like many of the games on this list, it is helped by being completely free to play and that doesn’t condition anyone on its accessibility. Easy to install, not requiring any special hardware and now available on mobile as well, it’s no wonder LoL is in second place.
Note that it was first for a long time. But its official count of 8 million unique players every day only puts it in second place!
1. Fortnite
Pandemic has done Fortnite some good. Already boasting a huge community thanks to the streamers who made it popular, the battle royale has managed to fly on its own.
Between 2020 and 2021, each update and new season was an opportunity to make a count and the average is colossal. It would indeed be 12.8 million players who would launch the video game and this, no matter the time of day!
This is only an average but the success is undeniable: Fortnite is the most played game of the last years and even if the number seems almost too big, its 1st place is not surprising.
