Chances are, you’re in the know about the latest and greatest titles in the gaming world right now. Whether avidly checking Steam or browsing Twitch, information about the hottest individual games is readily available to gamers. But what are the most played gaming genres?
Here are the top five most popular and most played gaming genres, listed according to their estimated monthly active players. Our list combines aggregate factors, including peak monthly user counts, publisher statements, and publicly available statistical information to build an estimate monthly player count for each of gaming’s most popular and most played genres.
Popular online card games such as Hearthstone and The Elder Scrolls Legends have also been omitted, due to a lack of hard data made available by their publishers.
Most Played Gaming Genres
5) Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)
The latest expansion for World of Warcraft gave many players an excuse to return to gaming’s most enduring franchise. The nearly 15-year-old MMORPG faced an unfortunate drop-off of players since 2010. But WoW still retains a fairly active player base, and even appears to have recovered many fans that had long since left the game after an enticing new update, called Battle for Azeroth.
Estimates for monthly player counts put World of Warcraft’s current base at around 10.1 million. Additionally, with titles like Final Fantasy XIV, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Guild Wars 2, also posting very respectable numbers, there’s still a substantial community of gamers that love this genre.
Indeed, there’s little doubt that players have a lot to look forward to from their favorite MMOs. Quality expansions like Battle For Azeroth, Stormblood, and Summerset maintain a consistent content pipeline for the rabid MMORPG fan.
Estimated Monthly Players: 21 Million
Top 5 Most Played MMORPG’s, Ranked By Active Players:
- World of Warcraft – Est. 10 Million
- Final Fantasy XIV – Est. 3 Million
- Guild Wars 2 – Est. 3 Million
- The Elder Scrolls Online – Est. 3 Million
- Runescape (OS + 3.0) – Est. 2 Million