While new titles vie for the audience, games such as Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, and The Sims 4 are still some of the most played games in the US, each nearly a decade or more from its original release. In fact, only three of the ten most played games (Madden NFL 22, Call of Duty: Vanguard, NBA 2K22) started last year.
The data comes from market analysis companies NPD parliamentary group, ranked the top ten list by year of release rather than player count. So it is not assumed Minecraft is the most-played game of 2022 so far, only it’s the oldest among the 10. This also makes sense given that older games have already garnered a sizeable following and accumulated sales over the years. But it’s still impressive that these games are designed so convincingly that they play alongside successful up-and-coming players such as elden ring. Of course, that may change as newer games sell more copies and their audiences grow. As of May 2022, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and elden ring are the number one and number two best-selling games, respectively.
As Mat Piscatella from the NPD Remarks, many of the mainstays are live service games with some sort of social component. Even if a game is not primarily based on online games Fourteen days or Between us (I’m looking at you, Sim’s 4 and animal crossing), a robust social community can extend its lifespan for years after launch. “Traditional” single-player games face stiff competition for players’ money and attention, especially as the number of games available year after year on all major platforms.
Some games have been tougher on microtransactions as a result, but poorly implemented monetization can lead to this massive player feedback. Development studios have tried to ensure their survival by putting their games on subscription services such as game pass or by signing time-limited exclusivity contracts with the Epic game store in exchange for a wad of development money up front (a move so controversial that studios have to do it Ask the players not to bother the developers).
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Piscatella tweeted: “These services are another tool in the belt to try to fund, publish and help games break through the barriers of the big evergreen titles.”
