It feels like online gaming appeared out of nowhere, but it’s actually the fruition of plenty of hard work that has been taking place behind the scenes over the past few years. Technological advances and a surge in the creativity and quality of games have helped to take online gaming from a fringe activity to a $92 billion industry. And things are just getting started. With the rise of VR and increased smartphone ownership, the future looks very bright for the online gaming world indeed.
Not all online games are runaway successes, however. Some are more popular than others and have played a bigger role in the increasing success of the industry. In this blog, we’ll look at some of the world’s leading online games, in other words, the ones that everyone is playing.
Battle Royale Games
It’s not hard to see the appeal of Battle Royale games; they’re easy to play, they’re competitive, social, and, if you win, highly satisfying. This genre of game has been among the most popular in recent years, and with the industry investing more and more money into this genre, it looks set to dominate into 2023 and beyond. Two of the biggest battle royale games are Apex Legends and Fortnite. The latter rose to the top of the worldwide download charts in the space of no time around 2019, where it has remained ever since.
Casino Games
It should come as no surprise that casino games rank highly on the list of most played online games. After all, unlike others, these types can be pretty difficult to access if you don’t live near a real-world casino. With their laptop or smartphone, people can do away with the need to travel to a casino and simply play online poker, blackjack, or roulette right from the convenience of their own homes.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is one of the best games of all time across the board, not just in the online gaming world. At one point, it felt as if the complexity and depth of the game would make it difficult for there to be an online version, but Call of Duty Mobile disproved that theory. Around 15 million players routinely play this game — those numbers might not be as impressive as other titles, but remember that COD players typically invest much more time, effort, and energy into their game of choice than other gamers.
Minecraft
Minecraft is one huge ball of fun wrapped in one deeply pixelated world. Easy to play but challenging enough to keep gamers interested, people tend to stick around once they’ve started playing. The basic principle is that you have to construct your own little world, but there are a lot of other elements, too, such as exploration and crafting. There’s even a hardcore mode, where if you die in the game, your entire world is deleted — pretty devastating if you’ve dedicated hours to building your perfect palace.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike has been one of the most popular shooting games for decades. It’s a revolutionary title that helped to push the video game industry forward. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the mobile incarnation of the game that has attracted some 35 million players and which offers various modes, including hostage rescue missions and deathmatch.
Sports Games
Finally, there are sports games, which are popular on all platforms, including smartphones. These games can be quick and easy to play (for example, shooting hoops), or they can be more fleshed-out, such as the smartphone version of FIFA. You can play against the computer, against friends, or against other strangers online.
Table of Contents