For all its popularity, Elden Ring is nowhere near the most played game of the year and is unlikely to clinch the title by the end of 2022.
That's according to Mat Piscatella, CEO and video game industry adviser at market research firm NPD. The commercial popularity of Elden Ring was compared when Piscatella shared a list of the 10 most played games in the US during the first quarter of this year on Twitter (Opens in a new tab) (thanks, GamesRadar (Opens in a new tab) ).
The list includes several gigantic titles that have dominated the gaming industry since their release, such as Minecraft, GTA 5, and Fortnite. Joining them are massive franchises and household names, including Call of Duty: Vanguard, Warzone, The Sims 4, and Among Us.
Some sports games also made it to the top 10, NBA 2K22 and Madden NFL 22, along with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As Piscatella points out, half of the top 10 most played games of the year so far haven't been released in this decade, and Elden Ring isn't one of them.
Elden Ring would rank 20th on the list, behind multiplayer games like World of Warcraft and Rocket League, as well as major single-player titles like Skyrim. Piscatella's list does not include absolute numbers of the game's estimated player count, nor does it reveal the size of the sample used to generate the results.
Do not get surprised
Elden Ring may have sold over 13 million copies, mesmerized critics and taken the world by storm, but it's no wonder it didn't get the most-played number. Not only was it launched in February of this year, but the most successful titles are those that can consolidate themselves in the spirit of gaming and reach all audiences.
"Great evergreen games and great live service games with deeply embedded social hooks are gravity sinks for player attention, time, and spending," says Piscatella. (opens in a new tab) "New games big and small face a daunting challenge trying to break through."
Although Elden Ring's position may rise by the end of the year, it is unlikely to drop out of the top ten. As a primarily single player game aimed at mature audiences, it will never have the multi-audience appeal that Fortnite or Among Us enjoy. And while its invasion mechanic is a fresh take on social gaming, the lack of 'live service' elements capable of constantly pulling players back through seasons of new content means its best-selling period is over.
However, there are some unexpected entries in the list. Call of Duty: Vanguard broke into the top 10, although Activision previously expressed disappointment with the game's sales figures, which were down 36,1% from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in 2020.
The popularity of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is also quite surprising. Although it's a beloved series that resonates with people who aren't usually lumped together in gaming culture in general, New Horizons launched more than two years ago. The fact that it can still command such a high number of players speaks volumes about the appeal of social simulation games, as well as the business boost it received at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. .
Remember that this list only details the most played games in the United States. The popularity of the games in other regions would be very different, though we'd expect Elden Ring to not be in the top 10 just yet.