Gaming
The world’s favourite gaming franchises – Animal Crossing is officially UK’s #1
New research from Casino.org has taken a deep dive into total sales, critic ratings, search volume and Twitch views to discover the world’s – and every country’s – most-loved gaming franchise.
Animal Crossing is officially revealed as the UK’s favourite gaming franchise.
|
Rank |
Franchise |
Average franchise critic score |
Total sales of base games |
Annual Worldwide Franchise Google Search Data |
Franchise Lifetime Peak Viewers on Twitch |
Most Loved Franchise Score /10 |
|
1 |
Super Mario |
88.2% |
299,475,000 |
39,936,900 |
2,926,742 |
8.15 |
|
2 |
Call of Duty |
84.5% |
301,460,000 |
88,361,000 |
1,623,046 |
8.09 |
|
3 |
Grand Theft Auto |
90.1% |
193,500,000 |
31,787,020 |
1,020,005 |
5.84 |
|
4 |
The Legend of Zelda |
89.2% |
93,100,000 |
18,513,800 |
2,431,115 |
5.73 |
|
5 |
Assassin’s Creed |
80.8% |
93,000,000 |
89,036,300 |
721,736 |
5.50 |
|
6 |
Mario Kart |
87.0% |
177,860,000 |
13,322,600 |
1,361,952 |
5.24 |
|
7 |
Pokémon |
85.8% |
187,760,000 |
15,220,200 |
1,257,588 |
5.18 |
|
8 |
The Last of Us |
94.0% |
24,000,000 |
55,619,000 |
631,357 |
5.17 |
|
9 |
Animal Crossing |
84.8% |
62,550,000 |
78,359,700 |
284,906 |
5.00 |
|
10 |
Sonic the Hedgehog |
76.5% |
61,420,000 |
41,571,900 |
1,907,064 |
4.60 |
-
After being around for 35 years, Super Mario is ranked the world’s most loved franchise with nearly 3 million Twitch views and 300 million sales!
-
Starting in 2003, Call of Duty has seen the highest total sales of all the franchises- over 301.46 million games sold, however it just falls behind in Twitch views and average critic score earning it second place in the world’s most loved games.
-
Taking the third spot is Grand Theft Auto with one of the highest critic scores but much lower sales than the top two franchises.
Animal Crossing is the most searched franchise in the UK
While Call Of Duty has been searched for by the most number of countries (29), Animal Crossing emerges as the favourite for 24 countries – including the UK, US and Australia.
|
Most Searched Franchise |
Number of Countries |
|
Call of Duty |
29 |
|
Animal Crossing |
24 |
|
The Witcher |
8 |
|
The Last of Us |
6 |
|
Super Mario |
3 |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog |
3 |
|
Assassin’s Creed |
1 |
|
Diablo |
1 |
You can see the results of the research by clicking here.
Methodology:
Video game franchises were taken from the list of best-selling video game franchises from Wikipedia with spin-offs and remakes excluded.
The critical reception score for each game was sourced from Metacritic, with the exception of some older games which were released prior to Metacritic’s existence, which reflect scores from now-defunct GameRankings (which has since been incorporated into Metacritic).
For the total sales of the base games of each franchise, sales data was taken from the list of best selling game franchises on the Video Game Sales Wiki page.
Google Keyword planner found the number of global searches for each base game from March 2020 to February 2021.
Franchise lifetime peak viewers on Twitch was sourced from each games’ category page on TwitchTracker.
To discover each country’s favorite franchise, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer tool was used to collect the monthly average search volume for the last twelve months for the 75 countries where data was available.
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HLTV will stage the HLTV Awards presented by 1xBet in Belgrade, Serbia on January 9, 2027, returning to the Sava Center. The company said more than 1,000 players, industry professionals, creators, and fans are expected to attend.
HLTV also confirmed Dust2 creator David Johnston will feature as an award announcer. HLTV linked the booking to the 25th anniversary of Dust2.
For 2026, HLTV is updating its Hall of Fame process and eligibility rules. Four players will be inducted again, with “at least two and up to three” slots reserved for players from the Counter-Strike 1.6 and early eras. HLTV also removed the former “neo rule,” allowing players to be inducted for their playing careers even if they remain active in other roles such as coaching.
HLTV is adding a Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be decided by the Hall of Fame Board. The ceremony will also move Community Awards onto the main stage show for the first time, rather than the pre-show segment.
Separately, HLTV will kick off the 2027 Awards season with an invite-only “HLTV Awards by 1xBet Launch Party x GRID” in Cologne during the Major. HLTV said industry members can apply for an invite to the ceremony via its awards page.
The post HLTV Awards returns to Belgrade on January 9, 2027, adding Lifetime Achievement honor appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
S8UL Esports’ League of Legends roster has qualified to represent India at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, running from September 19 to October 4. The organisation said the team secured qualification through the regional qualifiers after winning the National Esports Championships (NESC) 2026, described as the official national qualification tournament for the Asian Games.
S8UL said the roster competing under India’s banner is Akshaj Shenoy (Kat Bot), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorporal), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Ahmed Shahid (Nero), and Rahul Bisht (Bob). The regional qualifiers featured 14 teams across a group stage and a split stage, with top performers advancing to the Asian Games main event.
In Group B, the team went unbeaten against Jordan, Sri Lanka, and Kazakhstan to progress, according to S8UL. In the split stage, it lost to Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia but did enough to secure a berth. India will now face opponents including Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Vietnam at the main event.
Four players—Kat Bot, Infi, Deadcorporal, and Lotus—were also part of India’s League of Legends contingent at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, where S8UL said the team finished fifth.
Akshaj Shenoy aka Kat Bot, captain of India’s League of Legends team, said, “Qualifying for the Asian Games is a proud moment for all of us. We knew the regional qualifiers would be extremely competitive, and every match demanded complete focus. For many of us, this will be our second Asian Games, which makes this qualification even more special because we understand the level of competition that awaits us. We are grateful to S8UL for believing in this roster and providing us with the support, stability, and opportunities needed to keep improving as a team. Representing India is always an honour, and we’ll do everything we can to make the country proud in Aichi-Nagoya.”
S8UL co-founder and CEO Animesh Agarwal aka 8Bit Thug added, “Representing India at the Asian Games is among the highest honours an athlete can achieve, and seeing our League of Legends roster earn that opportunity is incredibly special. This team has demonstrated resilience, discipline, and a willingness to continually improve, qualities that are essential for success at the international level. At S8UL, our goal has always been to create pathways for Indian athletes to compete on the biggest stages in the world. We have no doubt they will give their all when they step onto the stage in Aichi-Nagoya and compete for the nation with pride,” S8UL also noted that Gurashish Singh (Soul) and Prateek Bhaunt (B Haunt) previously qualified for the Asian Games in Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6 after winning at NESC 2026.
The post S8UL’s League of Legends roster qualifies to represent India at Asian Games 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Geckos Games launched Momentum, a patent-pending real-time sports prediction game unlike anything in the market. THRILLZZ Free Social Sportsbook gone live as the exclusive launch partner on the opening day of the world’s biggest Soccer tournament.
Five Minutes. One Question. Pure Adrenaline.
Every five minutes of a live match, Momentum asks players one question: which team has the Momentum right now? Not who will win the game. Not what the final score will be. Who has the upper hand – this minute, on this pitch – based on every pass, attack, and pressure play happening in real time.
Makes it different from anything that has come before: the Momentum shift on a single event. A yellow card. A saved shot. A dangerous run. Every on-field event recalculates the balance – and players watch their position move with it in real time. It is not a black box. Players see each event land inside the game – the moment it happens on the pitch.
Then comes the timer. As the five-minute window counts down to zero, the tension becomes almost unbearable. Players who are in the win zone are watching every second, knowing a single event in the dying moments can flip everything. The last few seconds of every round are unlike anything else in sports gaming – raw, unscripted, impossible to put down.
Zero Latency. Official Data. Real Stakes.
Momentum is powered by an official match data with zero latency. Every event flows instantly into the game engine. There is no delay, no approximation. What players see is what is happening on the field right now.
This is not a simulation. It is not a simplified model. It is live sport, translated into a game in real time and that distinction is everything.
The post Geckos Games Launches Momentum – The Most Adrenaline-Charged Live Sports Game Ever Built appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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