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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ARK Games
Flexion Enters into Partnership with ARK Games
Flexion has signed a partnership with ARK Games to bring Fishing Travel to its growing portfolio of titles on the alternative app stores. The game will launch on the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Galaxy Store, Samsung Instant Play, Xiaomi GetApps, Epic Games Store and ONE store during during Q2 2026.
Fishing Travel is currently a Top 30 Grossing Casual game in the US alone. It has over 1 million downloads on Google Play and a 4.5-star user rating.
Flexion handles the technical work of bringing a game to alternative channels. This approach relies on 20 years of expertise and a deep bench of alternative market experts. On average, Flexion adds more than 10% in incremental revenue to the titles it represents. Its current portfolio includes 37 top-grossing games, including four titles that have reached the Top 10 grossing charts on Google Play.
As part of this agreement, Flexion will use its Exprexion Markets service to manage the technical requirements and platform relations for ARK Games.
“The old playbook for mobile growth is broken. For too long, developers have been forced to rent their audiences from a duopoly that takes a 30% cut of every dollar earned. We are providing the independence studios need to expand. By using Exprexion Markets, we help partners like ARK Games reclaim their margins and reach global audiences on their own terms,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.
The mobile market is shifting towards alternative distribution as a strategic necessity. High store taxes and rising acquisition costs have made the traditional model difficult for many studios to sustain. Flexion acts as a partner in scaling revenue and securing earned margins without the typical upfront costs.
“We built Fishing Travel to be a high-quality simulation, and we want to reach the widest possible audience of enthusiasts,” said Xie Xiaoran, BD Director, ARK Games.
Fishing Travel is an exploratory fishing game where players choose from a variety of settings—lakes, rivers and the open ocean. Each location hosts unique species that require specific skills to catch.
The post Flexion Enters into Partnership with ARK Games appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Brasilia
BiS Brasília focuses on responsible governance for Brazil’s gaming and betting future
BiS Brasília is confirmed for June 2–3, bringing a strong focus on responsible governance and the future of the gaming and betting industry in Brazil.
The event will take place on June 2–3 at the Royal Tulip Brasília Alvorada hotel.
The event will gather key stakeholders, authorities, and industry leaders to discuss major developments shaping the sector.
In its second edition, the event expects a 20% increase in attendance compared to last year.
“Reaching the second edition of BiS Brasília represents the consolidation of an essential space for dialogue between the private sector, authorities, and experts at a decisive moment for the Brazilian market.
Brasília is the center of the country’s major regulatory discussions, and bringing together key ecosystem players in the federal capital reinforces the event’s commitment to building a more transparent, responsible, and sustainable industry,” said Alessandro Valente, the cofounder.
Tickets are available at: https://brazilianigamingsummit.com/brasilia/
About BiS Brasília
In its second edition, BiS Brasília is an event dedicated to the iGaming and betting ecosystem, fostering dialogue between the private sector, public authorities, and society on the development of Brazil’s regulated market for gaming, casinos, and lotteries.
The event brings together business leaders, regulators, and industry experts to discuss key strategic topics such as Brazilian regulation, taxation, integrity, innovation, responsible gaming, compliance, AML / anti-money laundering, licensing, sports integrity, government relations, advertising, and CONAR standards.
BiS SiGMA South America is part of the SiGMA World events portfolio, one of the leading global platforms for B2B business networking and events focused on the gaming and betting industry.
The post BiS Brasília focuses on responsible governance for Brazil’s gaming and betting future appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
casino games
Tequity Publishing launches Mirror Image Gaming’s K-Pop Drop with Stake exclusivity
Tequity Publishing has launched K-Pop Drop, a Burst Game from Mirror Image Gaming, with an exclusive first release on Stake. The game went live on 11th May 2026 and will be available only on Stake initially, before expanding to Tequity’s wider operator network the following week.
According to the companies, K-Pop Drop is an anime-inspired Burst Game featuring escalating multipliers and interactive mechanics. The title includes potential multipliers of up to 5000x and follows a character called Sakura as she progresses through gameplay features including boosts, landing zones, bonus triggers, and hazards.
“K-Pop Drop immediately stood out to us as the type of modern, high-energy content we believe is becoming increasingly important within the market,” said Dominic Sawyer, VP Growth at Tequity. “Players today are looking for more interactive, entertaining experiences that feel highly engaging from the first second of gameplay. Mirror Image Gaming has done a fantastic job creating a game with real personality and strong replayability, and we’re excited to launch it first with Stake before rolling it out across the wider network.”
Mirror Image Gaming CEO Gray Wagner said the Stake launch is intended to broaden the game’s reach. “We wanted K-Pop Drop to feel fast, unpredictable, energetic, and memorable – something that instantly stands out both visually and through gameplay,” said Wagner. “Working with Tequity Publishing and launching first with Stake gives the game an incredibly strong platform from day one, and we’re excited to see players experience it.”
Tequity said K-Pop Drop will become available to its wider operator network from the week commencing 18th May.
The post Tequity Publishing launches Mirror Image Gaming’s K-Pop Drop with Stake exclusivity appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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