Latest News
Fan Index Reveals: The MOST Popular Gaming Character of ALL TIME
The most popular gaming character is Mario, receiving a whopping 451 points from the fan index
In second place is Sonic the Hedgehog with 394 points, receiving a staggering 59,700,700 Google searches in the last year
Legend of Zelda’s Link lands third place with 377 points, holding the largest number of Reddit mentions
The least popular gaming character is Jack from BioShock with just 48 points!
We’ve spent a lot of time at home, getting to know our favourite video games more than ever before, falling even more in love with a whole range of gaming characters. However, there is plenty of debate about which characters are the nations’ favourite!
With this in mind, experts at Stashbird.com wanted to discover the most popular gaming characters of all time from the best-selling video game franchises*. To thoroughly investigate, Stashbird.com created a gaming fans’ index by analysing the following factors:
Sales of the franchise
Average worldwide searches over the past year
Number of hashtags on Instagram
Number of Reddit mentions
Gamers’ popularity score (survey)
The top 10 most popular characters
Stashbird.com can reveal that in first place, and crowned the most popular gaming character, is Mario with a massive 451 fan index points!
Mario ranked first for franchise sales with a staggering 653,000,000 worldwide copies of Mario games sold, bagging him an easy 100 points. The fun-loving character also ranked sixth for average worldwide searches with 4,606,547 (86 points) in the past year alone! Despite these results, Mario only ranked 10th for popularity, with 45% of gamers choosing him as their ultimate favourite.
Not far behind in second place is Sonic the Hedgehog with 394 points. The extraterrestrial hedgehog ranked second for worldwide searches (59,700,000), giving him 97 points! He was voted the favourite by only 21% of gamers surveyed, however bagged himself 91 points for his 94,300 Reddit mentions.
Link from The Legend of Zelda places third, accumulating 377 points! It is no surprise as the star of the Nintendo series to have ranked top for Reddit mentions (3,920,000) and popularity score (74%), receiving 100 points for both! Interestingly, he ranked lower down for search volumes, with 1,196,200 average searches over the past year.
At number four is Donkey Kong with 354 points, scoring high with 3,930,000 yearly average searches (83 points), 570,000 Instagram hashtags (77 points) and 26,400 Reddit mentions (80 points).
To complete the 10 most popular gaming characters, the results are as follows:
5. Master Chief (Halo) 323 points, Crash (Crash Bandicoot) 323 points, Sora (Kingdom Hearts) 323 points
6. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy) 314 points
7. Pac-Man (Pac-Man) 308 points
8. Kirby (Kirby) 306 points
9. Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) 294 points
Closing the top 10 is Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, star of four of the Assassin’s Creed games, with 291 points!
Just making the bottom 10 is Joel Miller, ranking 25th out of a possible 34 places, from the Last of Us. This is not surprising as the franchise only scored 14 points for its 24 million sales. He also scored low on Reddit searches, receiving just 29 points for his 1,670 mentions.
John Marston from Red Dead Redemption and Simon Belmont from Castlevania were both among the least popular with 94 and 74 points, respectively.
Bioshock’s Jack rounds off the bottom 10 list with measly 48 points – a staggering 403 points less than first place contender Mario.
Methodology
1. *Stashbird.com analysed the list of best-selling video game franchises that have sold at least 20 million copies and pulled the most popular/recognised character from each to compile the list of 36 most popular gaming characters of all time.
2. The team then created an index looking at several factors, including sales of the franchise, search volumes using SemRush, the number of Instagram hashtags per character and the number of mentions on Reddit.
3. Finally, to complete the index Stashbird.com surveyed 4,567 gamers worldwide to ask them to vote for their favourite from the list to give each character a popularity score.
4. Games where there is no playable main character were excluded from the list.
5. Stashbird normalised the data by using the PERCENTRANK.INC function in Excel. This function returns the rank of a value in a data set as a percentage of the data set between 0 and 1. These values were then multiplied by 100 to make the range between 0 and 100. The maximum score a character could receive was 500.This enabled the team to rank the 36 characters from most to least popular based on their total points. The data was collected on 29/02/2021 and is correct as of then.
Powered by WPeMatico
Boomerang Partners
The ongoing TIME TO WIN tournament by Boomerang Partners offers affiliates access to rewards connected with AC Milan.
The exclusive TIME TO WIN affiliate tournament, organised by Boomerang Partners – an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan – is gaining momentum, with dozens of affiliate teams from across the globe already competing for valuable prizes and once-in-a-lifetime AC Milan experiences.
The Clock Is Ticking
With the tournament closing on March 31, 2026, every day counts. Affiliates who delay risk losing ground to competitors, as points accumulate quickly and unique experiences, including a behind-the-scenes visit to AC Milan’s Milanello Sports Centre powered by Clivet, will not be available after this activation. The call to action is clear: act now, complete tasks, and accumulate points to qualify for prize draws featuring a range of AC Milan-related rewards.
How Affiliates Earn Points
Participants in the TIME TO WIN tournament complete structured tasks across five key segments. Each task earns a fixed number of points:
-
Generate new sports users for Boomerang’s client portfolio (10 points per qualified action)
-
Complete the survey (25 points)
-
Contribute expert commentary (30 points)
-
Showcase creativity via a dedicated social media challenge (25 points)
-
Leave a review on a selected platform (20 points)
As affiliates reach specific point thresholds, they unlock entry to one of five prize draws. Higher scores give access to more draws, creating a competitive and rewarding environment for active participants.
Exclusive AC Milan Experiences Await
The tournament’s prize structure is designed to reward top-performing affiliates with increasingly prestigious AC Milan experiences:
-
150 points – Entry to the TIME TO WIN Merch Pack draw (3 sets of 5 kits each)
-
250 points – Entry to the draw for official AC Milan jerseys signed by players (3 sets of 5 jerseys each)
-
350 points – Entry to the draw for a trip for five to attend AC Milan vs Cagliari
-
550 points – Entry to the draw for a trip for five to attend AC Milan vs Juventus, including behind-the-scenes access, pre-match tunnel experience, and pitchside viewing of team warm-ups
-
750 points – The ultimate tier, granting entry to the draw for a trip to AC Milan’s legendary Milanello Sports Centre powered by Clivet. Two prizes are available for five guests each, offering exclusive behind-the-scenes access, a tour of the facilities, and the opportunity to witness the Men’s First Team training in action – a truly rare and unforgettable experience.
Affiliates Share Their Experience
Participants are actively sharing their enthusiasm. Sports influencer Firo Orakel said:
“Being part of the TIME TO WIN tournament truly means a lot to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate. The prizes are a strong motivator, and I love being able to share them with my community. I promote the campaign on my Discord server and during my streams to keep momentum going.”
The Rossoneri Hub – Central Platform for Engagement
All tournament activities are coordinated through the Rossoneri Hub, Boomerang Partners’ central platform for AC Milan-related activations. This hub serves as a one-stop destination for affiliates, providing updates, guidance, and resources to maximise performance and engagement.
Strategically Timed During the Peak Sports Season
The tournament’s timing in February–March 2026 is deliberate, coinciding with a peak moment in the football season, including the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds. Boomerang Partners supports affiliates with a detailed guide offering market insights, expected player activity shifts, practical tips, and data-driven strategies to navigate these high-stakes periods effectively. TIME TO WIN is built for moments like this, when the competitive landscape is at its peak.
About Boomerang Partners
Boomerang Partners is a rapidly growing global marketing agency delivering a wide array of services. As an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan, the agency is uniquely positioned to create sports-focused activations that combine strategy, technology, and engagement. In 2024, it launched the Golden Boomerang Awards, a global tournament for affiliate teams, which saw over 400 teams participate in its 2025 second season.
The agency manages 10+ brands across 40+ regulated markets, offering affiliate and entertainment services with personalized bonuses and 24/7 multilingual support. Between 2024–2025, new product launches from partner brands contributed to a nearly 1.5× increase in product users, highlighting Boomerang’s ability to deliver measurable growth through data-driven affiliate campaigns.
The post The ongoing TIME TO WIN tournament by Boomerang Partners offers affiliates access to rewards connected with AC Milan. appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Boomerang Partners
The ongoing TIME TO WIN tournament by Boomerang Partners offers affiliates access to rewards connected with AC Milan.
The exclusive TIME TO WIN affiliate tournament by Boomerang Partners, an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan, is gaining momentum. Dozens of affiliate teams worldwide have already joined the race to compete for valuable prizes and unique AC Milan-related experiences.
Don’t miss your chance
The clock is winding down. With the tournament closing on March 31, every day you wait is a point a competitor earns. Competition is intensifying, and access to unique experiences – including a behind-the-scenes visit to AC Milan’s training base, Milanello Sports Centre powered by Clivet – will not be available beyond this activation.
The time to act is now. Participants can access the tournament page, complete the tasks, and accumulate points, securing a place for prize draws featuring AC Milan-related experiences.
How affiliates earn points
The TIME TO WIN tournament participants complete clearly structured tasks across five segments. Each completed task brings a fixed number of points:
- Generate new sports users for brands within Boomerang’s client portfolio (10 points per qualified action)
- Take the survey (25 points)
- Share your insights by contributing expert commentary (30 points)
- Prove your creativity through a dedicated SMM challenge (25 points)
- Leave a review on a selected platform (20 points)
As soon as affiliates reach specific point thresholds, they unlock access to prize draws. There are five in total, and the higher the score, the more draws a team qualifies for.
Exclusive AC Milan experiences
By reaching specific point thresholds, affiliate teams will gain access to the corresponding prize draws linked to exclusive AC Milan experiences. The structure is clear:
- 150 points – qualify for the TIME TO WIN Merch Pack draw (3 sets of 5 kits each)
- 250 points – enter the draw for official AC Milan jerseys signed by players (3 sets of 5 jerseys each)
- 350 points – secure a place in the draw for a trip for five persons to attend AC Milan v Cagliari
- 550 points – become eligible for the draw for a trip for five persons to attend AC Milan v Juventus, including exclusive behind-the-scenes access with pre-match access to the tunnel area, and pitchside viewing of the teams’ warm-up.
The ultimate tier requires 750 points and unlocks access to the draw for an exclusive trip to AC Milan’s legendary training base, Milanello Sports Centre powered by Clivet. Reserved for top-performing teams (2 prizes for 5 guests each), this experience offers behind-the-scenes access to the Club’s inner environment, including a tour of the facilities and the opportunity to see the Men First Team training. This is a rare behind-the-scenes experience offering a unique glimpse into AC Milan’s daily routine.
Affiliate teams participating in the TIME TO WIN tournament actively share positive feedback. For example, sports influencer Firo Orakel highlighted his experience: “Being part of the TIME TO WIN tournament truly means a lot to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate. The prizes are a strong motivator – I want to share them with my community as well, as it gives them a chance to benefit too. I actively support the campaign through my Discord server, where I engage directly with my audience, and I also promote it regularly during my streams to keep the momentum going,” said Firo.
The Rossoneri Hub as the central platform
All activities related to the TIME TO WIN tournament are featured on the Rossoneri Hub portal, the main platform where Boomerang Partners centralizes its AC Milan-related activations. This is a unique web resource that Boomerang Partners launched as an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan.
A strategic moment within the sports season
Boomerang Partners’ decision to hold the TIME TO WIN tournament in February-March 2026 is no coincidence. This period marks one of the peak moments of the sports season, alongside major international competitions and football tournaments, the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds. The company is ready to actively share its sports expertise, including through an exclusive guide which provides affiliates with information on expected shifts in player activity by competition stage, market insights, practical recommendations, and data-driven guidance for navigating the sports peak.
TIME TO WIN was built for moments like this – when the sports calendar is at its peak. Join now and compete for unique AC Milan experiences.
About Boomerang
Boomerang Partners is a rapidly growing global marketing agency offering a wide range of services. Boomerang Partners is an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan. In 2024, it launched the inaugural Golden Boomerang Awards – a global tournament for affiliate teams. More than 400 affiliate teams participated in the second season of the tournament in 2025. Partners of the Agency launched six new products in 2024-2025, contributing to a nearly 1.5-fold increase in product users.
The agency’s client portfolio contains 10+ brands offering affiliate and entertainment services across 40+ markets in compliance with local regulations. These products provide personalized bonuses and 24/7 multilingual support.
The post The ongoing TIME TO WIN tournament by Boomerang Partners offers affiliates access to rewards connected with AC Milan. appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Latest News
The ongoing TIME TO WIN tournament by Boomerang Partners offers affiliates access to rewards connected with AC Milan.
The exclusive TIME TO WIN affiliate tournament by Boomerang Partners, an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan, is gaining momentum. Dozens of affiliate teams worldwide have already joined the race to compete for valuable prizes and unique AC Milan-related experiences.
Don’t miss your chance
The clock is winding down. With the tournament closing on March 31, every day you wait is a point a competitor earns. Competition is intensifying, and access to unique experiences – including a behind-the-scenes visit to AC Milan’s training base, Milanello Sports Centre powered by Clivet – will not be available beyond this activation.
The time to act is now. Participants can access the tournament page, complete the tasks, and accumulate points, securing a place for prize draws featuring AC Milan-related experiences.
How affiliates earn points
The TIME TO WIN tournament participants complete clearly structured tasks across five segments. Each completed task brings a fixed number of points:
- Generate new sports users for brands within Boomerang’s client portfolio (10 points per qualified action)
- Take the survey (25 points)
- Share your insights by contributing expert commentary (30 points)
- Prove your creativity through a dedicated SMM challenge (25 points)
- Leave a review on a selected platform (20 points)
As soon as affiliates reach specific point thresholds, they unlock access to prize draws. There are five in total, and the higher the score, the more draws a team qualifies for.
Exclusive AC Milan experiences
By reaching specific point thresholds, affiliate teams will gain access to the corresponding prize draws linked to exclusive AC Milan experiences. The structure is clear:
- 150 points – qualify for the TIME TO WIN Merch Pack draw (3 sets of 5 kits each)
- 250 points – enter the draw for official AC Milan jerseys signed by players (3 sets of 5 jerseys each)
- 350 points – secure a place in the draw for a trip for five persons to attend AC Milan v Cagliari
- 550 points – become eligible for the draw for a trip for five persons to attend AC Milan v Juventus, including exclusive behind-the-scenes access with pre-match access to the tunnel area, and pitchside viewing of the teams’ warm-up.
The ultimate tier requires 750 points and unlocks access to the draw for an exclusive trip to AC Milan’s legendary training base, Milanello Sports Centre powered by Clivet. Reserved for top-performing teams (2 prizes for 5 guests each), this experience offers behind-the-scenes access to the Club’s inner environment, including a tour of the facilities and the opportunity to see the Men First Team training. This is a rare behind-the-scenes experience offering a unique glimpse into AC Milan’s daily routine.
Affiliate teams participating in the TIME TO WIN tournament actively share positive feedback. For example, sports influencer Firo Orakel highlighted his experience: “Being part of the TIME TO WIN tournament truly means a lot to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate. The prizes are a strong motivator – I want to share them with my community as well, as it gives them a chance to benefit too. I actively support the campaign through my Discord server, where I engage directly with my audience, and I also promote it regularly during my streams to keep the momentum going,” said Firo.
The Rossoneri Hub as the central platform
All activities related to the TIME TO WIN tournament are featured on the Rossoneri Hub portal, the main platform where Boomerang Partners centralizes its AC Milan-related activations. This is a unique web resource that Boomerang Partners launched as an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan.
A strategic moment within the sports season
Boomerang Partners’ decision to hold the TIME TO WIN tournament in February-March 2026 is no coincidence. This period marks one of the peak moments of the sports season, alongside major international competitions and football tournaments, the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds. The company is ready to actively share its sports expertise, including through an exclusive guide which provides affiliates with information on expected shifts in player activity by competition stage, market insights, practical recommendations, and data-driven guidance for navigating the sports peak.
TIME TO WIN was built for moments like this – when the sports calendar is at its peak. Join now and compete for unique AC Milan experiences.
About Boomerang
Boomerang Partners is a rapidly growing global marketing agency offering a wide range of services. Boomerang Partners is an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan. In 2024, it launched the inaugural Golden Boomerang Awards – a global tournament for affiliate teams. More than 400 affiliate teams participated in the second season of the tournament in 2025. Partners of the Agency launched six new products in 2024-2025, contributing to a nearly 1.5-fold increase in product users.
The agency’s client portfolio contains 10+ brands offering affiliate and entertainment services across 40+ markets in compliance with local regulations. These products provide personalized bonuses and 24/7 multilingual support.
-
Africa6 days agoVeliGames Secures SiGMA Africa’s Industry Rising Star Award
-
ELA Games5 days ago“Patrick’s Treasure Pots”: Hunt for the Pot of Gold in ELA Games’ Celtic Adventure
-
Anders Svensson6 days agoDBET Recruits Jonas Dahlquist, Kicks Off Fresh Football Podcast
-
Andrzej Hyla Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan5 days agoFisherman’s Luck™ Gains Exciting Gainer™ Mechanic from Wazdan
-
HAPPY MONEY HENS5 days agoINSPIRED UNVEILS HAPPY MONEY HENS™, GOLDEN WINNER GRAND CHANCE SUPER WHEEL™ & GOLD CASH FREE SPINS RISING WINS™ ACROSS ONLINE & MOBILE
-
Latest News4 days agoNFL LEGEND ROB GRONKOWSKI TAKES ON HIGH-STAKES POKER PROS ON POKERSTARS BIG GAME ON TOUR IN LAS VEGAS
-
Austria6 days agoBlueprint Gaming Strengthens European Reach with Austria Debut on win2day
-
Bragg Gaming Group5 days agoBragg Strengthens Executive Team for Enhanced Content Strategy, North American Growth, and AI-First Transformation



