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Fan Index Reveals: The MOST Popular Gaming Character of ALL TIME

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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.

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Top Sports Events & Promos by N1 Partners: Where to Drive Tier-1 Traffic in February

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top-sports-events-&-promos-by-n1-partners:-where-to-drive-tier-1-traffic-in-february

February presents one of the strongest seasonal windows for affiliates working with Tier-1 sports traffic — and N1 Partners is expanding the opportunities even further.

The affiliate program has strengthened its sports offering by making betting available across three brands: the flagship N1 Bet, alongside RollXO and Lucky Hunter. This multi-brand setup allows partners to scale sports traffic strategically while leveraging casino brands with proven conversion performance.

Instead of relying on a single product, affiliates can now diversify traffic flows, stabilize KPIs, and combine sports, casino, and seasonal promotional mechanics for stronger long-term results.

Why February Is a Prime Month for Sports Traffic

Conversion stability often depends on timing. Campaigns aligned with seasonal peaks, major sporting events, and emotionally engaging dates consistently outperform generic traffic launches.

February stands out due to:

  • A packed schedule of top European football leagues and international tournaments

  • The Winter Olympic Games

  • Valentine’s Day seasonal campaigns

  • Increased emotional engagement and deposit intent

During high-profile events and holiday periods, users are more likely to deposit, participate in promotions, and return to the platform. The right contextual hook can directly influence conversion rate, average deposit size, and retention.

To help affiliates capitalize on this momentum, N1 Partners has prepared a focused list of key February sports events and active promotional mechanics.

Key Sports Events in February 2026

11 February

  • Coppa Italia Quarter-final: Bologna vs Lazio

  • Olympic Ice Hockey: Slovakia vs Finland

  • Premier League: Manchester City vs Fulham

  • DFB Pokal Quarter-final: Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig

  • NBA: Houston Rockets vs LA Clippers

  • Copa Libertadores Qualification Quarter-finals (2nd legs)

12 February

  • Olympic Ice Hockey: Czech Republic vs Canada

  • Premier League: Brentford vs Arsenal

  • NBA: Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks

  • EuroLeague Regular Season (Round 28)

  • Rugby Super League (England & France)

13 February

  • Olympic Ice Hockey: Canada vs Switzerland

  • NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Milwaukee Bucks

  • German Handball Bundesliga

14 February (Valentine’s Day Peak)

  • Olympic Ice Hockey: USA vs Denmark

  • FA Cup Round of 16

  • Bundesliga: Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich

  • France Top 14 Rugby

  • Liga ASOBAL (Spain)

  • Liga ACB (Spain)

15 February

  • Olympic Ice Hockey: Switzerland vs Czech Republic

  • Serie A: Inter vs Juventus

  • Serie A: Napoli vs Roma

  • Serie A: Lazio vs Atalanta

  • LaLiga: Girona vs Barcelona

  • LaLiga: Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad

  • Ligue 1: Marseille vs Strasbourg

  • Ligue 1: Rennes vs PSG

  • NBA All-Star

  • WTA 1000 Dubai – Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

This density of premium events creates multiple testing angles for creatives, pre-landers, and geo-targeted funnels.

Valentine’s Day Promotions Across N1 Partners Brands

To enhance conversion rates during peak emotional engagement, N1 Partners is launching seasonal campaigns across key brands.

Valentine’s Advent Calendar (N1 Bet & RollXO)

Period: 13–17 February

Five days of engagement mechanics:

  • 13.02 – Love Box: prize up to €15,000

  • 14.02 – Valentine’s Riddle Offer: 100% bonus up to €500 + 150 FS

  • 15.02 – Sunday Challenge: 50% bonus on the 3rd deposit

  • 16.02 – Road to Free Spins: 30 FS for every €350

  • 17.02 – Fortune Lottery Series: €63,000 prize pool

Cupid Mailbox Lottery (Lucky Hunter)

Period: 9–14 February

  • 28 winners

  • Grand prizes include a trip to Paris

  • €6,400 + 1,400 Free Spins prize pool

These mechanics integrate smoothly into sports-driven funnels and allow affiliates to increase average deposit value and session frequency.

Why This Strategy Works for Tier-1 Affiliates

Seasonal and event-driven campaigns help partners:

  • Increase average deposit size

  • Improve LTV through repeat engagement

  • Offset typical mid-quarter CR slowdowns

  • Enhance emotional appeal through contextual offers

  • Diversify revenue streams across sports and casino

In competitive Tier-1 markets, product-driven campaigns and structured promotions help stabilize performance and make scaling more predictable.

What Affiliates Should Do Now

February combines major football clashes, Olympic hype, NBA spotlight events, and Valentine’s promotions into one high-conversion window.

Now is the time to:

  • Drive sports traffic to top European leagues and Olympic matchups

  • Integrate Valentine’s promotions into creatives

  • Split-test traffic between N1 Bet, RollXO, and Lucky Hunter

  • Use seasonal hooks to strengthen CTR and deposit intent

The N1 Partners team provides updated promotional materials, analytics support, and personalized optimization guidance tailored to traffic volumes.

About N1 Partners

N1 Partners is a multi-brand affiliate platform and direct advertiser uniting 14+ casino and betting brands across Tier-1 GEOs.

Key highlights:

  • Reg2Dep rates up to 70%

  • CPA up to €700

  • RevShare up to 45%

  • 14,000+ active partners

  • Dedicated affiliate management and long-term performance focus

More than just an affiliate program, N1 Partners delivers a performance-driven ecosystem designed to help affiliates scale sustainably in competitive markets.

The post Top Sports Events & Promos by N1 Partners: Where to Drive Tier-1 Traffic in February appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Top Sports Events & Promos by N1 Partners: Where to Drive Tier-1 Traffic in February

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top-sports-events-&-promos-by-n1-partners:-where-to-drive-tier-1-traffic-in-february

N1 Partners expands its sports traffic capabilities. Betting is now available across three brands within the affiliate program’s portfolio: alongside the flagship sports product N1 Bet, RollXO and Lucky Hunter have joined the lineup.

For partners, this opens up new opportunities to work with Tier-1 sports traffic. You can scale volumes on a dedicated betting product while simultaneously running sports traffic on casino brands with already strong conversion rates. This approach allows affiliates to diversify traffic flows, reduce reliance on a single product, and strengthen key performance metrics by combining sports, casino, and seasonal promotional mechanics.

Why Seasonal Events Matter When Driving Traffic

In practice, the most consistent conversion results are achieved when traffic launches are aligned with seasonality, key news hooks, and behavioral peaks in player activity.

February offers a particularly strong combination of factors:

  • a packed schedule of top football leagues and tournaments
  • the Winter Olympic Games
  • seasonal holidays, including Valentine’s Day
  • increased emotional engagement from players

During such periods, users are more likely to make deposit decisions, engage with promotions, and return to the product. Timing and the right contextual hook have a direct impact on overall performance.

To simplify campaign planning and help partners make the most of this period, the N1 Partners team has prepared a selection of key sports events and active promotions that are well suited for driving sports traffic.

Key Sports Events in February

11.02.2026

Soccer | Italy, Coppa Italia | Quarter-final | Bologna – Lazio

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Slovakia vs Finland

Soccer | England, Premier League | Manchester City – Fulham

Soccer | Germany, DFB Pokal | Quarter-final | Bayern Munich – RB Leipzig

Basketball | NBA | Houston Rockets – LA Clippers

Soccer | CONMEBOL, Copa Libertadores, Qualification, Quarter-finals | 2-nd legs

12.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Czech Republic vs Canada

Soccer | England, Premier League | Brentford – Arsenal

Basketball | NBA | Orlando Magic – Milwaukee Bucks

Basketball | EuroLeague, Regular Season | Round 28

Rugby League | Super League (England, France) | Regular Season

13.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Canada vs Switzerland

Basketball | NBA | Oklahoma City Thunder – Milwaukee Bucks

Handball | Germany, Bundesliga | Next Round

14.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | USA vs Denmark

Soccer | England, FA Cup | 1/16-finals

Soccer | Germany, Bundesliga | Werder Bremen – Bayern Munich

Rugby Union | France, Top 14 | Round 17

Handball | Spain, Liga ASOBAL | Next Round

Basketball | Spain, Liga ACB | Round 20

15.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Switzerland vs Czech Republic

Soccer | Italy, Serie A | Inter – Juventus

Soccer | Italy, Serie A | Napoli – AS Roma

Soccer | Italy, Serie A | Lazio – Atalanta

Soccer | Spain, LaLiga | Girona – Barcelona

Soccer | Spain, LaLiga | Real Madrid – Real Sociedad

Soccer | France, Ligue 1 | Marseille – Strasbourg

Soccer | France, Ligue 1 | Rennes – PSG

Basketball | NBA | ALL-Star

Tennis | WTA 1000 Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Active Promotions Across N1 Partners Brands

To boost player activity and support conversion rates during peak dates, N1 Partners is launching seasonal Valentine’s Day promotions across key brands. These campaigns provide partners with additional leverage when driving traffic and engaging users.

Valentine’s Advent Calendar (N1 Bet, RollXO)

Period: 13.02–17.02

Daily rewards available for participants over five days:

  • 13.02 Love Box: prize up to €15,000
  • 14.02 Valentine’s Riddle Offer: 100% bonus up to €500 + 150 FS
  • 15.02 Sunday Challenge: 50% bonus on the 3rd deposit
  • 16.02 Road to Free Spins: 30 FS for every €350
  • 17.02 Fortune Lottery Series: prize pool €63,000

Cupid Mailbox Lottery (Lucky Hunter)

Period: 09.02–14.02

Prize pool for 28 winners: trip to Paris + €6,400 + 1,400 FS

Why This Matters for Partners

Seasonal promotions and event-driven campaigns help partners address several key challenges when working with Tier-1 traffic:

  • encourage higher average deposits
  • increase LTV through repeat engagement
  • sustain activity during periods when CR typically declines
  • integrate smoothly into creative bundles and ad formats
  • strengthen the emotional appeal of offers through holidays and major events

In a highly competitive environment, these product-driven initiatives help partners maintain stable and predictable performance.

What Partners Should Do Now

February combines major sports events, seasonal triggers, and strong promotional mechanics into a single high-potential window.

Drive traffic to key sports events and Valentine’s Day promotions across N1 Partners brands: N1 Bet, RollXO, and Lucky Hunter.

The N1 Partners team is ready to provide up-to-date promotions, analytics, and dedicated support tailored to your traffic volumes.

Join N1 Partners

N1 Partners provides everything affiliates need to stay ahead: high-converting products, ongoing analytics with optimization recommendations, and hands-on support from managers focused on long-term performance.

N1 Partners is more than an affiliate program. As a multi-brand affiliate platform and direct advertiser, the company unites 14+ casino and betting brands, operates across Tier-1 GEOs, delivers Reg2Dep rates of up to 70%, and offers competitive deals for top partners — CPA up to €700 and RevShare up to 45%. Trusted by 14,000+ partners, N1 Partners is recognized for its transparency, flexibility, and partner-first approach — where people and communication quality remain the foundation of long-term success.

The post Top Sports Events & Promos by N1 Partners: Where to Drive Tier-1 Traffic in February appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Top Sports Events & Promos by N1 Partners: Where to Drive Tier-1 Traffic in February

Published

on

N1 Partners expands its sports traffic capabilities. Betting is now available across three brands within the affiliate program’s portfolio: alongside the flagship sports product N1 Bet, RollXO and Lucky Hunter have joined the lineup.

For partners, this opens up new opportunities to work with Tier-1 sports traffic. You can scale volumes on a dedicated betting product while simultaneously running sports traffic on casino brands with already strong conversion rates. This approach allows affiliates to diversify traffic flows, reduce reliance on a single product, and strengthen key performance metrics by combining sports, casino, and seasonal promotional mechanics.

Why Seasonal Events Matter When Driving Traffic

In practice, the most consistent conversion results are achieved when traffic launches are aligned with seasonality, key news hooks, and behavioral peaks in player activity.

February offers a particularly strong combination of factors:

  • a packed schedule of top football leagues and tournaments
  • the Winter Olympic Games
  • seasonal holidays, including Valentine’s Day
  • increased emotional engagement from players

During such periods, users are more likely to make deposit decisions, engage with promotions, and return to the product. Timing and the right contextual hook have a direct impact on overall performance.

To simplify campaign planning and help partners make the most of this period, the N1 Partners team has prepared a selection of key sports events and active promotions that are well suited for driving sports traffic.

Key Sports Events in February

11.02.2026

Soccer | Italy, Coppa Italia | Quarter-final | Bologna – Lazio

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Slovakia vs Finland

Soccer | England, Premier League | Manchester City – Fulham

Soccer | Germany, DFB Pokal | Quarter-final | Bayern Munich – RB Leipzig

Basketball | NBA | Houston Rockets – LA Clippers

Soccer | CONMEBOL, Copa Libertadores, Qualification, Quarter-finals | 2-nd legs

12.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Czech Republic vs Canada

Soccer | England, Premier League | Brentford – Arsenal

Basketball | NBA | Orlando Magic – Milwaukee Bucks

Basketball | EuroLeague, Regular Season | Round 28

Rugby League | Super League (England, France) | Regular Season

13.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Canada vs Switzerland

Basketball | NBA | Oklahoma City Thunder – Milwaukee Bucks

Handball | Germany, Bundesliga | Next Round

14.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | USA vs Denmark

Soccer | England, FA Cup | 1/16-finals

Soccer | Germany, Bundesliga | Werder Bremen – Bayern Munich

Rugby Union | France, Top 14 | Round 17

Handball | Spain, Liga ASOBAL | Next Round

Basketball | Spain, Liga ACB | Round 20

15.02.2026

Ice Hockey | Olympic Games | Switzerland vs Czech Republic

Soccer | Italy, Serie A | Inter – Juventus

Soccer | Italy, Serie A | Napoli – AS Roma

Soccer | Italy, Serie A | Lazio – Atalanta

Soccer | Spain, LaLiga | Girona – Barcelona

Soccer | Spain, LaLiga | Real Madrid – Real Sociedad

Soccer | France, Ligue 1 | Marseille – Strasbourg

Soccer | France, Ligue 1 | Rennes – PSG

Basketball | NBA | ALL-Star

Tennis | WTA 1000 Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Active Promotions Across N1 Partners Brands

To boost player activity and support conversion rates during peak dates, N1 Partners is launching seasonal Valentine’s Day promotions across key brands. These campaigns provide partners with additional leverage when driving traffic and engaging users.

Valentine’s Advent Calendar (N1 Bet, RollXO)

Period: 13.02–17.02

Daily rewards available for participants over five days:

  • 13.02 Love Box: prize up to €15,000
  • 14.02 Valentine’s Riddle Offer: 100% bonus up to €500 + 150 FS
  • 15.02 Sunday Challenge: 50% bonus on the 3rd deposit
  • 16.02 Road to Free Spins: 30 FS for every €350
  • 17.02 Fortune Lottery Series: prize pool €63,000

Cupid Mailbox Lottery (Lucky Hunter)

Period: 09.02–14.02

Prize pool for 28 winners: trip to Paris + €6,400 + 1,400 FS

Why This Matters for Partners

Seasonal promotions and event-driven campaigns help partners address several key challenges when working with Tier-1 traffic:

  • encourage higher average deposits
  • increase LTV through repeat engagement
  • sustain activity during periods when CR typically declines
  • integrate smoothly into creative bundles and ad formats
  • strengthen the emotional appeal of offers through holidays and major events

In a highly competitive environment, these product-driven initiatives help partners maintain stable and predictable performance.

What Partners Should Do Now

February combines major sports events, seasonal triggers, and strong promotional mechanics into a single high-potential window.

Drive traffic to key sports events and Valentine’s Day promotions across N1 Partners brands: N1 Bet, RollXO, and Lucky Hunter.

The N1 Partners team is ready to provide up-to-date promotions, analytics, and dedicated support tailored to your traffic volumes.

Join N1 Partners

N1 Partners provides everything affiliates need to stay ahead: high-converting products, ongoing analytics with optimization recommendations, and hands-on support from managers focused on long-term performance.

N1 Partners is more than an affiliate program. As a multi-brand affiliate platform and direct advertiser, the company unites 14+ casino and betting brands, operates across Tier-1 GEOs, delivers Reg2Dep rates of up to 70%, and offers competitive deals for top partners — CPA up to €700 and RevShare up to 45%. Trusted by 14,000+ partners, N1 Partners is recognized for its transparency, flexibility, and partner-first approach — where people and communication quality remain the foundation of long-term success.

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