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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.
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Adam Pentecost Director of Customer Success at Gaming Corps
Gaming Corps inks strategic UK deal with MrQ
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Gaming Corps – a publicly-listed game development company based in Sweden, has announced a new partnership with UKGC-licensed operator MrQ, marking another confident step in growing its UK presence.
Since launching in 2018, MrQ has built a reputation for doing things on its own terms. The operator already boasts a lobby of over 1,000 games, curated with a focus on fun over fuss, and is one of the few online casinos to offer no wagering requirements. It’s a setup that has resonated strongly with UK players and makes MrQ an ideal home for Gaming Corps’ vibrant, personality-driven portfolio.
Through the partnership, MrQ players will gain access to a wide range of Gaming Corps titles, including high-tempo favourites such as 3 Pigs of Olympus Bonus Pot, Fishing Pro: Reel Collect, 3 Pots of Potions and Wild Woof. More releases are already lined up, including upcoming titles built around the studio’s crowd-pleasing mechanics.
These dynamic titles are already resonating with players in multiple regulated markets, and the new collaboration will ensure UK audiences can enjoy the same mix of bold visuals, quick-hit gameplay cycles and rewarding bonus features.
Adam Pentecost, Director of Customer Success at Gaming Corps, said: “We’ve been focused on growing our footprint in the UK for some time, so partnering with MrQ is a fantastic step forward. Their approach to casino entertainment is refreshing and player-first, which makes them a great match for our content. We’re thrilled to see our titles land on their platform and to continue building momentum in the UK together.”
Daniel Pascoe, Senior Casino Manager at MrQ, added: “Gaming Corps is producing some of the most distinctive content in the market right now. Adding their games broadens our selection and gives players more great options to enjoy. We’re very pleased to welcome them into the MrQ fold.”
The post Gaming Corps inks strategic UK deal with MrQ appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Australia
BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API
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BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API
BetMakers Technology Group is pleased to announce the successful launch of its new partnership with Kiron Interactive, a global leader in virtual sports and number games. Kiron’s full suite of virtual horse racing, greyhound racing, and harness racing content is now fully integrated and available through the BetMakers CoreAPI.
The completed integration enables BetMakers’ global network of wagering operators to activate Kiron’s market-leading virtual racing content directly within their existing BetMakers setup. This delivers high-frequency, always-on racing products that complement live racing, enhance customer engagement, and drive incremental turnover.
“Kiron has built a reputation as a world-class provider of virtual racing content, and we’re excited to bring their high-quality, high-frequency products directly to our operator network,” said Joey Carroll, Director of Business Development & Partnerships at BetMakers. “With the integration now live, our partners can switch on virtual racing immediately and seamlessly expand their racing offering across all three codes.”
Steven Spartinos, Co-CEO at Kiron Interactive added: “Kiron’s focus has always been to give operators content that fits the way people play today. Virtual racing delivers fast, session-based entertainment that complements the live schedule and keeps audiences connected on their own terms. Integrating with BetMakers opens that experience to a broader network through a single, streamlined API. It strengthens our reach and gives operators a practical way to grow their racing portfolio with reliable, always available content.”
With virtual racing now available via a single, modern API alongside BetMakers’ global racing content, fixed-odds pricing, and tote solutions, operators can offer an even more comprehensive racing experience without any additional platform complexity.
Operators interested in enabling virtual racing can contact their BetMakers Account Manager for activation details.
The post BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Balkans
Bragg Gaming Wins Online Platform of the Year at BEGE Awards 2025
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Bragg Gaming has won the “Online Platform of the Year” Award at the BEGE Awards 2025.
Bragg’s Player Account Management (PAM) platform for online casino, sports betting and lottery operators is designed to enhance the player journey, with the tools to grow numbers, maximise revenue, boost engagement, all while putting the player first.
What makes the Bragg PAM stand out? Here’s just a few highlights:
• Next-Generation Automation
• Predictive Insights
• Stability
• Fully Personalised Experiences
“We’re grateful to BEGE and the judging panel for recognising our work and celebrating the progress we’re making across the industry. And a huge thank you to our team and partners for helping us deliver a platform that truly understands the player,” the Company said.
The post Bragg Gaming Wins Online Platform of the Year at BEGE Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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