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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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Boomerang Partners
Boomerang Partners delivered expert sports insights during two days of iGB L!VE London 2026
From July 1 to 2 inclusive, Boomerang Partners, an Affiliate Gambling & Betting Marketing Agency, participated in iGB L!VE London on stand F50. One of the world’s largest iGaming events was held on a grand scale at ExCeL London. It proved to be an effective networking platform for major operators, affiliate teams, tech vendors, and game providers.
Meetings, sports expertise, and new agreements
One of the main topics attracting visitors to the stand was Boomerang’s expertise in sports. The company runs one of the leading sports-focused affiliate programs in the industry and is eager to share its expertise with market players. This knowledge is built on the support of a strong in-house analytics department, and one of its results was the launch of the Sports Marketing and Betting Calendar 2026 earlier this year. Numerous affiliate teams use insights from this guide to launch and run campaigns throughout the current year, which is packed with high-level sports competitions.
Shortlist in the Best Affiliate Programme category
On July 2, the final day of the conference, the iGB Affiliate Awards 2026 ceremony took place in a stylish venue at the legendary The Shard. Boomerang Partners were shortlisted in the prestigious Best Affiliate Programme category. This marked a high recognition of the company’s achievements by industry leaders. In 2026, it celebrates its 5th anniversary. Boomerang has over 3,000 active affiliate partners, 10+ partner brands in its portfolio, and is an Official Regional Partner of AC Milan. Since July 2026, the partnership has entered its third season – a collaboration that has become a benchmark for cooperation between one of the world’s leading football clubs and a top iGaming company.
Kristina Shkredova, Affiliate Team Lead at Boomerang Partners, commented: “iGB L!VE London is always a powerful platform for meaningful dialogue and professional networking. This year, we felt a particularly strong interest in our sports-focused expertise, which confirms that affiliates are looking for deep market knowledge, not just traffic volumes. Now our sights are set on SBC Summit Lisbon, where we will once again connect with affiliates and showcase what we do best.”
What’s next
The next major industry exhibition where affiliate teams can see Boomerang Partners will be the SBC Summit Lisbon. The event will take place from September 29 to October 1, and the company has announced that it will also hold the Golden Boomerang Awards 2026 award ceremony in Lisbon. The TOP 30 teams of this landmark annual affiliate traffic tournament will visit a secret location, where the company will announce the winners in 11 categories. The third season is in full swing – affiliate teams can follow its progress or join the participation on the GBA’s official website.
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 clients’ portfolio contains 10+ brands offering affiliate and entertainment services across multiple markets in compliance with local regulations. These products provide incentive programs and 24/7 multilingual support.
The post Boomerang Partners delivered expert sports insights during two days of iGB L!VE London 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Baccarat
Microgaming Live launches All-In Speed Baccarat with new interactive features
Microgaming Live has launched All-In Speed Baccarat, a new live casino table that went live on 17 June. The product is positioned as an update to Speed Baccarat, adding new interactive and visual elements alongside the faster gameplay format.
The table uses a modern neon studio design intended to stand out in the lobby. Microgaming Live said it has also added engagement tools to make the experience feel more responsive during play.
New features include a mascot, Tokki, which reacts in real time to outcomes as well as Good Roads and Dragon Tail events. Players can use sticker reactions during gameplay and send gifts to presenters.
The table also introduces Mystery Box Rounds, which the company said allow players to earn points and unlock stickers and gifts.
A Microgaming spokesperson said: “All-In Speed Baccarat keeps the pace and familiarity that players already enjoy, while adding more energy and ways to engage with the table in real-time. The aim was to make the experience feel more rewarding and more immersive, without losing the speed and simplicity that makes baccarat such an enduring live casino format.”
The post Microgaming Live launches All-In Speed Baccarat with new interactive features appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
BOYLE Sports
BOYLE Sports rolls out Touch Bet across Digital Racing Post shop screens
BOYLE Sports has launched Touch Bet across its Digital Racing Post Shops estate, adding a new touchscreen betting flow for horse racing customers. The rollout, announced 7th July, 2026, was developed with Spotlight Sports Group and is initially available on an exclusive basis to BOYLE Sports.
Touch Bet lets customers browse race meetings and build a racing bet on Digital Racing Post touchscreens in-shop. Once a bet is created, customers can either take it to the counter to place with staff or complete it in the BOYLE Sports app by scanning a QR code.
Philip Chubb, Retail Commercial Director at BOYLE Sports, said: “Touch Bet is a major step forward for our racing customers and marks a significant milestone in our retail offering. We know customers want more control, more convenience and a smoother experience when placing their bets. With Touch Bet, they can browse, build and place their racing bets in the way that suits them, whether that’s at the counter or through our app.
“We’re especially proud that this is an industry-exclusive launch for BOYLE Sports. It gives our shop customers first access to a new way of betting and shows our continued commitment to investing in better retail and digital experiences.”
Jon Sanders, Head of Retail Development at Spotlight Sports Group, added: “BOYLE Sports’ Touch Bet represents a true first in the retail environment, combining the quality betting experience honed by BOYLE Sports with the premium Racing Post content presented on the Digital Display Screens. BOYLE Sports are the ideal partner to work alongside in developing and launching the product.. By bringing the trusted expertise behind Racing Post onto the shop floor, we are giving customers a more intuitive and efficient way to build and place their bets. Retail remains a vital part of the betting experience, and we are proud to support BOYLE Sports as they continue to connect digital and in-shop betting.”
BOYLE Sports positioned the launch as part of a wider omnichannel strategy and pointed to a £100m investment in the UK market last year. The operator also referenced existing product work including Smart ACCA, described as a data-led accumulator tool across football and horse racing.
The post BOYLE Sports rolls out Touch Bet across Digital Racing Post shop screens appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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