The Most-Played Video Games Among UK Players

Video gamers tend to have drastically different preferences and gaming habits based on their age and gender demographics, or even their nationality. Additionally, game popularity charts can change almost daily based on new releases, patches and fixes, discounts, and more.

There are also countless people playing browser games, dealer games optimised for apps, and other games that are difficult to track. That, plus all the gamers playing offline, cracked, or pirated software, makes it impossible to determine which games are “most popular” or “most played” at any given time.

Still, game sales are a good indicator of where the industry is going and what types of games people prefer, at least as far as the more “traditional” video games are concerned. So, let’s take a look at the most-played video games among UK players right now.

10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 2022 Edition

The 2022 edition of Modern Warfare 2 is far from the only CoD game popular in the UK in ’23. Both the 2009 version of the game and the 2012 hit Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 went through reworks and matchmaking fixes recently that propelled them near the top of the charts in 2023. The 2022 edition of Modern Warfare 2 has been quite stable in the Top 10 for months, as players keep returning to it.

9. Minecraft

Minecraft rarely leaves the Top 10 popularity chart in most countries, and that is still the case in the UK this year. The game has switched places with other titles a few times but has remained stable between the 5^th and 10^th spot in terms of both sales and playtime.

8. F1 23

Released on 16 June, F1 23 has been a smash hit on both Playstation and Xbox. The game has added quite a bit compared to previous versions, including improved handling, new story mode chapters, a whole new reward-based progression system, and more. Unsurprisingly, this led to many gamers flocking to the new title and abandoning older F1 titles for it.

7. Grand Theft Auto Online

Despite being released over 10 years ago, GTA Online is still as popular as ever in the UK. This online multiplayer action-adventure title has proven over the years that it just understands its audience and delivers the experiences they are looking for. While GTA Online is not devoid of hackers and griefers, this does not seem to affect its popularity.

6. Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy has been a best-seller all across the globe ever since its release in February 2023. The game has gathered quite a few awards (and controversies) along the way too, and it has remained in the Top 10 best-seller list in the UK for eight months straight. This helped the game generate over $1 billion in sales in just a few months by the end of June 2023, making it more successful than all Harry Potter games released between 2004 and 2010 combined.

5 – Red Dead Redemption

The late summer and early autumn of 2023 were huge for Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption, originally released in 2010. This might seem odd, but it’s because the legendary title got a long-awaited remaster on August 17. Although the remaster proved quite controversial for various reasons – from the high price tag to the lack of additional content and features – that didn’t stop it from topping the sales charts just 24 hours after its release.

4 – Red Dead Redemption 2

The 2018 sequel Red Dead Redemption 2 was also in the Top 10, right alongside its predecessor. The explanation behind its undiminished popularity five years after its original release is two-pronged – huge summer discounts on both PlayStation and Xbox and the aforementioned Red Dead Redemption remaster bringing renewed interest to the franchise.

3. Grand Theft Auto 5

The second GTA game on this Top 10 list, Grand Theft Auto 5 celebrated its 10^th anniversary in 2023, same as GTA Online. And, just like both Red Dead Redemption games, GTA V’s popularity in ’23 was strongly boosted by generous summer discounts on Xbox and PlayStation.

2. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

Released in August 2023, Armored Core VI quickly rose to the top of the UK charts. This is unsurprising, as expectations for the game were high and the reviews have been excellent. The game managed to deliver something new in a gaming landscape many consider somewhat stale – it’s a mecha-based vehicular combat game with both story and online PvP modes, it has fast-paced action combined with tricky cerebral encounters, and most reviewers describe it as even more aggressive than titles such as Bloodborne or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It remains to be seen if Armored Core VI will be as successful as FromSoftware’s 2022 hit Elden Ring, which won dozens of awards and nominations, including Game of the Year at the Game Awards.

1. FIFA 23

Neither summer discounts nor new releases have managed to dislodge FIFA 23 from the top of the sales and playtime charts in the UK throughout 2023. Released in September 2022, FIFA 23 enjoyed a fruitful year both in the UK and worldwide, and the title that will finally displace it from the top spot will likely be FIFA 24. The latter was just released on September 29, 2023, so it remains to be seen just how successful it is compared to the hit that was FIFA 23.

By the time you read this, some of the titles above will likely be out of the Top 10, replaced by newer releases or discounted games. Still, quite a few of the ten games above have been at the top for years and are likely to remain there for quite some time.

Hope you enjoyed these 10 most played video games in the United Kingdom 😉 keep gaming eveyone