Online games are only enjoyable if players continue to populate servers or feature regular updates and events, but thankfully, many MMOs, Battle Royales, and Tactical Shooters fulfill both criteria for gamers in 2022. As time passes, it’s common for the population of certain AAA and indie titles to wane, but some projects, like World of Warcraft stay popular for decades. Whether these games survive in the future is unknown, but players can enjoy these titles while active.
Player counts near the end of 2021 and for the first week of 2022 have identified several high-traffic games to play for the new year. Unfortunately, none of the video games are 2021 releases, meaning players might have already experienced some of the listed titles. However, each title has received updates to maintain its player base, encouraging continued interest.
Some online games have maintained popularity over many years through regular updates and upkeep by the developers, but others are relatively new to the scene and enjoy popularity by occupying different genres. For example, battle royale games like Hunt: Showdown are highly populated in online shooters, leaving fans of other genres with limited options when choosing trendy online titles. Thankfully, there are dozens of successful online games for any genre if players know where to look. In addition, Steam and media sites are constantly tracking player numbers for popular titles, providing live player counts and news for everything from Final Fantasy to Hearthstone.
Most Popular Online Games - PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, also known as PUBG, is an online battle royale game that took the internet by storm when released in 2018. In each match, up to one hundred players parachute onto an island map to scavenge for supplies and fight to the death. Like most battle royales, the map’s safe areas begin to shrink as time passes.
While the premise is simple, players have created mods and different game modes ranging from Zombie Horde to Team Deathmatch. PUBG originated the battle royale frenzy that currently dominates the gaming industry and remains a frontrunner for player population and gameplay. Due to its popularity, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available on consoles, mobile, and PC, opening it to many different player populations and making it an extremely accessible title to start 2022 with.
Minecraft Is Still Really Popular Over A Decades Since Its Launch
Minecraft is the oldest game here and one of few to feature a single-player mode. Released in 2011, Minecraft utilizes simplistic graphics and basic survival mechanics to provide players with memorable adventures. This sandbox adventure game is one of the most sold games of all time, resulting in thousands of public servers (modded and unmodded) available for joining.
Players seeking to socialize and relax with personal friends can pay a small fee to enable Minecraft Realms and create private servers. Additionally, there are many free or paid server hosts online that also provide servers for smaller groups. Unsurprisingly, Minecraft has maintained a regular playerbase, as it’s constantly receiving new updates and fanmade mods to entertain players and would make the perfect addition to a 2022 game library.
Fortnite Is Still The Most Popular Battle Royale
Like Minecraft, Fortnite has a single-player game mode, but its battle royale mode received far more attention and success than the paid campaign. Like most battle royales on the market, the premise of pitting solos or duos against enemy teams until only one remains. Like PUBG, Fortnite’s battle royale mode can hold up to one hundred players in a single server that drops players into a map with randomly spawned loot.
As time passes, the play area becomes smaller and forces players into confrontations against one another. Unlike PUBG, Fortnite has also featured a story concerning in-game events and characters, though each season’s story doesn’t impact mechanics as much. Though Fortnite’s popularity has diminished slightly since its release, its building mechanics, items, and frequent updates make it a highly populated game in 2022.
Titanfall Spin-Off Apex Legends Has A Huge Playerbase
Inspired by the battle royale craze and the popular Titanfall franchise, Apex Legends combined battle royale mechanics with hero shooters. Respawn separates characters into different classes based on their abilities while maintaining balanced battle royale gameplay systems. Unlike other battle royales on this list, Apex Legends doesn’t utilize a solo playlist, focusing more on team-based tactics than gunplay.
As a free-to-play title, unsurprisingly, it has maintained a high population since its 2019 release, and Respawn’s continuous development of other Legends keeps and attracts new players, with the compelling lore of Titanfall serving as a great springboard to introduce new characters. Unfortunately, Apex Legends has struggled with hacker attacks and server difficulties, something that Respawn can hopefully triumph in the coming year with future updates.
League Of Legends Is A Hugely Popular Online Game
League of Legends is often regarded as the backbone of competitive gaming, with collegiate and professional teams often occupying gaming networks with intense matches. Thankfully, the intensity of professional matches doesn’t reflect the pressure of casual playlists. League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena game, also called a MOBA, developed by Riot Games and is free-to-play. The game takes place between two teams of five players, with each team battling to destroy the other’s base (also called a Nexus).
Each League of Legends Champion utilizes different abilities and combat roles to support their team or eliminate their opponents, with experience gained from defeating minions and enemy players unlocking new powers or buffing existing skills. Its popularity has resulted in music videos, comics, and a new series (Netflix’s Arcane) being made in its universe, with Riot Games constantly developing new Champions and stories. LoL has over 150 million registered players, making it one of the highest populated games and a perfect choice to start playing in 2022.
Hearthstone Has A Massive Number Of Players Each Day
Unlike every other game on this list, Blizzard’s Hearthstone doesn’t require constant input from each player and instead prioritizes long-term strategy and tactics. Hearthstone is an online deck-building game set in the World of Warcraft universe. Though Hearthstone is free-to-play, its collectible packs often provide players with unique advantages during matches.
Like League of Legends, Hearthstone has also become a popular esports game, though recent lawsuits against Blizzard have begun to chase players away from the game. While Hearthstone as a deckbuilding game is more niche than other selections, it can provide a less intense experience than FPS and battle royale games. Despite its lengthy learning curve - as well as not being a Battle Royale game - Hearthstone is an excellent (and popular) online title to pick up for 2022.