Every year thousands of video games are released. These games cover a wide variety of genres such as FPS, RPG, sports, and many others. They entertain millions of people from all around the world, providing them with hours of enjoyment, memorable moments, and a way to destress. Developers from all around the globe want their games to be successful, receive good critics, and most important of all be loved by the players. With multiple people working day and night to deliver the best video games possible, it's very hard to choose the one game that stands out among thousands.
But that is exactly what The Game Awards do, they award the best video game of the year. The event has multiple categories, with the most prestigious of all being the Game of the Year prize. Six games are nominated for this award, and even though only one will win it, just being nominated is already a huge accomplishment.
We at Streams Charts collected all the stats necessary to see how these six games compare against each other when it comes to viewership. To be fair, we collected the stats of the first 30 days after the games had launched. Worth noting that the stats collected about God of War: Ragnarok are from the 20 days after its release, since as of the time of writing, the video game has not been out for a full month. The stats were taken from the streaming platform Twitch.
Since its release, Elden Ring has received a lot of praise from fans and critics alike. The action RPG developed by FromSoftware, the creators of the acclaimed Dark Souls franchise, is one of the favorites to take the trophy home, as many consider the game a masterpiece.
With a unique open world, great combat, and a captivating storyline, it's no surprise the game had an astonishing 172.4 million Hours Watched, and 909K Peak Viewers, just in its first month. With 239K Average Viewers, it clearly captivated streamers and viewers from all around the world. Popular content creators such as xQc, Asmongold, and IlloJuan, played the game for dozens of hours, and were a key factor in the title reaching such a wide audience.
In second place on this list, we have God of War: Ragnarok. For most critics, this award will be between Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok, as the two games are splendid, and were arguably the most anticipated titles of the year. With 35.9 million Hours Watched, and 477K Peak Viewers that gathered to see Kratos and Atreus in their quest to overtake Odin, we can see why the title is one of the favorites.
Santa Monica Studio has developed some great games, but God of War: Ragnarok might be their best work yet. It has a great combat system, a spectacular world, and an immersive story that makes you not want to stop playing it. Since its release, 75K Average Viewers have watched the game daily.
Closing the podium, we have Stray. Stray is an adventure game, where players control a stray cat and follow his story, after falling into a walled city that is populated by robots. It's one of the surprises of the year, with the game receiving a lot of praise, and being considered by many the best indie game of 2022. The BlueTwelve Studio title was watched for 13.8 million hours, and 285K Peak Viewers came together, to see how the story of the most famous cat of 2022 developed. Rubius, xQc, and alanzoka, were some of the Twitch stars that streamed the game.
After Stray comes Horizon Forbidden West, which was one of the most anticipated games of the year. The PlayStation exclusive is an RPG action game developed by Guerrilla Games, and follows Aloy in the aftermath of Horizon Zero Dawn. It was set in a spectacular open world, had incredible graphics, and the story was captivating.
Everyone wanted to see what the first PlayStation 5 exclusive title looked like. In its first month, viewers watched it for 9.4 million hours, and the game had 223K PV. CohhCarnage and elxokas viewers loved seeing the streamers playing the game, as they watched them for more than 500K hours each.
In fifth place, we have the action-adventure game A Plague Tale: Requiem, which was developed by Asobo Studio. It’s a sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence, and just like the first title, it was very well received by the public. Viewers watched it for 4.3 million hours, with 100K viewers coming together to see the adventures of Amicia and Hugo de Rune.
The engaging story of this game is its driving force, but the different scenarios the player is exposed to during its playthrough are also astonishing. Three of the biggest variety streamers of the platform streamed the game almost daily in the first 30 days. These content creators were LIRIK, alanzoka, and CohhCarnage, who helped the title reach thousands of viewers.
Last but not least, we have the action RPG Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which was developed by Monolith Soft, and it's the fourth open-world title in the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise. The game was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch, and critics praised the game because of its great characters, polished tactical combat, unique open world, and many other aspects. It was watched for 2 million hours in its first 30 days, and reached 39K Peak Viewers. Altair, 풍월량, and CohhCarnage, were some of the streamers that helped the game reach a global audience.
As we can see, the numbers say the same thing most critics and players have been pointing to for the entire year. It’s going to be a two-horse race between Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok. Both games are masterpieces, and despite this list being full of fantastic games that deserve all the recognition they can get, Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok just stand out among the rest. We still don't know which game is going to take the award home, but no matter who wins it, it's going to be fully deserved.
