The 100 most-played games of 2022

2022 brought us a whole host of new games — we thought we’d dive into the massive pool of over 2.5 million Xbox players we use to generate each week’s Gameplay Chart to find the most-played games of 2022!

We have the whole of 2023 before us, but before we head out into a year of new games, it’s time to take a look at what came before. We thought we’d look a little deeper into the massive pool of over 2.5 million Xbox players we use to generate each week’s Gameplay Chart to find out what the most-played games of 2022 were. Counting each game once for each player, no matter how many times they played it last year; here it is, the mother of all Gameplay Charts, listing the top 100 of the most popular Xbox games for the whole of 2022. Let’s get to grips with this beastie.

There was a time when all there was in the top spot was Fortnite, as far as the eye could see, yet even Fortnite couldn’t defeat a Gameplay Chart veteran like Minecraft, which has managed to claim first place for the most-played game of 2022 with over 1,560,000 players (after combining the player numbers for all its different versions). Fortnite has taken second place with over 1,020,000 players, while Grand Theft Auto V is in third with over 1,000,000 players, Halo Infinite in fourth, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at fifth. Modern Warfare II shot straight to the top of our weekly Gameplay Charts after launch, meaning that it’s now up there as the sixth most-played game of 2022, despite only launching at the end of October. One big title for earlier in 2022 was Fall Guys, which launched on Xbox as a free-to-play game in June (and shot onto our list of the best free Xbox games). Its frequent content updates and collaborations kept players coming back for some time, and it’s managed to clinch a spot in the top ten of this chart as a result. Overwatch, meanwhile, could usually be found near the top of the weekly Gameplay Charts on TrueAchievements; despite a rough launch for Overwatch 2 in October, it has still managed to remain in the top ten as the ninth most-played Xbox game in 2022. Bear in mind, though, that since Overwatch 2 actually replaced the original game, this will technically be the combined unique players who launched either game in 2022.

Despite only launching in December, and therefore not really having much 2022 left, High On Life has managed to be listed as the 14th most-played game of last year with over 500,000 players. Its Xbox Game Pass launch was so popular that it broke multiple Game Pass records — TrueAchievements members also voted it as the best Game Pass addition of 2022. Sea of Thieves is just below — it’s always sailing somewhere around the middle of the weekly top 40 charts, so it’s not too surprising to see it anchored at 15th. MultiVersus was another 2022 launch; like Fall Guys, it’s free-to-play, and picked up a sizeable number of players throughout the second half of last year. Elden Ring was one of the highest-rated games of 2022 altogether — in fact, it was voted as the TrueAchievements Game of the Year 2022 — so it’s good to see that popularity backed up in player numbers, putting Elden Ring in 20th with over 430,000 players. PowerWash Simulator was an Xbox Game Pass day-one addition that became a surprise hit after it launched in July, picking up so many players (over 359,000) that it’s now at 29th. Last year saw a big sales milestone for Cyberpunk 2077 as well as an influx of players; CD Projekt Red’s action-adventure RPG made it to 33rd on this list. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was, meanwhile, another big hit of 2022 releases, and picked up more players when it joined Game Pass later in the year — it sits a little below Cyberpunk 2077 at 36th.

There’s a range of games and genres throughout the next chunk of this chart, with both older titles like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Marvel’s Avengers making an appearance, and newer Xbox Game Pass launches like Deathloop. 2022 saw a number of big updates and releases arrive towards the end of the year; one of these was the Xbox Series X|S update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in December, which no doubt brought back an influx of players, explaining its appearance as the 83rd most-played game in 2022. Indie darling Stardew Valley has also staked a claim in the top 100, sitting at 88th, while Tunic, another 2022 Xbox Game Pass launch, has made it to 89th, and looks set to become yet another indie classic. Disney Dreamlight Valley launched into Early Access with Xbox Game Pass in September and was picked up by enough players to make it to 95th. Rounding up the top 100 most-played games in 2022 is Jurassic World Evolution 2, which joined Game Pass in May of last year; yet more proof of the power of Game Pass!

What do you make of the Gameplay Chart for 2022? Any games you didn’t expect to see, or any you thought would be a cinch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and behold the entire chart in all its glory below!

Top 100 Xbox Gameplay Chart for 2022