Online gaming is a popularity contest that resets every time someone logs in. Today’s “most played” list is not only about who sold the most copies, it is about who keeps players coming back every month.
Player numbers also vary by platform. A PC hit can look quiet on consoles, and a mobile giant can be almost invisible on Steam, even if it prints money elsewhere.
This guide looks at the biggest online games right now by platform, using the clearest public signals available, then explains which genres pull the largest crowds, and what might change next.
How “most played” is measured
Monthly Active Users (MAU) means how many unique players use a game in a month. It is a simple idea, but hard to measure from outside, since publishers do not always share the number.
That is why many reports lean on related metrics. Circana publishes weekly active user rankings for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam in the US, which is great for “what is trending this week,” not global MAU.
PC: the live-service kings
On PC, long-running online titles keep winning because they turn into habits. Newzoo reporting shows playtime is heavily concentrated, and older games still take most of it.
That same Newzoo data highlights familiar giants, Fortnite, Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft, and GTA V, as the kind of games that soak up huge attention year after year.
For a “right now” snapshot, Circana’s weekly Steam list (US) puts Arc Raiders at number one for the week ending November 29, 2025, followed by Battlefield 6 and Counter-Strike 2.
Xbox and PlayStation: what players launch first
Console engagement still favors free-to-play and big franchises. On PS5, Circana’s weekly list ranks Fortnite first, then Call of Duty HQ, GTA 5 Remastered, Roblox, and NBA 2K26.
Xbox looks similar in the same week, with Fortnite first, then Call of Duty HQ, Roblox, GTA 5 Remastered, and Minecraft.
The pattern is not subtle. Shooters and massive social sandboxes sit next to sports games, because they are easy to drop into for one match, or to grind for months.
Nintendo: Switch and Switch 2 momentum
Nintendo’s online landscape mixes first-party bestsellers with cross-play staples. Sales data shows evergreen Switch titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons staying massive over time.
Newzoo’s June 2025 notes also point to Switch 2 activity, with Mario Kart World leading MAU on Switch 2, plus other new entries like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and Deltarune.
Mobile: the biggest crowd, and what comes next
Mobile is still the largest “always online” arena by sheer reach, and money remains strong. Sensor Tower reports players spent US$82 billion on mobile game in-app purchases in 2024, even as downloads fell to 49 billion, down 7% from 2023.
The winners show how wide mobile tastes are. Sensor Tower lists MONOPOLY GO! as the top worldwide in-app purchase revenue game in 2024, with Honor of Kings in second, and it also flags Roblox among notable top performers.
Genre-wise, Newzoo reporting says shooters lead PC by a wide margin, while consoles lean on sports games, shooters, and battle royale, even as battle royale’s audience share has declined since 2021. Sensor Tower also highlights casual and hybridcasual gains in mobile revenue.
Looking forward, the biggest online question mark is GTA VI. GameSpot reports a November 19, 2026 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and notes Rockstar has not yet explained what happens to GTA Online, though Take-Two has hinted it could continue.
Awaiting the next big shift
The “most played” games are not always the newest ones. They are the ones that feel like a place, Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and the big competitive hubs that friends return to.
The next major reshuffle will come from new releases and platform shifts, especially when GTA VI arrives, but until then, the kings of retention keep the crown by simply staying fun on a random Tuesday night.