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October was a pretty busy month for new releases, and Circana video game industry advisor and executive director Mat Piscatella has hared a new list of the most-played games during this spooky season. Circana’s data tracked the most popular games by player engagement each week across PC via Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and as you’d expect, Call of Duty shot to the top almost instantly.
What’s interesting here is that Circana’s lists covered games up until October 26, a mere day after the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It’s also worth noting that Call of Duty HQ was on the list, not Black Ops 6 specifically, as the launcher for all CoD games was in the top spot on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. While Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was likely the main reason why Call of Duty HQ surged to the top–especially on Xbox consoles thanks to its day-one Game Pass launch–older CoD games and Warzone are also accessible from the launcher.
Another interesting thing to look at is how the top 10 games on Xbox Series X|S are identical to last month’s list. There were no changes whatsoever, while on PS5, several games jockeyed for position and swapped places. EA Sports College Football 25 overtook WWE 2K24, Fortnite dropped to second place thanks to Call of Duty, and Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero fell to fifth place on the standings.
Meanwhile, PC gamers stuck to old favorites like Counter-Strike 2, Helldivers 2, and Deadlock. The one notable game on the list was Factorio, as the massive Space Age expansion and 2.0 update saw the game climb to fifth place on the Steam charts. Considering that it was in 54th place in September, that’s quite an impressive surge in popularity.
Next month should be interesting, as some of the highlights include Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and Lego Horizon Adventures. On the PlayStation side, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any disruption on the charts when the PS5 Pro is released, as there’s a good chance that any of the dozens of games getting enhanced for the new console could make a return.