Almost every gamer alike has at least played one or two shooter games in their life. As the most common video game type, the shooter stands to be the most popular genre. Two main genres, the first-person shooter and the third-person shooter, split off into different games.

From its roots starting with Wolfenstein 3D in 1992, the first-person perspective has changed its immersion over time. Third-person shooters however have existed long before, dating back to 1962 with Spacewar!

These two genres continue to grow as popular esports and streamed games have a higher projection over time.

10. Escape From Tarkov

The gameplay depicts itself to be dark, dreary, and intense.

Escape from Tarkov built its reputation from being the most hardcore online first-person shooter with realistic combat and story-led gameplay. 
The main aim of the game is to play in raids, battling various enemies and ensuring your survival. Once you die in a raid, you lose all of your weapons, which are customizable to you. There are no rules in this game, so you can even be turned on by fellow raid members.

The intensity of this game does not pull a lot of new players, but as of today, there are 2,160,193 congruent players from this month.

9. Team Fortress 2

TF2 grows its graphics over time to keep up with competing games.

Team Fortress 2 paved the way for Steam games in 2007 with their fun and quirky style. This is one of the Valve games that inspired a whole new world for other teams, as this inspired Overwatch. The first-person shooter is an oldie but a goodie that players still enjoy.

In various game modes, play with a team of various character lineups that can change your experience per game. One of the main game modes is Capture the Flag- you aim to kill the enemy team and capture one another’s flag. Steal the flag enough times and you win. Other modes like Control Point, Arena, and Payload are offered as well.

This year, the player count peaked in January but dropped off soon after.

8. Fortnite

Fortnite displays various cartoon-like characters and gameplay.

Once just a simple animated battle royale that made a name for itself in Gen Z pop culture, Fortnite still stands to be a popular third-person shooter. This game forged a path in the shooter scene, as well as the battle royale scene. 

Play in the world of The Omniverse on earth, battling other players. On a map with thirteen locations, you can interact with the world, NPCS, as you survive to be the last one standing.

On combined platforms, Fortnite sits at 1,158,644    average players this month.

7. RUST

Slowly evolve your world with various tools in RUST’s survival gameplay.

Adding another subgenre to our roster, a multiplayer survival game called RUST makes its popularity from its ongoing growth in both the world itself and gameplay. Since its release in 2013, there have been over eight updates to the game with new maps, expansions, and smoother gameplay.

In the world of RUST it is you against the world, everything and everyone could be out to get your player. The mysterious island you land on inhabits several sources to get you by, but you have to make the most out of it.

Although it has been around for quite some time, there are over 86 thousand average monthly players on RUST.

6. COD Warzone

COD: Warzone gameplay featuring a bright city with many places to take aim.

Call of Duty: Warzone is another free-to-play battle royale from the Call of Duty franchise. The game was released in 2020, having its fourth game season this year. 

Such as all battle royale games, the main goal is to play, kill, and win as the last one standing in an arena. You can choose to play solo or with a team of up to four people. Unlike many of the games in the genre, a map can contain up to 150 players, 50 players more than the average.

5. Destiny 2

Styles for the different classes in Destiny 2.

Video game company “Bungie” released an action first-person MMO Destiny 2, in September 2017. In a fictional world, players are Guardians who defend the world from various enemies. Traverse far and wide on this expanding world, fighting enemies and NPCs.

You can choose to play three main groups of classes: Warlock, Titan, and Hunter. Each features its own subgroups of roles that determine your abilities. In its seventh year, the game released its update “Into the Light” pulling old and new players.

4. PUBG: Battlegrounds

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, named after one of the mods Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene is a game based off of the movie Battle Royale that was released in 2000. The elements of the game are mixed with military-esc features.

Similar to the movie, players are dropped on a deserted land to fight to the death, with one last player standing. Various gear, weapons, and supplies are scattered about throughout the map, so being able to drop in an area with good supplies can ensure your win. 

PUBG: Battlegrounds creates a whopping average monthly player base due to its accessibility among various platforms.accessibility across platforms. There are over 253,542,782 players this month.

3. Apex Legends

Alter, a new legend released this year has a special ability to move through walls.

Another big subgenre for shooter video games is the battle royale. Apex Legends features gameplay in a battle royale setting, where a map progressively dwindles as players fight. This game involves fast-movement gameplay unlike any other, with the main goal of winning.

Apex features a crew of characters called Legends who each have their own unique abilities to maximize gameplay and create obstacles for your enemies. Each legend can be customized with various skins you can unlock with in-game loot or by purchasing it in the game.

The player base for Apex Legends has grown almost four times since its release in 2019, with now 60 million peak players per month.

2. Valorant

Valorant gameplay involves intense play, dynamic colors, and textures for each and every map.

Counter-Strike ran so Valorant could walk, or so many of my friends say. Valorant holds a lot of the same elements as CSGO, being a tactical online shooter- except with more of a spin. Featuring the characters or “agents” from different parts of the world, they hold various powers to add to the gameplay dynamics.

The agent lineup is an ever-growing roster of unique individuals that add to the whole game’s background lore of the world. Each character features different voice lines, quirks, and bright colors adding to each personality. 

Valorant grows in popularity as the esports scene rises as well. Even after only four years, the game’s player base has steadied since its release with over 20 million average players.

1. Counter-Strike 2

One of the maps for CS: Dust 2.

A sequel to Counter-Strike, this tactical first-person shooter features a greater global experience for veteran and new players. 

Just like the first game, it explores terrorist and counter-terrorist teams to play in various war-like territories. Playing terrorists includes planting a bomb on a site or taking a hostage, completing that, and avoiding the counter-terrorists whose job is to defuse or save the hostage. Players can choose from over nine different game modes, depending on their comfort level.

You can choose from various guns, melee weapons, and other cosmetic add-ons to purchase in the game. 

As of when I’m writing this, CS2 holds an average of 51,893,970 monthly players from all over the world. 

All of my statistics have come from activeplayer.io credits go to the publishers.

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