A study has been published by analysts at Bonusninja that highlights the most popular games on YouTube based on their earning potential on the Google platform. As more games continue to release each year, some come and go from the YouTube most popular list, but the study shows that some titles maintain momentum regardless of what competitors are added to the market.
According to the recent study by Bonusninja, games like Elden Ring and God of War bring in a significant average viewership, but Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 5 remains the top contender. The most popular games on YouTube are gauged through this study by going beyond the average viewership to look at earnings per hour, and per minute which may help advertisers decide which games to complement their ads with. Although YouTube has been hit by what was dubbed the adpocalypse in recent years, some games continue to earn impressive figures on the platform, notably for successful content creators.
According to the statistics gathered by this YouTube gaming study, the highest-earning games on the Google platform are:
- Grand Theft Auto 5 - $4,077 per minute
- Elden Ring - $1,590 per minute
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - $693 per minute
- God of War - $642 per minute
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - $630 per minute
- Portal 2 - $575 per minute
- God of War Ragnarok - $497 per minute
- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet - $482 per minute
- Portal - $361 per minute
- Doom - $310 per minute
Though many of the top 10 illustrated by the study are newer games, the list is impressively full of classics like Portal and its sequel, and Doom, which maintain popularity throughout multiple generations like GTA 5. The data in the study also points to other successful games like Animal Crossing, Cyberpunk 2077, League of Legends, and Stardew Valley as impressive YouTube earners that are also worth noting. Because YouTube earnings often require content creators have subscribing viewers with notifications turned on, the study also highlights some prominent YouTubers that have benefited from the ads played with their videos.
This YouTube gaming study is based on the average cost per thousand that advertisers pay for the ads running with each upload, which sees every 1k views earning creators $13.5. Some creators make more than others based on these statistics, with the analysis pointing to YouTuber PewDiePie and Techno Gamerz who earned $2.97 million and $1.6 million respectively in the examples listed.
Source: Bonusninja