The gaming industry, contrary to most other industries, skyrocketed in the year 2020. The Coronavirus shut down companies, schools, and people had to stay within the premises of their home. Hence, gaming is the best way to keep themselves entertained. That remains true in 2021, at least for the first half. If you're looking for the best games to while away your time, here are the top 10 games in the world 2021 by the number of players.

New Look Pubg 2
The gaming industry skyrocketed in the year 2020.

However, for the sake of this article and this article alone, we would like to mention that we will only be judging the popularity of the game based on the number of concurrent players (peaks) in the first few months of 2021. Whether a game is good or not is entirely up to you to decide. Each player has a different taste and preference, so we do not mean to generalize anything here.

With that being said, check out the top 10 best games in the world in 2021 by the number of concurrent players.

Top 10 Games In The World 2021 By The Number Of Players

#10 Grand Theft Auto V – 184,941 (Steam Only)

Seven years after its launch, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V is still going strong. It stands among the world’s most-played games and occasionally finds itself among the top 10 best-selling games of the month.

Gta 5 Premium
No franchise can come close to what GTA has achieved.

#9 Apex Legends – 228,439 (Steam Only)

Next stop, Respawn’s Apex Legends popped out of nowhere to take the Battle Royale genre by storm. The game proved itself to be a formidable opponent to PUBG and Fortnite. Recently, Apex Legends made a move to Steam, further increasing its popularity.

#8 PUBG – 458,778

With 458,778 players online concurrently, PUBG surely still can put up a fight against titles. Released in 2017, PUBG has completely changed the face of the Battle Royale genre. And ever since, despite the fierce competition of new titles coming out every year, the game held on strong to its number 1 spot.

Pubg
Think Battle Royale, think PUBG!

The portable version of the game, PUBG Mobile has reaped even more success, boasting an incredible player base and Esports scene. It deserves the 8th spot in our list of the best games in 2021 by players.

#7 Valheim – 502,387

Valheim may still be in Early Access, but it's definitely one of 2021’s biggest success stories. The game offers a standard survival vibe, where players start with nothing, then start gathering resources to unlock better tools and weapons. However, Valheim really did a fantastic job in creating a brooding wilderness and the emergent gameplay.

Valheim
Valheim was a nice surprise to have in 2021.

#6 Dota 2 – 648,875

Though the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre is not growing as strong as it used to do, it's definitely not dying. Take DOTA 2 as the prime example. Over the past 12 months, the game consistently sits at around half a million concurrent players. Then it hits the peaks of 648,875 earlier 2021.

Dota 2
The MOBA genre is still going strong!

#5 Counter-Strike: GO – 1.2 Million

As far as 2021 goes, it only proves one thing that the FPS is here to stay. Though the numbers have been off slightly, CS:GO still peaked at 1,198,581 players. Since the franchise first debuted in the 1990s, CS:GO was the first one to maintain such a strong Esports presence and reputation. And now as players can purchase CS:GO for free, it will be a long time until it steps down.

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CS:GO shoots its way to number 5.

#4 Minecraft – 1.4 Million

Minecraft surely has a way to attract new players. Initially released in 2009, the juggernaut has been steamrolling through charts to become the best-selling game of all time. You can hardly scroll through YouTuber Gaming without spotting a Minecraft video every now and then.

Minecraft
Of course, we don't need to introduce Minecraft anymore.

#3 Crossfire – 8 Million

Believe it or not, Crossfire, a Counter-Strike clone, made it to the top three of our top 10 games in the world 2021. This game is huge in Korea, and its main player counts come from there. However, it’s set to make its mark over in the West soon. The game developer, Smilegate Entertainment, recently struck a deal with Microsoft to release a new version of Crossfire onto Microsoft platforms exclusively in 2021.

#2 League of Legends – 8 Million+

In the 2nd spot, MOBA has yet another representative as League of Legends closes in with massive numbers. According to the developer Riot Games, almost 8 million players join the Field of Justice every day.

It's no surprise when League of Legends World tournament often ranks in top most popular esports tournaments in the world.

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League of Legends' success can be credited to a talented team of music producers and animators.

#1 Fortnite – 12.3 Million

Love or hate Fortnite, it surely is one of the biggest video games out there. On top of that, Epic Games’ Battle Royale game is somewhat revolutionary, as it redefines the meaning of building and supporting a successful “live” service-style video game.

Fortnite
The first place belongs to Fortnite.

The 12.3 million player peak was achieved during the Astronomical Concert when people flocked to watch Travis Scott debut his new single.

List of Top 10 Games in The World 2021 Android

Mobile gaming, as of late, has also become an integral part of the gaming world. New titles appear and well-known franchises continuously make their move to the portable platforms. Therefore, we would like to include a top 10 games in the world 2021 list for Android devices as an honorable mention.

Garena Free Fire Oni
Welcome to mobile gaming!
  • 1 - Minecraft
  • 2 - Fortnite
  • 3 - Call of Duty Mobile
  • 4 - GTA San Andreas
  • 5 - Genshin Impact
  • 6 - Garena Free Fire
  • 7 - Stardew Valley
  • 8 - Arknights
  • 9 - Among Us
  • 10 - Knights of the Old Republic

Those are our picks for the top 10 games in the world 2021 by the number of players for your reference. If you like our article here, visit our website at GuruGamer.com for more!

>>> Also Read: Top 10 Best Android Games Like GTA 5