Video game franchises

Video game franchises brand rankings in the U.S.

Super Mario leads the video game franchises' brand awareness ranking, whereas Call of Duty reigns supreme in brand usage and media buzz charts. Some 36 percent of U.S. gamers had played Fortnite in the past 12 months before the survey, and around one-third had noticed Battlefield on social media and other forms of advertising.
United States are the leading gaming market worldwide in 2022, by gaming revenue. So, which video game franchises are most well-known in the U.S.? And can they translate high brand awareness into decent brand usage?

Insights

Super Mario is the most well-known video game franchise
Minecraft has a 72 percent brand awareness
Call of Duty has a usage share of 46 percent

Brand awareness

It's-a me, Mario!

Super Mario is the most well-known video game franchise in the United States. Created by Nintendo, it is recognized by 82 percent of video gamers in the United States. Claiming the joint second spot on this list are Call of Duty and GTA, as both incorporate a 78 percent brand awareness score. Other well-known video game franchises in the U.S. include Pokémon, Minecraft, and Fortnite, to name a few.

Brand usage

In war, there is no prize for the runner-up

Quote Seneca and Call of Duty, the latter being in a league of its own as the video game franchise with the highest usage share among U.S. gamers who know the respective brands. Around 46 percent of them hat played the first-person shooter (FPS) in the two years prior to our exclusive survey. This is around 10 percent more than second-placed GTA. Following behind is Fortnite, alongside eFootball / Pro Evolution Soccer, and FIFA.

Brand buzz

Call of social media marketing

Around 42 percent of gamers who know Call of Duty remember seeing the franchise on social media or in advertising in the past 3 months. This might well have to do with the fact that the newest addition to the long-running franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, was released in October 2022. Following behind are two football games, eFootball / Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA, alongside the online video game Fortnite.

Brand KPI deep dive