Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is one of those memorable games where the gaming experience is substantially enhanced by the accompanying soundtrack. So it may come as no surprise that in a recent survey utilising streaming data from Spotify, the 2013 Rockstar Game Grand Theft Auto V was found to be the highest amongst video games.
Given how much time players are spending on gaming, an accompanying soundtrack is one major factor that serves to enhance the experience. Developers recognise this as an essential part of the success of a title and place great emphasis on selecting the tracks which they think will better the player’s love of the game.
What other games join GTA in the top streaming list?
A study compiled by Swiss-based company SecureCheats looked at the top 50 video games as taken from IMDb and, the gaming experts extracted Spotify data for each streamed track per soundtrack along with calculated earnings, using the streaming platform royalty calculator.
There may not be many surprises with the top ten games in the list and as mentioned previously, GTA V, tops that list by some measure. Despite the game being first released a decade ago, its soundtrack still holds high with gaming fans and its top ten songs have 305,040,570 plays earning $725,996.
The time spent on Los Santos’ gritty streets was and still is, memorable for many reasons. And it looks like for fans, A$ap Rocky’s ‘R-Cali’ was the song of choice, as the data from Spotify shows that the hip-hop track has been streamed a whopping 69,414,348 times.
The game which follows GTA is maybe more surprising for its soundtrack, rather than its popularity. Released in 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim received critical acclaim and is still highly regarded to this day. The top ten tracks from the game have 258,680,379 plays on Spotify and earn $615,659 through royalties.
It’s no surprise to see The Last of Us and The Last of Us 2 place 3rd and 9th respectively on the top ten list. The atmospheric horror game has some of the best story-telling and with a strong emphasis on an accompanying soundtrack, Naughty Dog knew they had a winning formula. So much so that the game has subsequently been picked up and released as an HBO series.
Another amazing franchise that features on the top-ten list of games sees both Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2, again from Rockstar Games. The epic Western tale and its subsequent prequel were blessed with a soundtrack that increased the immersive experience of the Old West and has fans yearning for a third installment.
Kojima Productions 2019 game, Death Stranding, is another that features highly in the streaming list. The top ten tracks from the soundtrack saw 137,811,743 plays on Spotify and earned $327,991 through royalties. Icelandic band Low Roar saw their track ‘Don’t Be So Serious’ with 23,424,933 plays on Spotify alone.
Who would have thought that Spider-Man: Miles Morales would have featured in the top ten streamed games according to Spotify? Well it does, and it is in good company with God of War close by. These amazing games saw 107,394,097 and 90,414,836 plays respectively with the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game bringing in a substantial $255,597.95 in royalties.
But maybe the last entry on the top-ten list might raise a few eyebrows. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare saw its top soundtrack songs being streamed 50,105,956 times on Spotify. This saw the Activision title earning a reported $119,252.18 in royalties.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this list may change over the next few years given the amazing titles that have and are due to launch, but for now, GTA sits proudly at the top of the class.
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