The most followed esports franchises in the UK and US

As the global esports industry continues to thrive, we asked avid esports fans - those who regularly read about, watch, or attend leagues/competitions/events - in the UK and US which esports games/franchises they watch and follow.

Call of Duty is the most followed esport franchise in both the UK (23%) and the US (36%), while League of Legends is a close second in the UK at 21%, and a more distant second in the US, albeit with a higher following (23%).

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) is more popular in the UK at 20% - where it comes third - compared to its sixth place in the US (16%). FIFA is almost equally followed in both countries (US, 17%; UK, 14%). However, Apex Legends is considerably more popular in the US (17%) than in the UK (9%).

Fortnite Battle Royale (US, 16%; UK, 9%) and Overwatch (US, 15%; UK, 11%) follow a similar trend and remain more popular in the US.

Notably, while Super Smash Bros is one of the most popular titles in the US (17%), it is one of the least favoured esports franchises in the UK, followed only by 7% of keen esports fans. Mortal Kombat and Halo round out our top ten in both the UK (7%) and US (14%).

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Methodology: YouGov Global Fan Profiles, which includes data from 38 markets, is based on continuously collected data from several sources, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Data referenced is based on a sample size of between 355 and 809 adults for the UK and between 1,420 and 2,970 adults for the US.