July 7th, 2022, Rishad Dsouza
The rankings feature on YouGov BrandIndex allows us to examine the brands that have generated the biggest improvements in certain metrics over a period of time. In this piece, which we aim to run as a periodical series, we look at the video gaming franchises that have registered the biggest month-over-month improvements in their Buzz scores among gamers in the US and Great Britain, respectively.
A video game’s Buzz score is a net measure based on responses to two questions: “Over the past two weeks, which of the following video games have you heard something positive about?” and “Now which of the following video games have you heard something negative about?”. By calculating the difference between these two scores, we create our Buzz metric.
In the US, Call of Duty witnessed the biggest spike in Buzz scores, rising 8.4 points to 16.6. The franchise has been in the news with the announcement of Modern Warfare II and a new version of the battle royale game called To The Skies.
FIFA follows as a close second, rising from 7.2 to 14.1. The improvements in its Buzz score might have to do with the news that FIFA 22 was recently listed on EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Fortnite rounds out the top three among US gamers with a 6.2-point improvement in Buzz scores. The Epic Games battle royale title recently added a mobility item called the grapple glove, which was received positively by fans.
The movements among gamers in Britain were less pronounced. Video game platform Roblox claims the top spot with a 2.3-point increase. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, which has announced Yakuza-themed updates for some in-game characters, witnessed a 2-point increase in its Buzz scores among British gamers.
Pokémon rounds off the list in Britain, rising from 7.1 to 8.4. It was recently announced that Pokémon Happy Meals will be returning to McDonald's in the UK.
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Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on major video gaming franchises. Buzz score is based on the questions: “Over the past two weeks, which of the following video games have you heard something positive about?” and “Now which of the following video games have you heard something negative about?” and delivered as a net score between –100 and +100. Scores reported represent the change between the 30-day daily average between May 6 – June 5, 2022 and June 6 – July 5, 2022. Scores are based on an average daily sample size of 272 gamers in Great Britain and 342-357 in the US. Daily figures are based on a four-week moving average.