With an estimated market value projected to reach over $522 billion this year, the gaming industry is one of the biggest and most successful in the world. Perhaps nowhere across the globe is the popularity of gaming more obvious than in the United States, where approximately 60% of adults engage in the activity of gaming at least once a week.
Such high figures bring about multiple questions about the gaming habits of American residents, with one of these being which games is it that people are enjoying so much? In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into some of the most popular games in Illinois right now, as well as focusing on which other American states are playing them.
Online Casino Gaming
Although iGaming isn’t yet legal in Illinois, it still remains one of the most popular forms of gaming across the US. Among those where online gambling is legalized, a few individual locations shine for overall popularity. West Virginia, Michigan, and New Jersey take second, third, and fourth place, but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is Nevada, the home of Las Vegas, that is the hot spot for online gambling activity. Since Las Vegas is the heart of global gambling and is also located in the state of Nevada, the popularity of this pastime certainly makes sense.
Many of the top online gambling platforms for US players, which themselves have been vetted by Adventure Gamers experts, offer some of the best benefits for players out there. Both new and seasoned gamblers can enjoy a myriad of impressive bonuses and rewards, be involved in immersive live shows, gain access to massive game libraries, and even bet in cryptocurrency on several of the sites. With all this in mind, it’s no surprise that online gambling has become such a popular pastime across many of the American States.
World of Warcraft: The War Within
Turning now to online games, taking the top spot for the most popular online game (determined by the number of Google searches in 2025) is certainly World of Warcraft: The War Within. This game is highly popular in multiple states, including Illinois, but also in Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, and North Dakota.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
World of Warcraft: The War Within is the tenth expansion pack of the highly successful massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. This is the perfect game for fantasy lovers and RPG enthusiasts alike. Create your character and immerse yourself in a complex and thrilling world, with the chance to meet NPCs and other player characters along the way.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
When it comes to video games, it is the DLC of Elden Ring, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, that is by far the most popular in the US. The game was extremely popular in Illinois when it was released and a few other states hold this game as their most searched, including Montana, Maine, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
The fact that Shadow of the Erdtree is a DLC surprised everyone when it first came out. There is enough content in this add-on that FromSoftware could have made a whole new game from it. This takes everything we loved about Elden Ring: the stunning visuals, the intense lore, and the gritty atmosphere, and multiplies it all by one hundred. You have to play Elden Ring itself to gain access to this DLC, but as the rightful winner of the 2022 Game of the Year Awards, this is certainly an enjoyable game to get through.
Balatro
Released in 2024 on multiple platforms, Belatro, the poker-themed, rogue-like, deck-building game, has remained highly popular in Illinois and beyond this year. However, two States in particular have placed this game on a pedestal above all others and turned it into their most popular game. These States are Washington and Minnesota.
This game is an excellent blend of several highly popular gaming genres, which is what has largely led to its success. Firstly, the poker-theme speaks directly to America’s love of gambling, as explored earlier, but removes the financial risk that comes with more traditional modes of casino gaming. Secondly, its nature as a deck-building game makes it highly engaging for collecting enthusiasts and those who enjoy card games more generally. Plus, its vivid and playful art style also makes it highly visually appealing. All of this combines to make a highly entertaining game for millions of players.
Alan Wake 2
This game might have only been the most popular game in a couple of the smaller States, Vermont and Dover, but it was still incredibly well-received when released and made a big splash with many Illinois based gamers. This highly narrative-driven survival horror video game was released in 2023, but still remains a solid contender as one of the most popular games in the US.
Spoiler warning for the first game ahead! Alan Wake II follows on from the first game, tracking the life of the titular character Alan Wake as he tries to escape from an alternative reality by writing a story involving FBI Special Agent Saga Anderson. As Wake’s creations tend to do, Anderson comes alive, and her story is also revealed to the player as the game progresses.
Hades II
This was another game that went below the radar slightly for most states, but still remained the most popular in Boston and was well-liked in Illinois, too. This is another roguelike game, but this time falling into the categories of RPG and Dungeon Crawlers.
Hades 2 is yet another sequel, but it differs quite significantly from the first. Most notable is the change in the protagonist. Instead of playing Zagreus, son of Hades, as he tries to escape his father’s realm, players control his younger sister Melonié. The player and Melonié travel through the underworld in an attempt to rescue Melonié’s family from the escaped Titon, Chronos. This game reimagines classic Greek myths for a modern audience, while still displaying its own creative edge. If that wasn’t enough, it’s also very fun and so well worth checking out.
