'Apex Legends' getting its own e-sports tournament
Respawn Entertainment announced that its popular battle royale shooter "Apex Legends" is getting its own e-sports tournament. Photo: Respawn Entertainment

Battle royale has become one of the most popular genres with millions of gamers including PC, console, and mobile gamers, worldwide. In fact, the most watched title posted over a hundred million hours of watch time just last year alone. Here are the top five most-watched battle royale esports titles of 2022 led by "PUBG Mobile" and "Apex Legends."

'PUBG Mobile'

"PUBG Mobile" became the most-watched battle royale esports title of 2022, which is an even more impressive feat considering that the title is not available in numerous countries. The game generated a total of 112.09 million hours of watch time last year, according to AFKGaming.com. The title posted its highest peak viewership during the 31st Southeast Asian Games PUBG Mobile of 903,011 viewers, which hints at the game's popularity in Southeast Asian countries.

'Apex Legends'

Meanwhile, "Apex Legends" became the second-most watched battle royale esports title of 2022 last year. 2022 was a big year for the title as it managed to lure in tons of new players.

It also saw a spike in its audience from the Asian region thanks to the launch of the mobile version of the game, "Apex Legends Mobile." Last year, the title's total watch time soared to over 62.47 million hours with a peak viewership of 676,653 during the Apex Legends Global Series 2022: Split 2 Playoffs.

'Free Fire'

While Garena's "Free Fire" has a large audience in Brazil and Asia, the title's ban in India negatively affected its overall viewership last still. However, it still managed to secure its spot as the third most-watched royale esports title of 2022.

Last year, the game acquired a total of 43.83 million hours of watch time with a peak viewership of 1.4 million viewers. However, the game lost around 50 percent of watch time compared to 2021's figure, which caused it to be overtaken by "Apex Legends" and dropped from the second to the third spot last year.

'Fortnite'

"Fortnite" managed to improve its esports viewership in 2022 compared to the previous year, which is attributed to its new game mode, Zero Build. The game acquired a total of over 38.96 million hours of watch time and a peak viewership of 557,722 during the Twitch Rivals Creator Series: North America Kick-off.

'PUBG: Battlegrounds'

"PUBG: Battlegrounds" claimed the fifth spot with a total of over 29.63 million hours of watch time through tournaments. Its recorded peak viewership reached 239,112 during the PUBG Nations Cup 2022.