Spike Trap: Animal Crossing and Warzone surged on social in different ways

Animal Crossing: New Horizons surpassed all other games as the leader in social engagement during March as shelter-in-place rules began, according to data from social media measurement firm Spike Trap. But Call of Duty: Warzone saw a surge in a very different way.

The report is interesting because it shows how huge Animal Crossing was in engagement across social platforms, while Call of Duty: Warzone was strong in terms of hours of gameplay streamed or watched. In other words, people felt like Warzone was a lot more fun to watch, while Animal Crossing was more fun to talk about via tweets, game forum posts, and videos.

Spike Trap said Animal Crossing was all the rage as people found new ways to interact in a virtual environment while sheltering at home. The enthusiasm around Animal Crossing exceeded even the surprise announcement of Apex Legends in the first quarter of 2019.

In social engagement, Animal Crossing shot past Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft during the month of March. Those games, respectively, were the No. 2, 3, and 4 leaders in social engagement in March.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which saw a big launch in March with the debut of its battle royale mode Call of Duty: Warzone, came in at No. 6 during March, much smaller than the social engagement for Animal Crossing. Doom Eternal, which debuted in late March, came in at No. 7 for the month.

Engagement on the main social sources — Twitter, video, and game forums — was up 36% from February to March and up 65% from March 2019, as people shifted many of their conversations online during the pandemic.

In terms of hours streamed, Call of Duty: Warzone took off in March, eclipsing Fortnite, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. And in hours watched, Warzone far exceeded that of other titles, including Animal Crossing.