Elden Ring is 2022’s Most Completed and Most Retired Game

Elden Ring emerged as the Most Completed game of 2022 based on the leaderboards of HowLongToBeat.com, according to Destructoid.

There are nearly 6,000 players who completed the game. It is not surprising given how popular the game is. Elden Ring's popularity exploded this year, making it a mainstream game.

However, ironically, the game also ranked first in the Most Retired game category, meaning players abandon it before reaching the end. A total of 261 players said they did not finish the game.

Elden Ring Records an Impressive Number for Most Completed Game in 2022

Elden Ring is the latest game from Dark Souls creators FromSoftware. Just like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, it is a tough-as-nails action RPG.

It focuses heavily on mystery, world-building, and boss fights. However, according to Kotaku, when it comes to Elden Ring, FromSoftware included a true open world to its usual "Soulslike" formula.

It resulted in 2022's most acclaimed, best-selling game. In particular, the open world helped convince many players to try Elden Ring for the first time.

The new design lets players avoid harder areas until the latter part. Apparently, it makes it easier for players to finish it than previous FromSoftware games.

Based on the players' response and reception to the game, the new design seems to pay off.

Elden Ring's record of 6,000 users who have played and finished the game is quite impressive compared to the runner-up's number.

Second to it is Stray, the adorable futuristic cat game. It was completed by nearly 4,000 users.

Meanwhile, third in rank with 2,500 completions, was Game Freak and Nintendo's Switch hit, Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Kotaku notes that seeing Elden Ring, a big and difficult game, topped the list is a sign that the game is very good.

Elden Ring Emerges as the Most Retired Game of the Year

What is interesting about Elden Ring is it also emerged as HowLongToBeat.com's Most Retired game of 2022. When players retire from a game on the site, it means they have either permanently or temporarily given up on it.

Although the record says that only 261 players officially retired from Elden Ring on the site, the number is still double than the other games in 2022. It's an interesting data point.

The numbers of Most Completed and Most Retired make sense. Since Elden Ring was the most talked-about game of 2022, a lot of people playing are playing the game.

It makes sense that there will also be a greater number of players who might give up on it. Meanwhile, the data seems to indicate that around half the people who are playing the game never reached the end.

Therefore, it is somewhat logical that Elden Ring could be the Most Completed game of 2022 while also being the Most Retired game of the year.

There are other interesting data from HowLongToBeat.com. It turns out that the game also got the Most Backlogged, the Most Reviewed, and the Longest Game of 2022.

However, the site revealed that Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us Part 1 is the Most Positively Reviewed game, while Diablo Immortal is the Worst-Reviewed game of the year.