Call of Duty tops VMO2 traffic levels
December 29, 2022
UK multiplay operator Virgin Media O2 has revealed the video games that caused the highest broadband traffic levels on its network throughout 2022, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 being crowned the most popular gaming release of the year.
Call of Duty fans dominate the top four broadband traffic peaks in 2022 with Modern Warfare 2 causing Virgin Media O2’s highest customer data consumption on record.
As the world reopened out of lockdown, data consumption continued to climb to new heights in 2022, with customers downloading 9 per cent more broadband data per day than in 2021. Typically, the busiest days on the network were a result of gaming release dates. This may reflect video game file sizes increasing alongside the popularity of online gaming continuing to grow.
Most popular video games of 2022:
| Rank | Game | Launch date | Peak Traffic (Mbps) |
| 1. | CoD: Modern Warfare 2 Season 1 (Raids) alongside The Witcher 3 Next Gen patch | December 14 | 22,551.8 |
| 2. | CoD: Modern Warfare 2 1.10 patch and CoD Warzone 2.0 | April 27 | 21,194 |
| 3. | CoD: Warzone Season 3 | April 27 | 21,061 |
| 4.
|
Fortnite 22.30 | November1 | 19,423 |
| 5. | Fortnite Season 4 | September 18 | 19,205 |
| 6. | Cyberpunk 2077 1.5 Next Gen patch | February 15 | 18,95819,203 |
| 7. | Overwatch 2 launch | October 4 | |
| 8. | CoD: Modern Warfare 2 1.04 patch | October 27 | 18,601 |
| 9. | Halo Infinite launch | December 8 | 18,596 |
| 10. | Destiny 2 Anniversary patch | December 7 | 18,523 |
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “With online gaming more popular than ever, the average game size being 53GB and standard patch updates hitting 3.8GB, it comes as no surprise that the major traffic surges we’ve seen throughout the year were dominated by gamers. From Twitch streaming to playing online with friends, Virgin Media’s Gig1 service is perfect for busy households who want to download and play games through a network customers can rely on.”