As gaming has embraced some of its most visually rich worlds to date, so too has it began to implement tools for players to fully appreciate and share them. Photo modes are more common than ever in the vast majority of blockbuster AAA releases, whether that's capturing stills from the likes of Death Stranding, The Last of Us 2, or Ghost of Tsushima.
However, a new study from the team over at Shotkit.com has compiled data on the most popular games for visual photography over the last decade, measuring the top 100 choices on Instagram and arranging them into a list. The interesting study yields a relatively unsurprising result, with Red Dead Redemption 2 taking the top spot with 165,228 posts on the social media site.
Rockstar's AAA Western behemoth clinching first place is far from a crazy result, seen as the game is often touted as one of the most beautiful experiences ever put on consoles and PC. Arthur Morgan's adventure boasted state of the art visual effects, with enhanced lighting and incredibly realistic character models. With the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X finally here, Red Dead Redemption 2 is sure to continue enticing virtual photographers for a long time to come. Following it up on the list is Grand Theft Auto 5 with over 146,000 posts and then Fortnite, with 135,000 posts.
Interestingly, there's a big jump between Epic's battle royale sensation and the next game on the list, with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim coming in at fourth with 46,000 posts. Fifth went to Horizon Zero Dawn with 40,000, sixth went to Forza Horizon 4 with 33,000, and seventh went to the recently released Ghost of Tsushima, which had 16,000. The final spots went to The Last of Us 2 with over 5,000 posts, Uncharted 4 with over 4,900 posts, and The Sims 4 with 4,800 posts. Some of the names are definitely surprising, although in general, the list is filled with titles that were hailed for their stunning locations and effects.
As for this year, photo modes have continued to be a huge part of several major games. Demon's Souls added an expansive and easy-to-use system when it released in November, allowing players to capture frighteningly clear screenshots of some of the game's biggest and most menacing foes. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 also features photo mode, dedicating an entire trailer to it earlier this month, while Nioh Remastered has also announced it will be including the ability to take detailed screenshots in its return to consoles. Hopefully, the list will be flooded with a ton of stunning new games in the years to come.
Red Dead Redemption 2Â is out now on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia.
Source: Shotkit.com