Playing games out of peer pressure, even if one does not love it, is not unheard of. Almost all of us are guilty of being lured into a popular title because everyone in our social circle has been enjoying it.
It is not isolated to a particular genre either, but it is a fact that most of these are multiplayer and co-op experiences, while a few are single-player experiences. In the list below, we will be discussing some of them.
Games That You End Up Playing Out of Peer Pressure
Last of Us
Naughty Dog is one of PlayStation’s most important developers, previously having created iconic IPs such as the Crash Bandicoot games and the Jak and Daxter series. But starting with the seventh generation of game consoles, the developer switched things up to create more mature stories.
Thus, the Last of Us franchise was created, which is probably the most discussed franchise in PlayStation history because it has spanned across multiple console generations. We believe this is one franchise that players pretend to love out of peer pressure.
Because frankly, The Last of Us is for the most part a couch game with cinematic storytelling at the center. Although most gamers genuinely love it, it has led to more re-releases in the series than we have had sequels to Valve’s Half-Life.
Grand Theft Auto
The Grand Theft Auto franchise is the single most popular video game franchise in the whole world. From parents to school teachers, everyone is aware of this video game series that allows players to commit all sorts of criminal activities in a video game world.
It is that one series that every gamer has tried at least once. Grand Theft Auto games have some well-written stories and characters that parody Western culture and violence.
But let’s be honest, most play the games just to mindlessly steal cars and shoot up NPCs. Some players definitely do not love that mindless kind of violence, but are peer-pressured into playing it that way. Thus, they are missing out on the actual narrative of these games.
Phasmophobia
Horror co-op games are the new type of multiplayer games that have been taking over the top charts everywhere for a while. If we are discussing games where people get reeled in to playing with peers, then it has to be these types of games.
While there are many titles that we can point at, the most famous of them all has to be Phasmophobia. This game allows people to experience the thrill of ghost hunting in multiplayer mode.
Due to this nature, these genres of games have also been dubbed as ‘friend-slop’ in certain parts of the gaming community. In a way to mock the fact that the same players jump from one horror co-op game to another in a short span of time.
Clash Royale
We would like to apologize for getting to this part so late on this list. That’s because mobile games, in theory, are pretty much the pinnacle of games that a lot of people get into out of peer pressure.
One can find the most unlikely people being forced to like some of these games, just because their friends are into them. While there are a lot of perpetrators, one of the most prominent of these is Clash Royale.
It’s a spin-off title to the highly popular tower defense mobile game, Clash of Clans. Clash Royale takes the idea, and its characters and throws them into a real-time strategy-based game.
Genshin Impact
Speaking of mobile games that are red flags, which people are peer-pressured into playing. There is a whole sub-genre that has been bending players to its will, and it’s the gacha games.
The genre has stayed around for a long time, but it reached mainstream appeal when MiHoYo released their open-world title, Genshin Impact. Currently, there are plenty of open-world gacha titles in the market that reel in players with their anime aesthetics.
Derived from real-life gacha machines, which people use to win random gifts in exchange for money. Gacha games keep players glued to it by allowing the illusion of unlocking valuable aspects of the game, even if somewhere in their heart, they don’t love it.
Minecraft
Minecraft may not look like something that should be super popular, but it actually is. It is the highest-selling video game ever created to date. Originally made for kids, it was supposed to be a family-friendly title in a sea of violent video games.
Educational versions of the game made it a very favorable experience from the perspective of the parents. But in 2025, the franchise has become synonymous with mindless humor, with all the wrong kinds of people getting into it, and others are peer-pressured into it.
Some may not love causing chaos in public places, but they fear slipping into FOMO if they don’t know Minecraft movie references, such as chicken jockey. After all, the cool kids at school like the game and play it.
Fortnite
Fortnite is the secondary game that comes to mind right after Minecraft when we talk about a type of video game that has the wrong kind of player base. But originally, Fortnite was just another multiplayer game that looked more family-friendly than other popular titles out there.
The battle-royale game genre, which was originally created by titles such as PUBG, has become really popular in the past few decades. Fortnite took things to newer heights by introducing new modes and mechanics never seen before.
Currently, it is one of the most popular video games out there, collaborating with almost every mainstream music artist. Even getting filmmakers on board to direct their own episodes in the game. People who have pop culture FOMO can never miss out on these, even if they do not love the actual game.
League of Legends
Multiplayer online battle arena is a genre of video games that found life out of a certain World of Warcraft mod. Presently, it is one of the biggest sub-genres of multiplayer games with an impressive esports scene, with professional players earning millions.
One of the major titles in this genre is League of Legends, created by Riot Games. It is one of the most competitive PC games in existence. But there are also several spin-offs of the IP, such as popular music videos and animated series.
All of which have garnered a completely different kind of mainstream popularity. This has led to a lot of people being peer-pressured into playing the actual League of Legends game. Most keep expressing that they don’t like the video game, but still insist on sticking with it so that they don’t get FOMO over missing out on lore and hype associated with it.
Call of Duty
First-person shooters should definitely be the genre of games that comes to mind immediately when talking about games that people play out of peer pressure, even if they don’t love it.
The hard part is finding one to blame because all of the popular ones are guilty of luring people in. But the good thing is that competitively almost all of them are solid experiences, except one, it’s the modern Call of Duty games.
Once upon a time, it was considered the king of first-person shooters with addictive gameplay. Nowadays, what’s left is just a shadow of its former glory, smeared with unwanted systems and campaigns that are not even Call of Duty anymore.
People have to stick with it out of peer pressure because everyone around them is doing the same in a chain reaction.
Animal Crossing
How can we miss out on Nintendo? One of the most popular video game hardware and IP holders in the industry. They are considered the Apple of the video game community by many because all their games are secluded to their proprietary hardware.
Just like how people keep buying new iPhones out of FOMO every year, Nintendo fans keep buying new hardware and the games to stay up to date with the mainstream community. So that they can keep up with all the minute, little references and discussions that their peers are having.
There are many Nintendo games we can attribute this to, one of them being the Animal Crossing franchise, especially New Horizons. We will admit that it is definitely one of the coziest video games ever.
But due to how much of this franchise has become an online experience, there is no doubt that a lot of people hopped into it out of FOMO, seeing their favorite celebrity enjoying Animal Crossing.
