Video Games: Lara Croft isn't the most popular female gaming character in the US

Sorry Ellie and Lara Croft, but it turns out Princess Peach has a massive power grip on the both of you. New reports reveal a surge in female gamers over the past few years has sparked some serious awesomeness in the world of gaming and revealing who the most popular female gaming character tends to be.

All hail Princess Peach as the most popular female gaming character

While her moves might not be as crafty as The Last of Us character Ellie or everyone’s favorite Tomb Raider, Princess Peach just happens to flex on the competition in her signature pink dress and crown.

The gaming industry has seen a surge in female gamers over the past few years, and recent statistics reveal 46% of gamers in the US are women. 

In light of this, the Online Gambling Experts at JustGamblers reveal the most popular female gaming characters across each U.S state. 

The experts have taken a seed list of 236 female gaming characters and used Google search data to examine the search volumes across each US state. 

Overall, the study reveals Princess Peach is the most popular gaming character across the US, with an average 235,285 monthly searches across the US.

Being a ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Bros, she is sweet, kind, optimistic, friendly, and experienced- no wonder she is loved across the nation.

Lady Dimitrescu is the second most popular across the US, also known as Alcina Dimitrescu, she is a major antagonist in the 2021 survival horror game Resident Evil Village.

Receiving an average 157,884 monthly searches across the US, she quickly became one of the most iconic and recognizable characters after her appearance. 

The third most popular female gaming character across the US is Chun-Li, with an average monthly search volume of 162,767 across the US, Hawaii is the ONLY state that rates Chun-Li over Princess Peach- clearly showing their love for the Capcom Street Fighter.

A spokesperson for JustGamblers commented on the findings: 

“With more than 650 million copies sold, Super Mario is the best-selling video game character in the world, so it is not a surprise that Princess Peach is the most popular female character. 

“Back when gaming was first introduced, it was fairly steered towards men who were more often spending their quarters in arcades. 

"However, it seems things have changed over the years, as female characters started appearing in many titles. 

“The American Gaming Association recently revealed the gaming industry is more diverse than national and hospitality industry benchmarks, boasting a diverse executive pipeline, whilst identifying opportunities on gender representation. 

"46% of gamers in the United States are female, which is a powerful reminder that female gamers are a significant and growing part of the gaming community. 

“There is an importance to recognize and celebrate the contributions of female gamers, as they help to create an inclusive environment for the industry.” 

There's a paid competition for gamers you can't ignore

Who doesn’t want to make a little - or a lot - of money for doing something they enjoy? For the gaming world, there’s probably no better dream than being able to kick back, remotely, and game on while getting paid at the same time. Fortunately, there’s a competition happening right now which accomplishes the dream of all dreams.

Gamers getting paid to game? Game on…

The competition sounds too good to be true but after checking out the details, it seems like an opportunity which benefits all parties involved. Publication Music Critic has a solid $500 opportunity for the true gamers willing to try out some top-tier headsets as they put in work to video games.

Music Critic wants to find out which headset is the Ultimate Gaming Headsetvoted for by the gamers themselves.

We want you to trial and test 3 of the world's leading gaming headsets and score them based on how well they perform in the following categories:

• Comfort

• Noise cancellation

• Sound

• Microphone

You'll be testing the:

• SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC

• LucidSound LS50X

• Logitech G Pro X

Not only will you have the chance to test and keep the headsets, but we'll also pay you $500 for your time, and because gaming is universal, this competition is open to users online.

Just fill in the application below, and we'll pick the winner on the 22nd of June... so what are you waiting for?

Boom boom? Sounds too good to be true but see for yourself and consider the application, gamers.

Here's a rundown of epic Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone season 3 updates

There’s non-stop fun happening these days in the world of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone. Whether we’re talking about the presence of Snoop Dogg across the game modes or the Godzilla and King Kong additions, the fun meter is super high. So of course adding a little Classified Arms Reloaded will only make things better.

More Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone updates

Based on the latest rollout - all slated to take place this week - the mid-season series of updates will bring brand-new features, modes and bundles.

Classified Arms Reloaded, a mid-season series of updates that will continue the third season of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone, will bring brand-new features, modes and Bundles following a May 24 update in Vanguard at 10am PT and a Warzone update at 9am PT May 25.

Updates to Warzone include:

• Mine cart underground transit system for fast travel to 14 access points

• New Serpentine perk previously only available in Vanguard

• Three new items to the loot pool in Battle Royale modes: the Gulag Entry Token, Redeploy Extraction Token and Speed Boost

• New Field Upgrade – the Radar Jammer

• New High Value Loot Zones

• New Warzone Limited-Time Mode – fight to become the Champion of Caldera

• And numerous quality of life updates, including a new Squad heads-up display

Updates to Vanguard include:

• New Multiplayer Map – Sphere, a new small Multiplayer map featuring an underground weapons lab hidden beneath the façade of a coal mine.

• New Operator for Task Force Harpy – Kim Tae Young

• New Weapon – H4 Blixen SMG

• New Bundle – Spilled Ink Bundle, curated and designed by top tattoo artists

• New Bundle – Tracer Pack: High Voltage Mastercraft Bundle, contains an electrifying Heroic “Stabistor” Sniper Rifle that is sure to send shock waves through your competition

• New Bundle – Tracer Pack: Dark Aether Mastercraft Bundle, a Zombies-themed pack featuring the “Dark Jinx” SMG

• At the end of the season, more Mastercrafts will become available, including the Tracer Pack: Tread Lightly Mastercraft Bundle, which features prototype-themed weaponry.

It’s all about the visuals

Sure, words are great but there’s nothing better than getting the full-fledged visual effect of what these updates will look like.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition Release Date Revealed

The wait’s really almost over. After some initial hype was confirmed by Rockstar Games over a much-needed Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy remastered rollout, the gaming powerhouse has not only shared some jaw-dropping new graphics but announced the official drop date.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition Release Date

Barring any last-minute changes or delays, fans will finally be able to relive out some epic GTA moments all over again and with insanely enhanced gameplay in less than three weeks.

Three iconic cities, three epic stories, one definitive collection. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition includes the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas together — each one enhanced for a new generation and available together for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via the Rockstar Games Launcher. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition will be available digitally on November 11 through the PlayStation Store, the Microsoft Store on Xbox, Nintendo eShop, and the Rockstar Games Launcher, with a physical release for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 on December 7.

Rockstar Games executive Aaron Garbut - Head of Development, Co-Studio Head Rockstar North - has issued a statement on GTA III and its overall impact on the company’s evolution.

"GTAIII helped clarify our approach to making games, and it’s something that has stuck with us in every game we make, from GT AIII through to GTAV, the Red Dead Redemption series and everything else: we are focused on building worlds – and on making these worlds as believable, detailed, interesting, varied and alive as possible. We want to make worlds that you feel like you are living in, that feel d ynamic and filled with other characters. Where it’s not just a façade that comes alive around you and for you, but as real a place as we can ma nage, and one that is filled with stories, characters, events and fun, interesting things to do."

GTA V-Inspired Controls

The worst part about gaming on the recently remastered versions of GTA titles all boiled down to the gaming controls. Once you’ve become attached to the GTA Online experience, it’s hard to really go back even for the nostalgic factor. Fortunately, Rockstar Games is making this an official non-issue with the new rollout.

Experience the games that started it all — introducing unprecedented freedom and immersion through three living, breathing worlds filled with hilarious action, rich, cinematic storytelling, classic characters, and unforgettable music. Bringing the classic worlds of Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas to modern platforms, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition debuts new GTAV-inspired modern controls, plus across-the-board visual enhancements such as resolution upgrades and improved visual fidelity across the world, and much more to faithfully tune and improve upon all three games, while also maintaining their distinct original aesthetic.

Tons + Tons Of Upgrades

If you were hoping for a bunch of fun and new things to do - or at least experience - in the new editions, rest assured you’ll be taken care of as well. Rockstar is going all out to make sure this feels like the ‘true’ vision of throwback gaming in 2021 and beyond.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition introduces wide-ranging modern control upgrades, including improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more. The Nintendo Switch version also features Switch-specific controls including Gyro aiming, as well as touch screen camera zooming, pans, and menu selections, while the PC version includes support for NVIDIA DLSS and additional new Accomplishments via the Rockstar Games Social Club.

GTA Will Make You Feel Like You’re Somewhere Completely New

Even if you think you’re playing the same game you’ve grown up on or remember older siblings gaming on, this is still going to be a completely fresh experience. The insanely impressive small details like environmental enhancements will all be felt on this drop.

Additional enhancements across all three titles include a completely rebuilt lighting system; improved shadows, weather, and reflections; upgraded character and vehicle models; along with new higher resolution textures across buildings, weapons, roads, interiors, and more. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition also features a range of environmental upgrades including all new foliage, smoother surfaces, and increased draw distances to provide a new level of depth and clarity throughout the world.

If you can’t wait anymore than we can, go ahead and get your pre-order in for the must-play series of the year by clicking here.