Which Gamers Are the Smartest

Which Gamers Are the Smartest? Unpacking IQ by Gender, Game, and Console

It’s reported that playing video games can be beneficial for your brain and cognitive function. But if you’ve ever played a multiplayer game online, you may very well question that…

To find out which video game player bases are the smartest, WhichBingo surveyed 1,002 gamers (aged 18+) and partnered up with a team of psychologists to administer an intelligence test.

The remote IQ test assessed the cognitive skills of participants in four areas: verbal communication, mathematics, logic and visual reasoning.

Participants were asked which games they primarily play and on what platform (the most), to determine the results. And the results are certainly interesting…

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Top 20 Smartest Player Bases: League of Legends Dominates, FC24 at the Bottom

Top 20 Smartest Player Bases

Widely popular online strategy game League of Legends secured the highest IQ score of 120.4.

Following close behind in second was the player base of the hugely successful single player  Black Myth: Wukong with an IQ of 119.8.

Baldur’s Gate 3 players placed third overall, with an average IQ of 117.9.

For context on IQ scores sub 85 is deemed below average intelligence, 85 – 115 is deemed average intelligence, anything over 115 IQ is deemed above average intelligence.

From the data, it’s clear that games focused on strategy and role-playing are linked with higher IQ scores. Games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Dark Souls, and Dota 2 ranked high.

On the other hand, FC 24/FIFA 23 players recorded the lowest IQ in the study, with an average score of 89.8.

Console IQ Showdown: PC Gamers Come Out on Top

Console IQ Showdown

When breaking down IQ scores by console, PC gamers led the pack with an average IQ of 114.1.

PlayStation gamers followed in second place with an IQ of 111.0, while Xbox gamers got third place and averaged 105.9. While the consoles have a lot of similarities the IQ gap is bigger between the two than between PC & Playstation.

Mobile/Tablet gamers came in last at 99.9. Whether you’re into bingo, slots, or casino games, each type of game challenges different aspects of intelligence and skill.

Gender IQ Comparison: Female Gamers Lead with a Higher Average IQ

Gender IQ Comparison

Contrary to stereotypes, the study found that female gamers beat their male counterparts in terms of average IQ. Female gamers recorded an average IQ of 107.9, while male gamers averaged 105.8.

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Reader comments

Druid
August 7th, 2025, 08:23
Down down down by the river
Mada
October 24th, 2024, 10:51
You don't need a big sample of players to generate accurate data. However 1000 participants means 50 participant per game, which is definitely way too small to make a representative sample. Also as some say, it is not randomized but based on willingness to respond. Regarding the IQ difference based on gender, the amounts are too close to be called significant. Linked with sample size, it is simply wrong to draw a conclusion based on that. There are lies, and there are statistics. But hey, journalists love to do that anyway, money is more important than truth. Also I'm not that surprised seeing lol on top of the list, it is a high pressure strategy game where the best decision makers win the game. I assume no Draven mains participated.
Günther
October 24th, 2024, 05:10
This article is not a scientific source or of any valuable information. 1. None of the claims are backed up. 2. No scientists or university worked on this paper. 3. The original paper has not been published means it does not exist. 4. The data is too vague for there to have been an actual survey. 5. No actual research confirms that gaming requires a high IQ, since these do not correlate. My personal opinion on this: I have been made aware of this article by students and I have to say how people can believe a "study" published by a website that mainly deals with gambling and gaming, but is not known for conducting actual studies, shows that a lot of people will believe anything that favours them, without cross checking for any evidence. A little tip for everyone, who is trying to win actual arguments with this or - God forbid - use this as a source in scientific research: Don't. Only use online articles that have valid sources, since the online world has it made it simpler than ever to claim and publish false information and the fact, that a lot of people will believe it anyway, makes the internet such a dangerous place.
n00ance
October 23rd, 2024, 03:12
I love how the literal premise (despite 4 of my favorite games being in the top 10) is literally just "we're going to say we conducted a survey and then just post a listicle"
VincentD
October 8th, 2024, 09:35
I'm wondering how the games have been selected? Why are Fortnite, Minecraft, Zelda and many more are not in the list? Thanks
jarda
October 8th, 2024, 09:30
what about classic doom?
your mum
October 8th, 2024, 11:02
your iq probs sub 30
freddy
October 7th, 2024, 18:31
I have a few questions. What was the age distribution of the participants? What was the name of the types of assessments used? Where is the source for these claims? I tried googling, and all the articles I saw pointed back to this page. I would love to see the paper these claims are based on, I have so many questions.
Pedram
October 7th, 2024, 14:07
How about valorant?
Jim
October 6th, 2024, 11:30
You definetly missed World of Warcraft! I'd also love to read the full study. I'm curious of the methods applied here, and as an avid LoL player, how participants for that game were selected. No way is 120 IQ representative for the LoL playerbase.
Marm
October 7th, 2024, 23:00
It is almost certainly not a standardised IQ test that was administered. It's also not testing the intelligence of the League of Legends playerbase, it's testing the playerbase that are willing to take a test. For it to be a more accurate representation of the entire playerbase's intelligence, the participants would have had to all been randomly selected from the playerbase. It's unlikely any bronze or iron players are invested in the game enough to be visiting reddit and other third-party related league websites, so they are likely excluded from the data set, and most definitely would have brought the average down.