High Scores and Higher IQs: Who’s Really Winning the Console Brain Game?
Updated 2025 results
Playing video games does have its benefits, as recent studies have shown that enjoying some online action can improve your brain and cognitive function, but you may have reservations, particularly if you’ve ever tried multiplayer games.
To find out which video game player bases are the smartest, WhichBingo surveyed 1,010 gamers (aged 18+) and partnered up with a team of psychologists to administer an intelligence test based on a variety of factors.
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 device (the most), to determine the results. So, let’s see who the final bosses are…
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Top 20 Smartest Player Bases: League of Legends Dominates, FC26 at the Bottom
Coming out on top is the ever-popular Dota 2, where players of the strategy game scored the highest IQ on average with 120.8, and jumped up seven places from 2024 to claim first place.
That is followed by players of League Of Legends who came in with an average of 120.2 which dropped one place to take second place. Rounding out the top three are gamers of Counter Strike with an average IQ of 118.3.
Gamers of new releases fared strongly overall, with Elden Ring Nightreign, which was released in May 2025, scoring 117.3, while Battlefield 6 scored an average of 111.2.
For context, IQ scores sub 85 is deemed below average intelligence, a score between 85 – 115 is deemed average intelligence, while anything over 115 is deemed above average intelligence.
The recent findings show strategy games and those with role-playing narratives rank high whilst the latest release in the EA Sports FC franchise recorded the lowest IQ in the study, with an average of 90.4.
The Device Duel: PC Players Come Out On Top
When it comes to ranking IQ by device games are played on, PC gamers reigned supreme, with an average of 114.8.
Playstation gamers followed in second place with an average IQ of 112.7 and beat X Box gamers who scored 107.4. Those gamers who like to play on the move on either their mobile or tablet ranked lowest with an average of 100.2.
Gender IQ comparison: Female gamers leading the way
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 108.1, while male gamers averaged 106.7.
2024 comparison
Compared to the 2024 survey, there are some notable changes with Dota 2 climbing seven places to take top spot as 2024’s results saw an average IQ of 111.7. League of Legends remained strong with its second-place finish after scoring an average of 120.4 while Counter Strike and Elden Ring: Nightreign still remained high in the poll with average IQ scores las year of 116.1 and 114.6 respectively.
Battlefield 6 also saw a rise in the poll, moving up three places after an increase on last year’s score of 105.8. Despite an improved average, FC 26 was rock bottom much like its predecessor FC 25 which scored 89.8 in 2024 while Rocket League finished just ahead much like it did in 2024, after getting an average of 90.8.
There were strong showings for new entries that didn’t rank in 2024 with Dying Light: The Beast scoring an average of 115.6 and Kingdom Come Deliverance: 2 coming in just behind at 115.4. Borderlands 4 also made it onto the list with a score of 112.5 and will be hoping to consolidate that position in 2026.
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What do you make of these results? Are we missing your favourite game? Which titles would you like to see included in 2026?
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Updated November 4, 2025
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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.
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