Skyrim dubbed most played game of 2011 by Raptr

It's common for this time of year to see media outlets and companies doling out game awards to honor quality, but Raptr is instead toasting quantity. The gamer-centric social service today announced its Raptr Awards for the most played games of 2011, giving top honors to Bethesda Softworks' open-world role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

By tracking the play time data of its registered Xbox 360 and PC users, Raptr devised a formula to determine the "most played" game based on total hours played in the first month after release, average session length in the first month, and average play time per person in the first week. PlayStation 3 and Wii games were not included "due to data capturing restrictions," according to Raptr.

Going by Raptr's formula, The Elder Scrolls V narrowly beat out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as the most played game of the year. Modern Warfare 3 actually bested Skyrim by about 9 percent in total first-month playtime, but the Bethesda RPG made up ground in average play time per person (around 23 hours, compared to just over 20 hours) and average session length. In the first month, Skyrim players averaged almost three hours per session, more than any title Raptr has previously tracked. Modern Warfare 3's average first-month session was just over two hours, about on par with other games like Batman: Arkham City, Gears of War 3, and Battlefield 3.

Raptr also doled out nods to the most played games in a variety of categories (winners listed below) and to the massively multiplayer online game that saw the biggest boost in the wake of a subscription-based to free-to-play transition. That nod went to DC Universe Online, which saw a 2,500 percent jump in average play time per day among its user base. Champions Online saw the next biggest play time jump after going free-to-play (500 percent), followed by A.P.B. (450 percent).

Raptr 2011 Most Played Awards (winner in italics)

Most Played Shooter
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Gears of War 3
Battlefield 3
Crysis 2
Bulletstorm

Most Played RPG
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Dragon Age II
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dark Souls
Two Worlds 2

Most Played Open-World Game
Batman: Arkham City
LA Noire
Dead Island
Saints Row: The Third
Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Most Played Sports Game
FIFA 12
Madden 12
NBA 2K12
NHL 12
MLB2K12

Most Played Social Game
The Sims Social
CastleVille
Empires and Allies
Diamond Dash
Mafia Wars 2

Most Played New IP
LA Noire
Bulletstorm
Homefront
Brink
Rage
Catherine