Halo 3 is Xbox Live's Most Played in 2008

Microsoft's Major Nelson recently revealed some new statistics about the company's top games on Xbox Live during the last year. As it turns out, the top two games played on Microsoft's popular online service weren't even launched in 2008. It's also interesting to note that nearly half the games are shooters, showing the predominance of this category on Xbox Live.

Here's the top 20 list, based on unique users:

1. Halo 3

2. Call of Duty 4

3. GTA IV

4. Gears of War 2

5. Gears of War

6. CoD: World at War

7. Guitar Hero III

8. Battlefield: Bad Company (Demo)

9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Demo)

10. Rock Band

11. Fable II

12. Mirror's Edge (Demo)

13. Madden NFL 09

14. Battlefield: Bad Company

15. Rainbow Six Vegas 2

16. UNO

17. Castle Crashers

18. CoD: World at War (Multiplayer Beta)

19. Forza Motorsport 2

20. Too Human (Demo)

Another important component of Xbox Live of course is its Arcade. XBLA has been steadily building up a great library of titles. Below you will find the top 20 most purchased titles on the service during 2008.

1. Castle Crashers

2. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

3. Braid

4. A Kingdom for Keflings

5. UNO

6. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

7. Fable II Pub Games

8. Duke Nukem 3D

9. Bionic Commando: Rearmed

10. Worms

11. Soul Calibur

12. Portal: Still Alive

13. DOOM

14. 1942: Joint Strike

15. Bomberman Live

16. Mega Man 9

17. N+

18. World of the Battlefield: Commando 3

19. Marble Blast Ultra

20. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Microsoft also revealed that Halo 2 was the most played original Xbox title on Xbox Live. You can see the full list of most played original Xbox games at Major Nelson's site.