Top Xbox Live Activities Charts For All Of 2012

If an alien intelligence agency got a hold of this "Top Xbox games of 2012" list, it might come away with the conclusion that humans are really, really into mining. The aliens might also conclude that we enjoy warfare, including the kind that affects extraterrestrials, so let's hope that they focus on the harmless digging thing and keep their lasers to themselves.

Major Nelson breaks down 2012's top 20 games of the following categories: Live, Arcade, Indie and Games for Windows Live. The top Xbox Live games of 2012, determined by average unique users per day, are Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Modern Warfare 3, Halo 4, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition and Black Ops. Following that is a round of sports games, including FIFA Soccer 13 and12, and Halo: Reach, Assassin's Creed 3, Battlefield 3, Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3 and Skyrim.

The top five Xbox Live Arcade games, determined by full versions purchased, are Minecraft, Trials Evolution, The Walking Dead, Pinball FX2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Castle Crashers is hanging out at No. 6, followed by Fez at No. 13. Indie games are ranked with the same method, and they carry a familiar theme, headlined by CastleMiner Z, CastleMiner, Total Miner: Forge,Avatar Deathmatch and FortressCraft Chapter 1.

Games for Windows Live games get ranked by average unique users per day, and the top five areGrand Theft Auto 4, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, Age of Empires Online, Batman: Arkham City and Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition. Remember, aliens, humans sure do love the smell of fresh, pixelated dirt. See for yourself with the full lists, provided by Major Nelson, after the break.

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on average UU's per day)

1 Call of Duty: Black Ops II

2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

3 Halo 4

4 Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

5 Call of Duty: Black Ops

6 FIFA Soccer 13

7 FIFA Soccer 12

8 Battlefield 3

9 Halo: Reach

10 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

11 Borderlands 2

12 Assassin's Creed III

13 Skyrim

14 Madden NFL 13

15 Gears of War 3

16 NBA 2K13

17 NBA 2K12

18 Far Cry 3

19 Grand Theft Auto IV

20 Forza Motorsport 4

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

1 CastleMiner Z

2 CastleMiner

3 Total Miner: Forge

4 Avatar Deathmatch

5 FortressCraft Chapter 1

6 Murder Miners

7The Impossible Game

8 Avatar Laser Wars 2

9 The $1 Zombie Game

10 Avatar Paintball

11 Avatar Legends

12 Fortress Wars

13 Miner Of Duty

14 Miner4Ever

15 Avatar Laser Wars

16 End Of Days: Infected vs Mercs

17Toy Stunt Bike 2

18 Flight Adventure 2

19 Don't Die Dateless, Dummy!

20 Block World

Games for Windows Top LIVE Titles (based on average UU's per day)

1 GTA IV

2 Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition

3 Age of Empires Online

4 Batman Arkham City

5 Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition

6 Microsoft Flight

7 DiRT 3

8 F1 2011

9 Resident Evil 5

10 Fallout 3

11 Batman: Arkham Asylum

12 Fable III

13 Bioshock 2

14 Gotham City Impostors

15 Colin McRae : Dirt 2

16 Bulletstorm

17 Street Fighter X Tekken

18 Resident Evil Raccoon City

19 F1 2010

20 Street Fighter IV