Xbox Live's top games of 2011 revealed

Call of Duty: Black Ops, Modern Warfare 3, Halo: Reach, and Pinball FX2 were among Xbox Live's most popular games in 2011, according to Microsoft's year-end tally.

Recently posted to Major Nelson's blog, the report was compiled with data related to the number of unique visitors on Xbox Live or full versions purchased throughout the entirety of 2011. Among the top ten titles enjoyed in the latter category, it listed:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3. Modern Warfare 2
4. Halo: Reach
5. Battlefield 3
6. Skyrim
7. Gears of War 3
8. FIFA 12
9. FIFA Soccer 11
10. Madden NFL 12

2011's most purchased Xbox Live Arcade titles were also calculated; and unlike the shooter and sport heavy results above, the list includes a healthy cross-section of genres:

1. Pinball FX2
2. Full House Poker
3. Castle Crashers
4. Fruit Ninja Kinect
5. From Dust
6. Trials HD
7. Magic: The Gathering — Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012
8. DEAD RISING 2: CASE WEST
9. Torchlight
10. Toy Soldiers: Cold War

Microsoft's rundown included shout-outs to the indie community. Judging by the numbers, it was a good year to be a Minecraft clone:

1. FortressCraft Chapter 1
2. Total Miner: Forge
3. The Impossible Game
4. Avatar Paintball
5. Toy Stunt Bike
6. CastleMiner Z
7. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
8. Avatar Legends
9. CastleMiner
10. Miner Dig Deep

Last but (arguably) not least, the report announced the top titles on Games of Windows Live and Windows Phone, crowning Age of Empires Online and Angry Birds as the top winners, respectively.

It's interesting to note many of the games in Microsoft's release having been kicking around for years. In fact, other notable “also rans” include Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Portal: Still Alive, and even Call of Duty: World at War. Browse the full report to see if your favorite game made the cut.