I think I would look at the question not so much in terms of 'why these videogames rather than other videogames', but instead 'why this sort of media storytelling rather than other media storytelling'.

Because I believe the popularity of gaming, as opposed to choosing to spend that same disposable time watching a movie or TV series - the closest form of on-screen entertainment - is a choice based on wanting to play an active rather than passive role in the experience. Which is not in itself a bad thing at all, I don't think. It is a cognitively more nutritious experience to play Call of Duty rather than watch SEAL Team, or pick GTA5 over F&F9.

Probably. (I think there is research suggesting that gaming offers greater cerebral stimulation.)

And in the case of multiplayer games, there is a further social - and intellectual - element to cooperating with others to complete a task.

But why do those who choose to game, choose so often to play killing games, rather than crafting or worldbuilding games?

For the same reason, I suspect, that multiplexes are full of superhero, war, cop and adventure movies.

They fulfil the primeval urge for a Good v Evil story - which may in fact be quite nuanced, as I think many games that involve killing, also involve making choices about saving, and living with the implications.

But just as every mythology tends to have one (or a small set of) creation stories, and a whole bunch of conflict (and sexual infidelity) stories, so our media landscape is made up mainly of those 'Clash of the Titans' or ingenious trickster sneaking around and outwitting others stories.

We perhaps have to go back to the stories that had a wow effect around neolithic campfires to explain the allure of WoW.

Does that make sense as a hypothesis?