Genshin Impact Was The Most-Tweeted-About Game In 2021; Apex Legends Was #2

People like to talk about video games on Twitter. But what games do they like talking about the most?

If you've ever wondered that, well, you should probably find other ways to occupy your mind. But even if the thought has never crossed your brain, you can now discover just what the hottest trends in gaming were for Twitter in 2021, thanks to today's blog post from Twitter's head of gaming content and partnerships, Rishi Chadha.

Overall, Twitter counted 2.4 billion tweets about gaming in 2021, up 14% year-over-year and 10 times greater than just four years ago. The final three months of the year alone scored as "the biggest quarter for gaming conversation ever on Twitter."

The list of lists kicks off with 2021's "Most Tweeted About Games," which includes several titles that should come as no surprise to us Westerners, but also has a few entries that aren't as popular or well-known on this side of the ocean:

1. Genshin Impact

2. Apex Legends

3. Ensemble Stars

4. Final Fantasy

5. Fate/Grand Order

6. Animal Crossing

7. Knives Out

8. Minecraft

9. Project Sekai (Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!)

10. Fortnite

I'd say that three of those games (#3, #5, and #9) don't have much of a presence outside of Asia. #7, Knives Out, did launch on our shores nearly four years ago, and I remember my first match being filled with bots that didn't do anything, letting me take the easy victory. NetEase was also got sued by PUBG for its supposed "copycat" nature. I assume it's overcome those issues, based on the game's popularity on Twitter alone.

Most of the rest of the list covers esports and personalities, with the controversial FaZe Clan taking top honors in video views and #2 in the Most Tweeted About category. Not surprisingly, when you do dumb stunts, people talk about you. The Brazilian League of Legends esports account won "Most Tweeted About Esports League" top honors, while LoL Esports in general was #1 in video views and Fortnite Competitive gained the most followers.

Japan, the United States, and South Korea were #1, #2, and #3 in countries that tweeted the most about gaming, while E3 edged out The Game Awards as the most-tweeted-about event. We'll see how much longer that stays the same, with E3 going digital for one more year and, as we mused on the Gaming Gumbo podcast last Saturday (blatant cross-promotion: go!), maybe having outlived its usefulness altogether.