Twitter can be either terribly toxic or incredibly uplifting, depending on the people you follow. Ignoring any drama or mudslinging, 2021 proved to be another “record year” for game discussion on the social media platform, and the company has now released the complete stats to prove it. In total, Twitter saw about 2.4 billion game-related tweets last year, up 14 percent from 2020 and an incredible 10 times higher when compared to the statistics only five years ago.
The last quarter of 2021 was the most vocal about video games, due in part to the release of major titles like Deathloop, Far Cry 6, Metroid Dread, Forza Horizon 5, and Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. The top four most-discussed games–Genshin Impact, Apex Legends, Ensemble Stars, and Final Fantasy–were identical to Twitter’s mid-year reveal.
Most Tweeted About Video Games of 2021:
1. Genshin Impact — MiHoYo (@GenshinImpact)
2. Apex Legends — Electronic Arts (@PlayApex)
3. Ensemble Stars! — Happy Elements Inc. (@ensemble_stars)
4. Final Fantasy — Square Enix (@FinalFantasy)
5. Fate/Grand Order — Aniplex (@fgoproject)
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nintendo (@animalcrossing)
7. Knives Out — NetEase (@game_knives_out)
8. Minecraft — Xbox Game Studios (@minecraft)
9. Project Sekai Colorful Stage — Sega (@pj_sekai)
10. Fortnite — Epic Games (@fortnitegame)
Fate/Grand Order climbed from ninth to fifth place during the second half of the year, with Minecraft also seeing a jump from tenth to eighth place. Animal Crossing, Fortnite, and Knives Out all dropped a few spots while Monster Hunter disappeared from the top ten completely. It was replaced with Project Sekai, a mobile rhythm game featuring popular Vocaloid Hatsune Miku.
Not surprisingly, Japan was the country that had the most to say about gaming, followed closely by the United States and South Korea. When it came to video game events, E3 2021, The Game Awards, and the Xbox Game Showcase saw the most conversation, followed by Gamescom 2021 and Summer Game Fest 2021.