A top 10 of the most mentioned games so far in 2021 has been shared by TitanfallBlog on Twitter with action-RPGGenshin Impacttopping the list. Although the actual order may be a bit of a shock, fans could have more or less expected the results. It’s important to note that theTwitterdata is taken globally which accounts for a few lesser-known Japanese titles that may have come as a surprise to North American fans.
Coming in at number two isApex Legends.The free-to-play battle royale has seen a recent uptick in popularity since quarantine as players flocked to accessible games, including the announcement of anApex Legends: Overtimecomic miniseries.Animal Crossingrounds out the top three. WhileNew Horizon’spopularity may have waned slightly following its absurdly strong release, an enduring loyal fanbase has kept the franchise at the top of Twitter.
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Other games on the list includeMinecraft, which likely owes its high amount of mentions to the fact that the game’s nature facilitates countless amounts of crossover coverage. A recent example being a player that recreatedElysian Hold fromWorld of WarcraftinMinecraft. Just ahead ofMinecraftis, of course,Fortnite, whose popularity can be explained for similar reasons with tons of crossover content being added regularly.
Genshin Impact’sappearance at the top of the list can be explained by the game’s unprecedented multiple platform success and global appeal. Astute fans will recallGenshin Impact’sunprecedented popularity as a mobile release, toppingFortnite Mobile, Pokemon GO, and PUBG Mobile—without even accounting for downloads ofGenshin Impact’sChinese Android iteration.Genshin Impactstands as one of the most successful releases out of Asia to break into the Western market with fans from both regions pumping it to the top of the Twitter charts.
The last three slots are perhaps the most surprising with some fans surprised to not see theCall of Dutyfranchise cracking into the top ten. A common thread betweenEnsemble Stars!,Splatoon, andTwisted Wonderlandis the on-the-go nature of these games with the group appearing on either mobile or Nintendo Switch. As well,Twisted WonderlandandSplatooncan attribute part of their popularity to their massive backings by Disney, and Nintendo, respectively.
While fans were relatively unsurprised, they did not agree that the rankings pointed solely to a franchise’s popularity. The more cynical commenters on Twitter suggested that the relatively high ranking ofApex Legendswas due in part to complaints. However, it’s difficult to argue the success of any of the franchises that appeared in the top 10 so far.
