Google has unveiled its year-end search lists, which show the terms people have been searching for most in 2023, and the gaming list is topped by a game that likely won’t surprise you too much.
According to Google’s Year in Search 2023 list, Hogwarts Legacy is the most searched-for game of the year, which makes a lot of sense given the Wizarding World RPG’s phenomenal sales numbers.
The second most searched-for game this year is The Last of Us, likely due to the launch of the TV show this year, as well as the announcement of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
The third most searched-for term in Google’s year-end list is Connections, the New York Times puzzle game that asks you to group words based on commonalities between them.
In fourth, it’s Battlegrounds Mobile India, the Indian version of PUBG, which had been banned in the country until that ban was lifted in May this year.
Google’s fifth most-searched gaming term this year was Starfield, the long-awaited Bethesda RPG, which, at last count, was at 12 million players and counting.
Celebrated RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 is in sixth place when it comes to the most searched-for gaming terms this year, and given that it won Game of the Year at this year’s Game Awards, that’s to be expected.
In seventh, it’s the Japanese puzzler Suika Game, a craze that’s somewhere between Agar.io, Tetris, and Fruit Ninja, although you’re trying to combine fruits rather than chopping them up.
Eighth place in Google’s most-searched list for 2023 goes to Blizzard’s Diablo IV, which has proven hugely successful and generated plenty of cash for the company.
The ninth most popular search in gaming this year is a game from earlier in 2023 you might have forgotten about: Atomic Heart, which created controversy owing to a request from the Ukrainian government asking for storefronts to ban the game.
Finally, in tenth place, it’s survival-crafter Sons of the Forest, which launched into Early Access this year following a relatively protracted development time.