Hogwarts Legacy Emerged as the Most Searched Game on Google in 2022

Hogwarts Legacy hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC back in February – you can read Game Informer’s Hogwarts Legacy review here. Now, as 2023 comes to a close, Google has released the top 10 trending searches in games on Google over the year and in the top slot is Hogwarts Legacy.

While many were likely searching for new trailers, gameplay, and information about the game, there’s no doubt some of the Google searching for this game stems from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s inflammatory statements about the trans community. Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive says Rowling was not involved with the creation of Hogwarts Legacy, which was developed by Avalanche, but given it’s based on the Harry Potter franchise she created, she undoubtedly made money off of it. Nonetheless, it was the subject of many top trending searches on Google. 

As for what that means, Google describes it like so: “This data shows the top trending searches in the U.S., which means the ‘trending’ inquiries are the searches that had such a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2023 as compared to 2022.” 

With that in mind, here’s the top 10 trending searches in the U.S. for games on Google in 2023: 

1. Hogwarts Legacy – Our Review
2. Connections (if you, like me, didn’t know what this was, it’s a New York Times word grouping puzzle game) 
3. Baldur’s Gate 3 – Our Review
4. Starfield – Our Review
5. Diablo IV – Our Review
6. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Our Review
7. Atomic Heart – Our Review
8. Dead Island 2 – Our Review
9. Sons of the Forest
10. Mortal Kombat 1 – Our Review

And here are the top 10 trending searches in the world for games on Google in 2023: 

1. Hogwarts Legacy
2. The Last of Us
3. Connections
4. Battlegrounds Mobile India
5. Starfield
6. Baldur’s Gate 3
7. スイカ ゲーム (a Japanese puzzle game known as Suika Game or Watermelon Game)
8. Diablo IV
9. Atomic Heart
10. Sons of the Forest

Do any of these surprise you? Are there games you thought would be on this list missing? Let us know in the comments below!