As the year comes to a close, festivities are in order. The celebration over at Google, however, takes on a different form, with trending searches serving as an annual cap-off. Now that 2023 is less than a month away, Google has revealed the top 10 trending terms for 2022, which span various categories, such as games, TV shows, and movies.
Closer to home, the findings make for an interesting study. The list for Singapore does share some overlapping names with the U.S. side of things, but it also unveiled some unexpected entries in each group. The category of TV shows, in particular, presented the biggest disparity between the viewing preferences of Western and Singaporean audiences, with the latter highlighting a skew towards Korean dramas.
Here’s what Google’s Year in Search for 2022 revealed about the common shared interests of the local geek landscape.
Top 10 Trending Games
- Wordle
- Lost Ark
- The International 2022
- Overwatch 2
- Tower of Fantasy
- Elden Ring
- Mental Age Test
- Diablo Immortal
- Pokémon Arceus
- Stray
As expected, Wordle is the undisputed gaming pick of the year. The word-guessing phenomenon took the world by storm with its simple-yet-challenging and addictive mechanics, which not only attracted puzzle enthusiasts, but even the casual audience. The International (TI) 2022, Tower of Fantasy, and Diablo Immortal aren’t all that surprising – TI, the biggest Dota 2 esports tournament, was held right here in Singapore, while Tower of Fantasy and Diablo Immortal belong to the mobile game market, which has a big local scene following. Surprisingly, Genshin Impact didn’t make the cut here.
Overwatch 2, Lost Ark, and Elden Ring, all trending terms on the U.S. list, have also found their place among the top 10, although Overwatch 2 ranked a lot higher than expected. God of War Ragnarök, another heavy hitter, is missing from the list, with the ‘Mental Age Test’ search result surfacing as the biggest bombshell.
Top 10 Trending TV Shows
- All of Us Are Dead
- Single’s Inferno
- Business Proposal
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo
- Manifest
- Moon Knight
- Stranger Things
- Euphoria
- Alchemy of Souls
- Inventing Anna
While interest levels for Western and Korean titles are split fairly evenly, there seems to be a general inclination towards the latter, most of which rank higher on the list. The top four are all Korean shows, with the likes of Manifest, Moon Knight, Stranger Things, Euphoria, and Inventing Anna emerging as the top trends on the Western front.
Manifest, in particular, is a surprise entry, beating out other popular picks that include House of the Dragon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. In fact, the supernatural series isn’t even ranked among the U.S. data, so its rise in the local scene is certainly intriguing.
Top 10 Trending Movies
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Black Adam
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Jurassic World Dominion
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
- The Batman
- Incantation
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Ah Girls Go Army
Well, will you look at that! Singaporean director Jack Neo’s Ah Girls Go Army has broken into the top 10, which calls for a celebration of the local pride. Most of the trending titles cross over to the U.S. list as well, with Encanto, Turning Red, and Morbius missing out a spot here. Black Adam is ranked a lot higher as compared to the U.S. market, but credit should be given to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for even securing a place on the list, especially since it was released in theatres only a month ago.
There you go – 2022 in recap, conveyed through Google Search trends. As always, comparing notes between local and Western preferences has resulted in some unexpected findings, and we continue to see that reflected in this year’s data. For those who are curious about the other categories, the official Google Trends website has consolidated the information for select countries or regions all at one place.
Onward to 2023!
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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