Mobile games make up the majority of video games released each year, with thousands of new additions to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store every year.
By the mid-2010s, mobile games had surpassed console and PC in volume and revenues, and that gap has continued to widen into the 2020s, with mobile games accounting for over 50 percent of game revenues.
In terms of popularity, hundreds of mobile games have surpassed 500 million cumulative downloads, with over a dozen even breaching the one billion mark. Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, and Subway Surfers are just a few of the games to break the billion mark.
As mobile games have matured, the amount of game genres has expanded to include everything from shooters to adventure to racing. Mobile has also opened the door to new sub-genres of games, such as merge, match-3, idle simulators, and hypercasual.
Unlike console and PC, the vast majority of games launched on mobile are free to play. For a lot of games, revenue comes in the form of micro-transactions for cosmetics and other improvements, alongside ads.
While this may have created a substandard experience for competitive gameplay, it has also enabled millions of people in lower income countries to enjoy the experience of playing shooters and RPGs, which were previously mostly played in Western countries.
Developers of popular PC and console games now look at mobile as a bridge to a new market, with Activision, EA Games, Riot Games, and Ubisoft all launching titles specifically for mobile which mimic their console releases, but with lower computational requirements.
We have collected data and statistics on the most popular games. Read on below to find out more.
Most Popular Games Key Statistics
- Subway Surfers was the most popular mobile game in 2022 with 304 million downloads
- It was the most popular game on both iOS and Google Play
- Stumble Guys saw the most growth, with 200 million more downloads in 2022 than 2021
Most Popular Games by Country
China, India, the United States, and Japan are the three largest countries for mobile game downloads.
Most Popular Games 2022
Subway Surfers was the most popular game for the second year in a row. Stumble Guys saw the most growth in 2022, reaching second place with over 250 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 304 |
| Stumble Guys | 254 |
| Roblox | 208 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 138 |
| Race Master 3D | 128 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 120 |
| FIFA Mobile | 111 |
| Merge & Fight | 110 |
| Garena Free Fire | 109 |
| Bridge Race | 107 |
Sources: Apptopia
Most Popular Games in United States 2022
Subway Surfers was the most popular game in the United States as well, with 51 million downloads in 2022. Roblox edged out Stumble Guys for second place.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 51.4 |
| Roblox | 51 |
| Stumble Guys | 34 |
| Wordle! | 33 |
| Parking Jam 3D | 28 |
| Pull the Pin | 24 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 23.3 |
| Fill the Fridge | 23.1 |
| Among Us | 22.7 |
| Fishdom | 22.5 |
Source: AppMagic
Most Popular Games in United Kingdom 2022
A clone of the New York Times popular word game, Wordle, was the most popular game in the United Kingdom, reaching 5.1 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Wordle! | 5.1 |
| Subway Surfers | 4.8 |
| Fill The Fridge | 3.8 |
| Roblox | 3.2 |
| Stumble Guys | 2.7 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 2.7 |
| Color Match | 2.6 |
| Count Masters | 2.4 |
| Magic Tiles 3 | 2.2 |
| Text or Die | 2.1 |
Source: AppMagic
Most Popular Games in India 2022
Ludo King was the most popular game in India with over 100 million downloads in 2022. Free Fire MAX, a new version of Garena Free Fire, came second with 82 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Ludo King | 107 |
| Free Fire MAX | 82 |
| Carrom Pool | 79 |
| Bubble Shooter | 64 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 63 |
| Subway Surfers | 56 |
| Subway Princess Runner | 54 |
| Temple Run | 50 |
| Bridge Race | 49 |
| Hill Climb Racing | 48 |
Source: AppMagic
Most Popular Games by Platform
Google Play is responsible for more downloads than the Apple App Store, however, Apple generates more consumer spending.
Most Popular Games on Apple App Store 2022
Subway Surfers and Stumble Guys were the most popular apps on the Apple App Store, with Roblox dropping to third.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 57 |
| Stumble Guys | 48 |
| Roblox | 43 |
| PUBG Mobile | 41 |
| Survivor.io | 29.6 |
| Genshin Impact | 29.1 |
| Fishdom | 28 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 27 |
| Count Masters | 25.7 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 25.6 |
Most Popular Games on Google Play Store 2022
Subway Surfers was the most popular app on the Google Play Store in 2022, followed by Stumble Guys and Ludo King.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 220 |
| Stumble Guys | 175 |
| Ludo King | 158 |
| Roblox | 142 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 139 |
| Free Fire MAX | 132 |
| Race Master 3D | 123 |
| Bridge Race | 112 |
| Free Fire | 106 |
| My Talking Tom 2 | 103 |
Most Popular Games by Category
There are many categories of games, with some blending into two or three.
Most Popular Arcade Games 2022
The two most popular games of 2022 were in the arcade category. Hyper-casual games Bridge Race and Going Balls both reached over 100 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 304 |
| Stumble Guys | 254 |
| Bridge Race | 107 |
| Going Balls | 101 |
| Magic Tiles | 98 |
| Piano Fire | 96 |
| Among Us | 95 |
| Tall Man Run | 92.2 |
| Temple Run | 92.1 |
| Count Masters | 87 |
Most Popular Puzzle Games 2022
Candy Crush Saga was the most popular puzzle game in 2022. Fishdom and Bubble Shooter are off-shoots of Candy Crush, with similar gameplay.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Candy Crush Saga | 138 |
| Fishdom | 99 |
| DOP 4 | 95 |
| Bubble Shooter | 86 |
| Fill The Fridge | 82 |
| Thief Puzzle | 71 |
| Pull the Pin | 69 |
| Save the Doge | 66.8 |
| Words of Wonders | 66.1 |
| Parking Jam 3D | 62 |
Most Popular RPG Games 2022
Mobile Legends, developed by a subsidiary of ByteDance, was the most downloaded role-playing game in 2022.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Mobile Legends | 59 |
| Genshin Impact | 53 |
| Garena RoV | 32 |
| Pokemon Unite | 26 |
| Honor of Kings | 24 |
| Gacha Club | 22 |
| Dragon Ball Legends | 19 |
| X-HERO | 19 |
| One Piece | 18 |
| Diablo Immortal | 17.7 |
Most Popular Simulation Games 2022
The ‘My Talking’ series dominated the simulation genre in 2022, with five of top ten apps from the studio.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| My Talking Tom 2 | 103 |
| My Talking Tom Friends | 101 |
| My Talking Angela 2 | 85 |
| My Talking Tom | 76 |
| Airport Security | 65 |
| Township | 63 |
| Pou | 59 |
| My Talking Angela | 58 |
| Fashion Show | 54 |
| Talking Ben the Dog | 50 |
Most Popular Adventure Games 2022
Craft games were the most popular sub-genre of adventure in 2022, with five of the top 10 most downloaded having craft in their name.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Craftsman | 71 |
| School Party Craft | 56.8 |
| Block Craft 3D | 56.5 |
| Granny | 52 |
| Indian Bikes Driving 3D | 49 |
| The Baby In Yellow | 48.8 |
| LokiCraft | 48.5 |
| Rope Hero: Vice Town | 43 |
| PK XD | 42.7 |
| Craft World | 42.5 |
Most Popular Shooter Games 2022
The most popular shooters were from Garena, the publisher behind Free Fire and Free Fire MAX. The majority of downloads came from India.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Free Fire MAX | 109 |
| Free Fire | 106 |
| PUBG Mobile | 100 |
| Find the Alien | 78 |
| 1945 Air Force | 74 |
| Sniper 3D | 58 |
| Brawl Stars | 44.7 |
| Bowmasters | 44 |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | 43 |
| Space shooter | 35 |
Most Popular Strategy Games 2022
Merge Master: Dinosaur Monster was the most popular strategy game in 2022, with over 100 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Merge Master: Dinosaur Monster | 104 |
| Lords Mobile: Kingdom Wars | 58 |
| Clash Royale | 55 |
| Plants vs Zombies | 54 |
| Clash of Clans | 51 |
| Plants vs Zombies 2 | 46 |
| Evony: The King's Return | 45 |
| Stick War: Legacy | 36 |
| State.io | 27 |
| Top War | 26 |
Most Popular Games Publishers
AZUR Games, which have developed a lot of hyper-casual titles like Stack Ball, Worms Zone.io and Tank Stars, were the top publisher by annual downloads. It has released over 600 titles.
| Publishers | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| AZUR Games | 1,376 |
| Supersonic Studios | 1,194 |
| SayGames | 1,094 |
| CrazyLabs | 931 |
| VOODOO | 852 |
Source: AppMagic
