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.
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DOWNLOADAs 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 new markets, 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 2023 with 218 million downloads
- Monopoly Go was the most popular game on iOS, Subway Surfers was most popular on Google Play
- Monopoly Go was the most popular game in the US and UK in 2023
- Monopoly Go was the top trending app of 2023, alongside Block Blast 3D and Bus Simulator
Most Popular Games by Country
China, India, the United States, and Japan are the three largest countries for mobile game downloads.
Most Popular Games 2023
Subway Surfers was the most popular game for the third year in a row. Roblox has been in the top three for three years.
| 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: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games in United States 2023
Monopoly Go was the most popular game in the US in 2023, with 33 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Monopoly Go | 33 |
| Roblox | 21 |
| Royal Match | 18 |
| Subway Surfers | 13.9 |
| Block Blast 3D | 13.3 |
| Attack Hole | 12 |
| Magic Tiles 3 | 11 |
| Wordscapes | 10.8 |
| Gardenscapes | 10.7 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 10.5 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games in United Kingdom 2023
Monopoly Go was also the most popular game in the UK, with five million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Monopoly Go | 5 |
| Royal Match | 3.6 |
| Roblox | 3.3 |
| Magic Tiles 3 | 2.5 |
| My Perfect Hotel | 2.4 |
| Subway Surfers | 2.2 |
| Gardenscapes | 2.1 |
| Wordscapes | 2 |
| Chess | 2 |
| Attack Hole | 2 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games in India 2023
Ludo King was the most popular game in India for another year, with over 100 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Ludo King | 101 |
| Indian Bikes Driving 3D | 62 |
| Free Fire MAX | 55 |
| Carrom Pool | 53 |
| Subway Princess Runner | 52.5 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 52.3 |
| Subway Surfers | 51 |
| Temple Run | 42.5 |
| Hunter Assassin | 42.5 |
| Temple Run 2 | 40 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games by Platform
Google Play is responsible for more downloads than the Apple App Store, however, iOS users spend more.
Most Popular Games on Apple App Store 2023
Monopoly Go was the most popular game on the Apple App Store, just ahead of Chinese game Eggy Party.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Monopoly Go | 49 |
| Eggy Party | 48 |
| Roblox | 45 |
| Royal Match | 43 |
| PUBG Mobile | 42 |
| Subway Surfers | 37 |
| Block Blast | 30 |
| Gardenscapes | 27.9 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 27 |
| Magic Tiles 3 | 25 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games on Google Play Store 2023
Subway Surfers was the most popular game on the Google Play Store in 2023, with 181 million downloads on the platform.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 181 |
| Roblox | 153 |
| Ludo King | 136 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 124 |
| Block Blast | 112 |
| Free Fire | 107 |
| My Talking Tom 2 | 102.3 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 102.2 |
| Royal Match | 96.6 |
| Race Master 3D | 96.4 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games by Category
There are many categories of games, with some covering over three sub-categories.
Most Popular Arcade Games 2023
Subway Surfers is far ahead of other arcade titles in total downloads, with 218 to second place Attack Hole’s 87 million.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 218 |
| Attack Hole | 87 |
| Subway Princess Runner | 76 |
| My Perfect Hotel | 75 |
| Twerk Race 3D | 70 |
| Stickman Party 2 3 4 | 69.8 |
| 2 Player Games | 69.8 |
| Mob Control | 69.2 |
| Granny | 59 |
| 1945 Air Force | 55 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Puzzle Games 2023
Candy Crush Saga was the most popular puzzle game for another year. Royal Match is catching up in annual downloads though, and may pass it in 2024.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Candy Crush Saga | 149 |
| Royal Match | 140 |
| Block Blast | 127 |
| Fishdom | 78 |
| Thief Puzzle | 74.9 |
| Tic Tac Toe - 2 Player XO | 74.4 |
| Antistress | 69 |
| Plants vs Zombies | 58 |
| Save the Doge | 58 |
| Emoji Puzzle | 51 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular RPG Games 2023
Avatar World: City Life was the most popular mobile RPG in 2023, with 64 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Avatar World: City Life | 64 |
| Cat Runner: Decorate Home | 35 |
| Hero Wars: Alliance | 32.8 |
| Tizi Town | 32.5 |
| Fashion Battle | 26 |
| Shadow Fight 4: Arena | 24 |
| Miami Rope Hero | 23 |
| Shadow Fight 3 | 21 |
| Hair Dye! | 20 |
| Bus Simulator | 12 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Simulation Games 2023
Gardenscapes was the most popular simulation game in 2023, with 83 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Gardenscapes | 83 |
| Indian Bikes Driving 3D | 79 |
| My Talking Tom | 77 |
| My Talking Angela | 76 |
| Burger Please! | 70.9 |
| Block Crazy Robo World | 70.6 |
| Craftsman: Building Craft | 64 |
| Block Craft 3D | 61 |
| 2 3 4 Player Mini Games | 58 |
| Township | 52 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Adventure Games 2023
School Party Craft, a game with a similar look and feel to Roblox, topped the adventure games section with 51 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| School Party Craft | 51 |
| Genshin Impact | 39 |
| Pokémon GO | 38 |
| Super Bino Go | 36 |
| Survivor.io | 35 |
| PK XD | 33 |
| Farm Land | 29.8 |
| Honkai: Star Rail | 29.7 |
| Pop's World | 29.4 |
| FPS Commando | 24 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Action Games 2023
Roblox was the most popular action game in 2023 with 198 million downloads. Free Fire came second, with 127 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Roblox | 198 |
| Free Fire | 127 |
| Going Balls | 104 |
| Stumble Guys | 99 |
| Free Fire MAX | 93 |
| PUBG MOBILE | 85 |
| Temple Run 2 | 77 |
| Temple Run | 75.6 |
| Tomb of the Mask | 75.5 |
| Snake.io | 72 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Strategy Games 2023
Lords Mobile was the most popular strategy game in 2023 with 45 million downloads, just in front of Chess.com’s mobile app.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Lords Mobile | 45 |
| Chess.com | 44 |
| Clash of Clans | 37 |
| Plants vs Zombies 2 | 36 |
| Evony: The King's Return | 35 |
| Clash Royale | 30.8 |
| Age of Apes | 30.3 |
| Stick War: Legacy | 28 |
| Whiteout Survival | 26.3 |
| Doomsday: Last Survivors | 26.3 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Trivia Games 2023
Brain Test was the most popular trivia game in 2023, with 60 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Brain Test | 60 |
| Brain Out | 32 |
| QuizzLand | 25 |
| Brain Test 4 | 19 |
| Kahoot! | 17.8 |
| Guess Their Answer | 17.3 |
| Millionaire Trivia | 15.9 |
| Trivia Crack | 15.3 |
| Brain Test 2 | 14 |
| Trivia Master | 12 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Word Games 2023
Word of Wonders was the most popular game in the word category in 2023, far exceeding the downloads of any other word-based game.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Words of Wonders | 82 |
| Word Search | 26 |
| Wordscapes | 22 |
| Crostic | 20 |
| Word Search Journey | 19 |
| Braindom | 16 |
| Braindom 2 | 13.5 |
| Wordle! | 13 |
| Word Search Block | 12 |
| Word Surf | 11 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Games Publishers
AZUR Games, which is one of the largest publishers of popular hypercasual titles, was the most popular publisher of 2023 with 1.5 billion downloads on all its titles.
| Publishers | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| AZUR Games | 1,511 |
| Supersonic Studios | 1,194 |
| SayGames | 1,133 |
| BabyBus | 879 |
| Outfit 7 | 738 |
| VOODOO | 696 |
| Zego Studio | 590 |
| CrazyLabs | 573 |
Source: AppMagic
Previous Years Most Popular
Most Popular Games 2022
| 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 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Games 2021
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 191 |
| Roblox | 182 |
| Bridge Race | 169 |
| Garena Free Fire | 154 |
| Among Us | 152 |
| Hair Challenge | 138 |
| Join Clash | 136 |
| 8Ball Pool | 130 |
| Ludo King | 125 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 119 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Games 2020
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Among Us | 264 |
| Subway Surfers | 227 |
| Garena Free Fire | 218 |
| PUBG Mobile | 175 |
| Roblox | 171 |
| Hair Challenge | 158 |
| Join Clash | 155 |
| 8Ball Pool | 151 |
| Ludo King | 149 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 138 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Games 2019
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Garena Free Fire | 327 |
| PUBG Mobile | 268 |
| Subway Surfers | 227 |
| Fun Race 3D | 210 |
| Color Bump 3D | 205 |
| My Talking Tom 2 | 162 |
| Run Race 3D | 158 |
| Sand Balls | 154 |
| Homescapes | 153 |
| Stack Ball | 152 |
Source: AppMagic
