Most Popular Mobile Games (2024)

David Curry

Updated: November 5, 2024

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 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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Subway Surfers304
Stumble Guys254
Roblox208
Candy Crush Saga138
Race Master 3D128
8 Ball Pool120
FIFA Mobile111
Merge & Fight110
Garena Free Fire109
Bridge Race107

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Monopoly Go33
Roblox21
Royal Match18
Subway Surfers13.9
Block Blast 3D13.3
Attack Hole12
Magic Tiles 311
Wordscapes10.8
Gardenscapes10.7
Candy Crush Saga10.5

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Monopoly Go 5
Royal Match3.6
Roblox3.3
Magic Tiles 32.5
My Perfect Hotel2.4
Subway Surfers2.2
Gardenscapes2.1
Wordscapes2
Chess 2
Attack Hole2

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Ludo King101
Indian Bikes Driving 3D62
Free Fire MAX55
Carrom Pool53
Subway Princess Runner52.5
Candy Crush Saga52.3
Subway Surfers51
Temple Run42.5
Hunter Assassin42.5
Temple Run 240

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Monopoly Go49
Eggy Party48
Roblox45
Royal Match43
PUBG Mobile42
Subway Surfers37
Block Blast30
Gardenscapes27.9
8 Ball Pool27
Magic Tiles 325

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Subway Surfers181
Roblox153
Ludo King136
Candy Crush Saga124
Block Blast112
Free Fire107
My Talking Tom 2102.3
8 Ball Pool102.2
Royal Match96.6
Race Master 3D96.4

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Subway Surfers218
Attack Hole87
Subway Princess Runner76
My Perfect Hotel75
Twerk Race 3D70
Stickman Party 2 3 469.8
2 Player Games69.8
Mob Control69.2
Granny59
1945 Air Force55

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Candy Crush Saga149
Royal Match140
Block Blast127
Fishdom78
Thief Puzzle74.9
Tic Tac Toe - 2 Player XO74.4
Antistress69
Plants vs Zombies58
Save the Doge58
Emoji Puzzle51

Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic

Most Popular RPG Games 2023

Avatar World: City Life was the most popular mobile RPG in 2023, with 64 million downloads.

AppDownloads (mm)
Avatar World: City Life64
Cat Runner: Decorate Home35
Hero Wars: Alliance32.8
Tizi Town32.5
Fashion Battle 26
Shadow Fight 4: Arena24
Miami Rope Hero 23
Shadow Fight 321
Hair Dye!20
Bus Simulator12

Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic

Most Popular Simulation Games 2023

Gardenscapes was the most popular simulation game in 2023, with 83 million downloads.

AppDownloads (mm)
Gardenscapes83
Indian Bikes Driving 3D79
My Talking Tom77
My Talking Angela76
Burger Please!70.9
Block Crazy Robo World70.6
Craftsman: Building Craft64
Block Craft 3D61
2 3 4 Player Mini Games58
Township52

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
School Party Craft51
Genshin Impact39
Pokémon GO38
Super Bino Go36
Survivor.io35
PK XD33
Farm Land29.8
Honkai: Star Rail29.7
Pop's World29.4
FPS Commando24

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Roblox198
Free Fire127
Going Balls104
Stumble Guys99
Free Fire MAX93
PUBG MOBILE85
Temple Run 277
Temple Run75.6
Tomb of the Mask75.5
Snake.io72

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Lords Mobile45
Chess.com44
Clash of Clans37
Plants vs Zombies 236
Evony: The King's Return35
Clash Royale30.8
Age of Apes30.3
Stick War: Legacy28
Whiteout Survival26.3
Doomsday: Last Survivors26.3

Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic

Most Popular Trivia Games 2023

Brain Test was the most popular trivia game in 2023, with 60 million downloads.

AppDownloads (mm)
Brain Test60
Brain Out32
QuizzLand25
Brain Test 419
Kahoot!17.8
Guess Their Answer17.3
Millionaire Trivia 15.9
Trivia Crack15.3
Brain Test 214
Trivia Master12

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.

AppDownloads (mm)
Words of Wonders82
Word Search26
Wordscapes22
Crostic20
Word Search Journey19
Braindom16
Braindom 213.5
Wordle!13
Word Search Block12
Word Surf11

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.

PublishersDownloads (mm)
AZUR Games1,511
Supersonic Studios1,194
SayGames1,133
BabyBus879
Outfit 7 738
VOODOO696
Zego Studio590
CrazyLabs573

Source: AppMagic

Previous Years Most Popular

Most Popular Games 2022

AppDownloads (mm)
Subway Surfers304
Stumble Guys254
Roblox208
Candy Crush Saga138
Race Master 3D128
8 Ball Pool120
FIFA Mobile111
Merge & Fight110
Garena Free Fire109
Bridge Race107

Source: Apptopia

Most Popular Games 2021

AppDownloads (mm)
Subway Surfers191
Roblox182
Bridge Race169
Garena Free Fire154
Among Us152
Hair Challenge138
Join Clash136
8Ball Pool130
Ludo King125
Candy Crush Saga119

Source: Apptopia

Most Popular Games 2020

AppDownloads (mm)
Among Us264
Subway Surfers227
Garena Free Fire218
PUBG Mobile175
Roblox171
Hair Challenge158
Join Clash155
8Ball Pool151
Ludo King149
Candy Crush Saga138

Source: Apptopia

Most Popular Games 2019

AppDownloads (mm)
Garena Free Fire327
PUBG Mobile268
Subway Surfers227
Fun Race 3D210
Color Bump 3D205
My Talking Tom 2162
Run Race 3D158
Sand Balls154
Homescapes153
Stack Ball152

Source: AppMagic