The mobile gaming market has grown extremely fast ever since the Covid-19 pandemic forced people to stay indoors. And the first half of 2021 has been particularly rewarding as the online gaming industry is on track to surpass the $120-billion mark by the end of the year. This number, according to analytics firm App Annie, is 3.1 times more than that the revenue from expected from gaming consoles. The report said that in the first half of 2021, there were over 810 games surpassing $1 million in consumer spend each month on average, with 7 of them surpassing $100 million. This number was up 25% from 2019 at 650 games over $1 mn in monthly spend and only 2 over $100 million in monthly spend.
Furthermore, the report says that India remained the world’s biggest mobile gaming market as far as iOS and Android downloads are concerned in the first half of 2021. This trend was fueled by the adoption of smartphones by the expanding middle class and advancements in technical capabilities and increased connectivity of mobile devices. The report also said that Asia Pacific (APAC) remained the world's biggest region for consumer spend in mobile games, accounting for over 45% of the market share. However, APAC's growth in market share has leveled as has that of other regions led by the US, Germany and UK.
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“Saudi Arabia and Turkey saw phenomenal growth in consumer spend on mobile games, at around 60%and 35% respectively in 2020 compared to the year prior,” the research firm wrote in its report.
Interestingly, the research showed that hypercasual games were responsible for one-third of mobile game downloads in H1 2021, reaching 6.8 billion downloads, which was 2x more than 2 years prior and nearly 5x more than 3 years prior. “Battle Royale, Shooters and MOBA Action subgenres were a key driver of time spent,” the report said.
List of top games in H1 2021 by active users
1. PUBG Mobile
2. Honour of Kings
3. Among Us!
4. Candy Crush Saga
5. ROBLOX
6. Free Fire
7. Ludo King
8. Game For Peace
9. Minecraft Pocket Edition
10. Call of Duty: Mobile
List of top games in H1 2021 by downloads
While the above-mentioned games were played more, they were not the most downloaded games in the year 2021. Here is the list:
1. Join Clash 3D
2. Free Fire
3. Bridge Race
4. Among Us!
5. Subway Surfer
6. High Heels
7. Ludo King
8. DOP 2: Delete One Part
9. Phone Case DIY
10. ROBLOX
Top Games in H1 2021 by consumer spend
1. ROBLOX
2. GenShin Impact
3. Honour of Kings
4. PUBG Mobile
5. Coin Master
6. Pokemon Go
7. Candy Crush Saga
8. Rise of Kingdoms
9. Uma Musume Pretty Derby
10. Homescapes.
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