In pics: From Free Fire, Bridge Race, Among Us, Subway Surfers to Ludo King, here are the most downloaded games of 2021

Free Fire, Bridge Race, Among Us, Subway Surfers, Ludo King and more have made it in the top 10 list of most downloaded games in the first half of 2021.

Popular titles like Join Clash 3D, Garena Free Fire, Bridge Race, Among Us!, Subway Surfers, High Heels, Ludo King and more are extremely popular games. Smartphones are not only used for calling and texting, but also for browsing social media and yes, definitely for playing games -- two activities that users have been doing a lot more over the past year and a half due to pandemic-enforced lockdowns. However, while gaming has certainly seen an uptick among smartphone users during the pandemic, a recent report by analytics firm App Annie suggests that people have started downloading a lot of ‘Hypercasual’ games that are easy to play and have minimal features. Around half of new hypercasual games on mobile phones launched generated at least five million downloads by themselves in the first half of 2021, according to the report. Here we list the top 10 most downloaded mobile games of 2021, including Join Clash 3D, Garena Free Fire, Bridge Race, Among Us!, Subway Surfers, and more:

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1/9 Popular titles like Join Clash 3D, Garena Free Fire, Bridge Race, Among Us!, Subway Surfers, High Heels, Ludo King and more are extremely popular games. Smartphones are not only used for calling and texting, but also for browsing social media and yes, definitely for playing games -- two activities that users have been doing a lot more over the past year and a half due to pandemic-enforced lockdowns. However, while gaming has certainly seen an uptick among smartphone users during the pandemic, a recent report by analytics firm App Annie suggests that people have started downloading a lot of ‘Hypercasual’ games that are easy to play and have minimal features. Around half of new hypercasual games on mobile phones launched generated at least five million downloads by themselves in the first half of 2021, according to the report. Here we list the top 10 most downloaded mobile games of 2021, including Join Clash 3D, Garena Free Fire, Bridge Race, Among Us!, Subway Surfers, and more:

Join Clash 3D: Join Clash 3D game is at the top of the most downloaded mobile game of the year so far. Join Clash 3D is a popular “survival run” game that involves a character that begins running along on the screen and is joined by more ‘people’ as the game progresses. However, this soon turns into a crowd, which players must guide through several obstacles, some fixed and some moving. The objective of the game is to save as many people in your crowd as possible. (Join Clash 3D)

2/9 Join Clash 3D: Join Clash 3D game is at the top of the most downloaded mobile game of the year so far. Join Clash 3D is a popular “survival run” game that involves a character that begins running along on the screen and is joined by more ‘people’ as the game progresses. However, this soon turns into a crowd, which players must guide through several obstacles, some fixed and some moving. The objective of the game is to save as many people in your crowd as possible. (Join Clash 3D)

Garena Free Fire: Garena Free Fire is one of the most popular battle royale games and allows players to jump out of an airborne vehicle and safely land, then hunt for weapons and eliminate 49 other players on the map while staying inside the “safe zones” that will keep decreasing in size in order to pit them against their opponents. The last gamer to remain alive becomes the winner. Players can pick up additional content with the help of redeem codes to gain exclusive content in the game. (Garena International)

3/9 Garena Free Fire: Garena Free Fire is one of the most popular battle royale games and allows players to jump out of an airborne vehicle and safely land, then hunt for weapons and eliminate 49 other players on the map while staying inside the “safe zones” that will keep decreasing in size in order to pit them against their opponents. The last gamer to remain alive becomes the winner. Players can pick up additional content with the help of redeem codes to gain exclusive content in the game. (Garena International)

Bridge Race: Hypercasual games are becoming incredibly popular this year, and the Bridge Race game is one of the more well-known titles among the many titles that are gaining in popularity. Players must first collect logs that match their colour (for example, blue or red) and then place them along grooves called bridges and try to race the other players in the game. Users must avoid other players logs from touching their bridge if they want to win the game. (Bridge Race)

4/9 Bridge Race: Hypercasual games are becoming incredibly popular this year, and the Bridge Race game is one of the more well-known titles among the many titles that are gaining in popularity. Players must first collect logs that match their colour (for example, blue or red) and then place them along grooves called bridges and try to race the other players in the game. Users must avoid other players logs from touching their bridge if they want to win the game. (Bridge Race)

Among Us!: One of the most viral games of 2020, Innersloth’s Among Us will require you to use all your grey cells to win the game. Created in a virtual spaceship, players must complete tasks around the map. However, the players matched together are also secretly placed in two groups -- Impostors and Crewmates. They must first identify the Impostors and eliminate them from the ship, by either reporting a dead body or by calling for an Emergency meeting. (Innersloth)

5/9 Among Us!: One of the most viral games of 2020, Innersloth’s Among Us will require you to use all your grey cells to win the game. Created in a virtual spaceship, players must complete tasks around the map. However, the players matched together are also secretly placed in two groups -- Impostors and Crewmates. They must first identify the Impostors and eliminate them from the ship, by either reporting a dead body or by calling for an Emergency meeting. (Innersloth)

Subway Surfers: Endless runner games have always been popular among smartphone users, and Subway Surfers by Kiloo Games is one of the most popular titles in this category, alongside classics like Temple Run and Sonic Dash. The game involves a graffiti artist - Jake, who is chased by a police inspector and his dog. Gamers must pick up coins while running and try to catch different boosters like a coin magnet or even a jetpack to speed things along. The game ends when a person is caught. (Kiloo Games via Google Play)

6/9 Subway Surfers: Endless runner games have always been popular among smartphone users, and Subway Surfers by Kiloo Games is one of the most popular titles in this category, alongside classics like Temple Run and Sonic Dash. The game involves a graffiti artist - Jake, who is chased by a police inspector and his dog. Gamers must pick up coins while running and try to catch different boosters like a coin magnet or even a jetpack to speed things along. The game ends when a person is caught. (Kiloo Games via Google Play)

High Heels: Another popular hypercasual game title on this list, High Heels involves walking in a straight manner while avoiding obstacles. Your heels will get higher as you go, which means you can step over obstacles like a wall, or rails. Walking into diamonds, gold keys and extra heel height will help you in your quest to reach the podium and complete the level. Players can also purchase accessories like buckles, necklaces and more. (High Heels via Google Play)

7/9 High Heels: Another popular hypercasual game title on this list, High Heels involves walking in a straight manner while avoiding obstacles. Your heels will get higher as you go, which means you can step over obstacles like a wall, or rails. Walking into diamonds, gold keys and extra heel height will help you in your quest to reach the podium and complete the level. Players can also purchase accessories like buckles, necklaces and more. (High Heels via Google Play)

Ludo King If you have played the classic Indian Ludo game, then Ludo King will make you feel right at home. You must roll a virtual dice to move your pieces around the board till they reach the “home”. Just like the original game, other players or the CPU can send your piece back home if you land on the same square. The game also features a “local mode” that involves passing the device around to play with friends sitting next to you. (Ludo King)

8/9 Ludo King If you have played the classic Indian Ludo game, then Ludo King will make you feel right at home. You must roll a virtual dice to move your pieces around the board till they reach the “home”. Just like the original game, other players or the CPU can send your piece back home if you land on the same square. The game also features a “local mode” that involves passing the device around to play with friends sitting next to you. (Ludo King)

ROBLOX: Roblox isn’t exactly a game in itself, but a storefront and platform for games, where players can take advantage of games created by other players. The game itself is free to play, and players can make purchases in the app with the help of a virtual in-app currency called Robux. The developers also host real-life and virtual events such as BloxCon, its fundraiser Bloxy Awards, and the annual Easter egg hunts. (Roblox via Xbox)

9/9 ROBLOX: Roblox isn’t exactly a game in itself, but a storefront and platform for games, where players can take advantage of games created by other players. The game itself is free to play, and players can make purchases in the app with the help of a virtual in-app currency called Robux. The developers also host real-life and virtual events such as BloxCon, its fundraiser Bloxy Awards, and the annual Easter egg hunts. (Roblox via Xbox)