Today we consider the top 20 most popular mobile games in the world (most played mobile games) calculated by player counts, that is the number of players for each game, for each year. To get these statistics we used data from major sources. These games are also the most valuable games for the 7 years we reviewed, each netting its owners millions of dollars in revenue.
How we got our Sources
We got the data by using App Annie, which is the standard in-app analytics, and app market data, with data on Forbes, and some data on Wikipedia. This is based mainly on Android, and iOS, mobile games, and it is based on player counts not download counts, number of players for each game is a more reliable data than number of downloads, as a number of factors can affect the number of downloads, chief among them is app loss as a result of
- Faulty phones
- Lost data on phones or sd card
- Formatted phones
- Lose of devices.
This is why the player count is the most accurate among the two.
20 popular mobile games from 2013 to 2019
1. Pokémon Go
Released on: 2016 Most players: 1 billion as of February 2019.
2. Despicable Me: Minion Rush
Released on: 2013 Most players: 900 million as of March 2019.
3. Candy Crush Saga
Released on: 2012 Most players: 500 million as of 2014.
4. Fruit Ninja
Released on: 2010 Most players: 500 million as of 2013.
5. Jetpack Joyride
Released on: 2011 Most players: 500 million as of 2018.
6. Temple Run
Released on: 2011 Most players: 500 million as of 2013.
7. Asphalt 8: Airborne
Released on: 2013 Most players: 350 million as of 2018.
8. Angry Birds
Released on: 2009 Most players: 300 million as of 2011.
9. Super Mario Run
Released on: 2016 Most players: 300 million as of 2018.
10. Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
Released on: 2015 Most players: 300 million as of 2018.
11. Knives Out
Released on: 2017 Most players: 250 million as of 2018.
12. Subway Surfers
Released on: 2009 Most players: 300 million as of 2011.
13. Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor
Released on: 2015 Most players: 200 million as of 2017.
14. Garena Free Fire
Released on: 2017 Most players: 182 million as of 2018.
15. Rise Up
Released on: 2018 Most players: 162 million as of December 2018.
16. PES 2018 Mobile
Released on: 2017 Most players: 150 million as of 2018.
17. World of Tanks
Released on: 2010 Most players: 140 million as of 2016.
18. FIFA Mobile
Released on: 2016 Most players: 113 million as of 2018.
19. Nitro Nation Online
Released on: 2014 Most players: 30 million as of 2017.
20. White Cat Project
Released on: 2014 Most players: 100 million as of 2016.
Here is a video that shows its progression over time.
This video shows the statistics for the 20 most played mobile games, from 2013 to 2019 (that is by the number of players). They are the closest accurate data we could find for the 7 years.
On top of the video are color indicators, showing the year each game was released, from 2010 to 2018.
The bar chart itself shows the number of players for each year, for each game starting with 2013 to 2019, with the highest game rising to the very top of the chart.