The global mobile games market garnered 4.5 billion downloads across the App Store and Google Play in October 2021, recording an increase of 1.3 per cent year-over-year (y-o-y), according to data from Sensor Tower.
India was the top market for global game downloads, recording 762.6 million installs or 16.8 per cent of the total worldwide downloads during the month. It was followed by the US at 8.6 per cent and by Brazil at 8.3 per cent.
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Candy Challenge 3D from Idil Morgul was the second most installed mobile game worldwide in October with nearly 19 million installs. The US recorded the highest installs of the app at 12.2 per cent, followed by Brazil at 9.3 per cent. Roblox from Roblox Corporation, Cookie Carver from Azur, and Subway Surfers from Sybo Games completed the list of the top five most installed mobile games worldwide for the month.
Mobile titles inspired by the hit Netflix TV series Squid Game flooded the market in October, with Candy Challenge 3D, Cookie Carver and 456 from Abi Game Studio made it to the list of top 10 overall downloads rankings. “These three titles alone generated a combined 53.2 million installs globally across the App Store and Google Play,” Sensor Tower said.
Consumer spending
The global mobile games market generated $7.5 billion in terms of consumer spending across the App Store and Google Play Store during the month, recording a 10.5 per cent y-o-y increase.
The US was the top market for global revenue in October 2021, accumulating $2.1 billion, or 28.3 per cent of total player spending worldwide. Japan ranked second in terms of revenue at approximately 20 per cent, followed by China, where Google Play is not available, at 18.7 per cent, as per the report.
The top-grossing mobile game worldwide for October 2021 was Honor of Kings from Tencent which recorded $329 million in player spending, a 46.2 per cent growth from October 2020. Around 96.7 per cent of Honor of Kings’ revenue was from China, followed by 1.2 per cent from Taiwan.
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PUBG Mobile from Tencent was the second highest-earning mobile game across the globe for the month with over $197 million in gross revenue. “About 51 per cent of PUBG Mobile’s revenue was from China, where it has been localised as Game For Peace, followed by 11.5 per cent from the United States,” as per the report.
It was followed by Candy Crush Saga from King, Garena Free Fire from Garena and League of Legends: Wild Rift from Riot Games, and published by its parent company Tencent in China.
“One of the world’s most lucrative mobile titles, Candy Crush Saga , meanwhile, also had a stellar month for player spending in October, with revenue rising by approximately 50 per cent year-over-year,” the report added.