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· 4 min read

Most Featured Mobile Games Across the Globe in 2019

What were some of this year's top featured mobile games in different App Stores across the globe? Here's a fine selection that app-specialists, AppFollow, have put together.

CEO of AppFollow.io

#Data & Analytics
· 4 min read

3,100 apps appeared on the main page of the App Store in 2019. And 1,465 of them (which is almost 50%) were gaming apps.

To help mobile game developers get a better understanding of which gaming apps Apple’s editors gave preference to in 2019, the team at AppFollow has put together an analysis – with the help of their App Store Featured Tool.

Let’s get to it.

We have analyzed all 1,465 gaming apps which appeared on the App Store main page across the globe between January and December 2019. We have gone over the main App Store tabs, including: App of the Day, Game of the Day, Stories, and Collections. 

Stats at a glance:

  1. 47% of all apps featured in the Today’s tab are games.
  2. Games’ share in the Today’s Collections is 39%, and 48% in Stories. 
  3. Action, Adventure, Role Playing, Puzzle, and Arcade games were the most featured subcategories.
  4. Fortnite was the most featured game in 2019, while Candy Crush Friends Saga appeared the most number of times in the Game of the Day Tab.
  5. 71% of featured games have in-app purchases, and only 2.5% are free games.
  6. 48% of featured games have an average rating between 4.6 and 5.0.

Here’s a closer look at the patterns we found when we analyzed the most featured apps and games across the globe in 2019. 

  • Across Today’s Tab, Collections, and Stories, 47% of placements were occupied by games.
  • 48% of placements in Stories were occupied by games.
  • Apps appeared more frequently in the Today’s Collections than games — 61% vs 39%.
  • Action, Adventure, Role Playing, Puzzle, and Arcade games were the most featured subcategories in the Today’s tab.Featured Games genres

Let’s explore which games appeared the most number of times on the App Store main page in 2019.

  • Fortnite was featured a record 1,220 times during 2019. 
  • Fortnite and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite won in the Stories section, and Candy Crush Friends Saga appeared the most number of times in the Game of the Day Tab.
  • All of the above-mentioned top featured games have an average rating of 4.6 or higher and they have in-app purchases.Top featured games

Were the leaders the same across all the markets? Unlikely. So let’s explore the local favorites. 

  • Fortnite was the most featured game in the US during the past 12 months.
  • While Asphalt 9, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Mario Kart Tour shared the second place.
  • Dr. Mario World is another Mario game in the top-5 featured games in the US.
  • Series: Your Story Universe and Candy Crush Friends Saga got most often in the Game of the Day Tab in 2019.Top US games
  • Fortnite was the most featured game in Europe as well. It was featured twice as often as the closest competitor Asphalt 9: Legends.
  • Lego Tower and Candy Crush Saga were featured more than other gaming apps in the Game of the Day Tab in 2019.
  • CSR Racing is the only game from the racing subcategory in our report.Top Games in Europe
  • Fortnite was getting more visibility than any other game on the App Store’s main page in the Asian market too.
  • Asphalt 9: Legends and Sky: Children of the Light shared the second position.
  • King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare appeared the most number of times in the Game of the Day Tab in Asia.
  • Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Mario Kart Tour are also among the top featured games here.

Top Games Europe

Monetization Models

  • As many as 71% of featured games have in-app purchases. This number increased by 10% compared to 2018.
  • The number of paid games in featured tabs was 26.5% which is 2% less than a year ago.
  • Only 2.5% of featured games were free games. This number decreased three times compared to 2018.

Monetization model

  • 48% of featured games have an average rating of 4.6 to 5.0.
  • 23% of featured games have an average rating between 4.4 and 4.6. 
  • 30% of featured games have an average rating lower than 4.0.

average rating

We hope that our research provides a comprehensive overview of trending topics in the mobile games industry, and how monitoring games that were featured across different regions can help you find a way to improve your own business. 

The editors at Apple take many factors into consideration when picking gaming apps for the App Store main page. As we can see from analyzing around 1,500 games, such aspects as the monetization model and average rating can play an important role in the editor’s decision as well.