I ran through the numbers and ranked the most downloaded games in the world in March, and like February, it's full-on hyper-casual out there.
Merge Master was the most downloaded game in the world in March, adding 35M new downloads to its bottom line, according to our estimates. Merge Master was the second most downloaded game in February but with a much lower tally. So someone spent a lot more ad money this month.
Subway Surfers, the classic, came in second in March with 25M estimated downloads. A few more than February. The other non-hyper-casuals, Roblox and Candy Crush, got pushed a bunch into the 8th and 9th spots.
Yup, it's hyper casual-season.
Together, the top 10 most downloaded games in the world made their way into 164M new devices in March, according to our estimates. More than 30M more than February, in case you're comparing. Longer months mean more downloads, but March saw more than what I expected, which means those ad budgets are continuing to grow.
December saw a curious split: downloads dropped 2% while revenue sat at $1.3B. ChatGPT and TikTok dominated both charts as the mobile industry enters a new maturity phase.
Wall Street bet $2 billion on Polymarket, and downloads surged 1,172% in December. The prediction market banned in 2022 is now where Wall Street looks for signals.