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Here are the longest-serving number one games and apps on Google Play since 2012

Sensor Tower reports on the high flyers over the last six years of the Android storefront

Here are the longest-serving number one games and apps on Google Play since 2012

Android apps and games marketplace Google Play turned 10-years-old yesterday.

Launched as the Android Market, the storefront was overhauled and renamed in 2012 to become Google Play as we know it today.

Sensor Tower has provided a summary of games and apps that have spent the most time in top spot since 2012 - across the free, paid and top grossing charts.

Across all three, Facebook’s WhatsApp holds the longest-service record with over 2,400 days at No. 1 free worldwide.

Free market

The worldwide free charts (above) are largely dominated by utility apps like Messenger, WhatsApp and Facebook, with games not appearing until Trivia Crack’s entry in sixth. Etermax’s quiz app spent 311 days at number one worldwide. Sensor Tower reports that around 3,000 free apps have reached the top spot worldwide since 2012.

In the US, it placed a little higher, ranking fourth despite only spending 59 days at first place in the region. Pokemon Go follows, with 37 days spend at the top. 84 different apps made it to the summit of the US free charts over the last six years.

Pay to play

Minecraft dominates paid apps, spending 1,544 days at the top of the US paid charts and a whopping 1944 days in first place worldwide (above).

Over 1,100 apps managed to hit the top of the charts worldwide: including games like NFS: Most Wanted with 453 days and Hitman Sniper at 380 days.

No app came even close to Minecraft’s dominance in the US charts, with alternative keyboard app Swiftkey coming in second with under a third of the block-builder’s days spent on top.

Draw Something, the second-longest-serving game, kept its number one spot for a mere 90 days in comparison.

Gross-out

Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans vie for the top grossing charts across the US and worldwide, with Supercell’s strategy title taking America and Candy Crush Saga crushing it globally (above).

The US top 10 is dominated by games, with Clash of Clans holding the summit for 822 days. Only 21 apps managed to make it to the top spot in the region’s grossing charts.

Worldwide, however, 668 apps found fame at the summit - headed up by Candy Crush with 1,810 days. The top 10 featured two non-gaming apps: Netflix and Tinder.

Staff Writer

Natalie Clayton is an Edinburgh-based freelance writer and game developer. Besides PCGamesInsider and Pocketgamer.biz, she's written across the games media landscape and was named in the 2018 GamesIndustry.biz 100 Rising Star list.