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Consumer spending on mobile games hit $20 billion in Q3 2020

Pokemon Go was the top-grossing game

Consumer spending on mobile games hit $20 billion in Q3 2020

Mobile consumers spent $20 billion on games throughout Q3 2020 according to data provided by App Annie.

The impressive number comes down to individuals turning to mobile games as a means of entertainment, as the world continues to battle the COVID-19 outbreak.

Both the App Store and Google Play experienced great growth, given consumer spending on games was up five per cent quarter-on-quarter. In terms of genre, RPGs proved to be the most lucrative, as did the strategy category.

More specifically, Pokemon Go led the charge for RPGs – unsurprising given it is nearing $4 billion in lifetime revenue – while Strategy was led by Rise of Kingdoms. Meanwhile, the sports genre and core simulation led by Professional Baseball Spirits A and Disney: Twisted-Wonderland, respectively.

Downloads

When it comes to downloads, the third quarter remained around the one billion mark weekly, continuing the success seen in Q2. Overall, installs were up 15 per cent year-on-year.

Overall, consumers hit 14 billion downloads in Q3, of which 2.6 came from iOS devices while roughly 11 billion were formed on Google Play, an increase of 20 per cent year-on-year. Moreover, 45 per cent of all Android installs were games, ahead of the App Store, which had 30 per cent.

Hypercasual titles proved to be the most popular, followed by the puzzle and simulation genres. However, the casual arcade category saw a rise thanks to Among Us. The multiplayer title experienced incredible growth over the past couple of months.

Top cat

The breakout star of Q3 2020 was Outfit7's, My Talking Tom Friends as it clawed its way up the downloads chart to take the No.1 spot as the most installed game worldwide. Six places above where the game sat in the previous quarter.

In July, My Talking Tom Friends accumulated the most downloads, as it generated 36 million for the month.

Meanwhile, the hypercasual genre continued to prove its popularity by taking four spots on the Top Ten chart.

Staff Writer

Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.