Independent app marketplace Uptodown has revealed the most popular mobile titles on its platform worldwide in 2021.

A report from Uptodown indicates that of 2.5 billion downloads from its 130 million active users, 610 million – around 24 per cent – were mobile games.

The report indicates that, across the world, the most popular genre of mobile game is battle royale, dominating in five out of the six continents analysed, with PUBG Mobile from Tencent leading the way.

PUBG Mobile is the most popular title in Africa, whereas PUBG Mobile Lite is the most downloaded title in North America and Asia.

In South America, Free Fire from Garena is the most downloaded title, whereas Fortnite is the most downloaded mobile game in Europe.

Battle royale showdown

Out of 3.8 million games available on the platform, PUBG Mobile Lite was the most downloaded title of 2021, accumulating 67.1 million downloads.

PUBG Mobile is the second most downloaded title with almost 30 million and the third most downloaded was the Korean version of the title, accumulating roughly 28 million downloads.

Overall, PUBG Mobile and its derivatives have accumulated 150 million downloads throughout 2021, bringing the total amount generated on the platform to over 500 million.

China is the top global market for PUBG Mobile on Uptodown, followed by the US and Japan.

Free Fire and Free Fire Max came in fourth and fifth place, with 24.8 million and 18.8 million downloads respectively.

In sixth place was Fortnite from Epic Games, which generated 16.5 million downloads throughout the period.

According to App Annie, consumer spending on mobile games and apps will reach $135 billion by the end of 2021, with Google Play accounting for the majority of downloads.