AppLovin has topped the charts for Data.ai’s top 30 United States headquartered publishers by worldwide game downloads.
The ranking - part of a series released by the research firm - includes some interesting entries into the top 10. Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts come in at second and third place respectively, while Zynga and Activision Blizzard take the fourth and fifth places.
Niantic also maintains a place at number twenty-three, while Tilting Point was only slightly nudged from the top-ten and into number twelve. Microsoft stood low, at only number twenty-two, beaten out by fellow multimedia company Warner Bros. Discovery at number eighteen.
Unexpected company at the top
While this particular chart only looks at the United States, it’s interesting to note who’s dominant in the US market by downloads at the moment. It may be tempting to guess that companies with massive cross-platform catalogues such as Activision Blizzard or Take-Two would have the top spot, the fact that mobile-first company Applovin has taken home the gold is an exciting vindication of the role that mobile-only game makers have in the region.
The decision to split Take-Two Interactive and Zynga into two is interesting, as Take-Two of course recently acquired the latter in 2022. We noted previously that Take-Two was boosted to being a mobile-first company in terms of revenue thanks to the contributions of Zynga, but if they’re able to stand on their own in terms of downloads it indicates a significant portion of their presence on mobile still stands apart from the newly acquired Zynga.
Microsoft ranks fairly low on the list, and given this is worldwide downloads it does vindicate their worry about establishing themselves in mobile gaming. It's safe to say that this is a situation they're seeking to rectify right now as their Activision Blizzard acquisition works its way through legislative battles.
In the ranking of top thirty publishers by broader application downloads, Microsoft ranks at number three, suggesting that the company’s presence on mobile is there, but not in the lucrative world of gaming that it desires. If you want to get a better sense of the mobile game making hierarchy from those who know it, nominations for our top 50 mobile game makers of 2023 are now open.
