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Build a Queen’s download dominance highlights app store disparity

Build a Queen was September’s most downloaded Play Store game but didn't hit the top 20 on Apple's App Store

Build a Queen’s download dominance highlights app store disparity

Diandian’s latest report reveals the most popular of popular mobile games in Europe, from mainstays such as Pokémon Go and Roblox to the new rising monarch Build a Queen.

The report looks back at games’ rankings on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store this September, revealing which titles were the most downloaded and biggest revenue earners during the month.

Big with players

Topping the downloads list in September was My Perfect Hotel from SayGames, a simulation game where hotel management, guest servicing and business management take centre stage. The title ranked fourth on Google Play, but still beat the likes of Subway Surfers and Stumble Guys on both platforms.

Coming out of stealth on Android, meanwhile, was Build a Queen from Supersonic Studios. The single-player platformer requires players to choose between branching paths and literally build a queen, be they a Disney princess lookalike or a dragon-riding khaleesi. It didn’t rank in the top 20 on the App Store in September, marking quite the disparity from the Play Store, where it garnered over three million downloads within the month and still remains the third most popular free casual game today (November 8 2023).

Royal Match ranked second on the Play Store in September while Roblox took the silver on Apple’s App Store. Monopoly Go was a fixture in each store, while Among Us rose from double digits to sixth place on iOS. Diandian highlighted Nextbots in Backrooms: Sandbox as a new entry to the top 20 on Android, ranking fifth.

Making money

The big earners of September were somewhat more predictable. Coin Master, Candy Crush and Royal Match were the three most lucrative games on both stores and mainstays like Roblox, Pokémon Go, Gardenscapes and Monopoly Go helped round out most the top 10.

No new releases made it into the top 20 in September, not even the highly successful Monster Hunter Now. Instead, regulars like Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Clash of Clans and Clash Royale continued to succeed.

Clash creator Supercell recently launched its first beta test for mo.co, a colourful dimension-hopping RPG with gear to collect, monsters to fight, and Turbo Chickens to ride.


News Editor

Aaron is the News Editor at PG.biz and has an honours degree in Creative Writing.
Having spent far too many hours playing Pokémon, he's now on a quest to be the very best like no one ever was...at putting words in the right order.