- In the first quarter of 2022, 32.96% fewer game apps were available in the Google Play Store.
- Garena Free Fire has finished first place in consecutive quarters.
Google is a globally renowned tech firm for its Google search engine. Besides, its Google Play Store supports a range of apps and is one of its most profitable products. In recent years, Google game apps have been among the favorite apps available in the Google Play store. Yet, current data from BanklessTimes.com shows that the available Game apps on Google play went down by 32.96% in Q1 of 2022.
In the first quarter of 2022, the Google Play Store had about 449,000 mobile gaming apps for users. In contrast, it had 670 447 apps in Q4 2021, a decrease of over 220,000 apps. In November 2021, Google began filtering apps and games, removing those not targeting an API level within two years of the most recent Android version.
Commenting on the data, BanklessTimes.com's Jonathan Merry said,
Google is raising stakes at its play store. The conformity of the android API version is critical to them. Thus, there is a likelihood for removal of more apps.Jonathan Merry
Top games worldwide
Garena Free Fire has finished first place in consecutive quarters. This continued a trend of successful Battle Royale video games. The most downloaded game globally during the third quarter of 2021 was PUBG Mobile, which ranked sixth in the previous quarter.
In Q1 of 2022, four of the top five apps from Q4 2021's rankings maintained the top spot. They include Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, Subway Surfers, and Roblox. Merge Main, a hypercasual game developed and published by Homa Games, was the sole brand-new addition to the top five.
In March 2022, the global app games market generated an estimated $7 billion in revenue. Most of it came from player expenditure across the App Store and Google Play. The United States was the top revenue market in March 2022, generating $1.9 billion of total player expenditure worldwide.
Mobile gaming projection in the US in 2022
In 2022, the North American mobile gaming content industry might hit 29.1 billion USD.
Established creators are squeezing their way into the mobile spot via mergers and acquisitions. Besides, some are leveraging their pre-existing resources to venture into space. They include the top mobile gaming publishers in North America, such as Niantic, Inc., Jam City, Scopely, and Lion Studios.
Niantic Inc. is the publisher of the global AR gaming blockbuster Pokémon GO. In-app sales for the game, first released in 2016, totaled more than $916 million in 2020. Another popular gaming platform is Roblox. It frequently ranks as one of the most-downloaded mobile gaming app titles.
Zynga, a casual game provider, has transitioned from browser-based online games to mobile games. The firm says that its mobile games have over 200 million monthly active users. The acquisition of Turkish mobile studio Rollic in late 2020 enhanced the figures.
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