As we reach the dawn of what might very well prove to be 2025, it is definitely worth looking back on the year that was: 2024. It was a year that left many incredible records in the world of mobile gaming. The industry has once again proven why it is highly regarded by many tech giants thanks to its record-breaking revenues and download numbers. A closer look at some of the best games of 2024 that topped the charts of revenue and downloads.
Honor of Kings leads the pack, older releases maintain the pace
Honor of Kings was in the number one position, surprisingly the only 2024 launch that made the list. It was followed by the surprising Monopoly GO! that grossed $1.56 billion, showing that some good ol’ board games are a sound money-making formula. Royal Match closed on the heels of these two at $1.44 billion, cementing the sign that puzzle-based games always had an appeal.
PUBG Mobile rounded the top five with a gross of around $1.17 billion as income continues to pour in from it, while Roblox ended up with $1.16 billion. Notably, titles like Last War: Survival and Candy Crush Saga surpassed the billion-dollar mark, hence indicating a trend that multiple genres have accounted for significant revenue in the mobile gaming industry this 2024.
Other good performers included Whiteout Survival ($981 million), Dungeon & Fighters: Origins ($786 million), and Coin Master ($718 million). Also within that elite bottom five were the likes of Brawl Stars and Genshin Impact, and they still broke into the hundreds of millions.
Casual games found themselves dominating the downloads chart
On the downloads side, Roblox led the charts with over 215 million installs, showing its popularity with players of all ages. Block Blast! followed closely with 210 million downloads. The well-loved Subway Surfers stayed strong in third place with 174 million downloads, while fun and quirky games like Pizza Ready! reached an impressive 169 million installs.
Ludo King also continued to do well, adding 168 million downloads, while survival games like Free Fire: Winterlands and Free Fire Max combined for over 280 million downloads worldwide.
Other highlights included 8 Ball Pool and My Talking Tom 2, which proved how much players enjoy casual games. Royal Match, which was also a top earner in revenue, had over 112 million downloads, showing its success across different types of players. A point to note, not a single 2024 release made the list.
From the charts shown, we can see that the revenue was spread across a mix of categories, ranging from RPGs and Action to strategy and puzzle games. On the downloads side, however, there was a clear trend where fun, easy-to-play games dominated, and in 2024, casual gaming was still the pick of the genres.
2024 reaffirmed that mobile gaming is not just thriving, it’s evolving. The numbers are huge. Blockbuster revenues paired with sky-high downloads underscore how diverse genres are resonating with players worldwide. As we enter 2025, it’s exciting to see how these trends will shape out. Will new titles emerge, or will these top performers continue their streak? Only time will tell.