Sensor Tower: "On the App Store, mobile game installs declined 22.4% to 2.3 billion compared to Q1 2020"

Sensor Tower has rolled out its Data Digest for Q1 2021 that delves into the current state of the global mobile app ecosystem.

Overall, the study found that first-time installs in Q1 2021 grew 5.2% Y/Y to 14.1 billion last year.

On the gaming front, the App Store saw mobile game installs decline 22.4% to 2.3 billion compared to Q1 2020. The analysts attribute much of the Y/Y decline to games seeing especially high download totals in China at the start of the pandemic. Nevertheless, games downloads still were up 9 percent Q/Q.

On Google Play, on the other hand, mobile game installs increased 13.4% to 11.8 billion compared to Q1 2020. The paper explains that the Google Play’s download boost seen during COVID-19 hit top markets at different times. The store did not see most of its growth until Q2 2020.

As for the individual titles, Join Clash 3D from Supersonic Studios was the top mobile game by worldwide downloads in Q1 2021. It dethroned Among
Us that had held the top spot for two consecutive quarters.

Q1 games by worldwide downloads

The full report is available here.