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Top Summer 2021 App Store & Google Play Releases
This analysis identifies the top-performing mobile applications and games released during the summer of 2021 across the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- HBO Max dominated the application category on both platforms, generating 19.5 million downloads and $87.9 million in revenue on iOS, compared to 12.1 million downloads and $10.6 million in revenue on Android.
- My Talking Angela 2 by Outfit7 led Android game releases following its July 13, 2021 launch, accumulating over 68.3 million downloads and $216.7 thousand in revenue.
- RuneScape by Jagex was the top-performing new game on the iOS platform after its June 17, 2021 release, recording over 14.7 million downloads and $1.7 million in revenue.
It's Just HBO. Calm Down.
The relationship between the video game and film industries is often characterized by a fundamental misunderstanding of their respective creative and economic structures.
- Gaming is increasingly dictating cultural and economic terms, as evidenced by the NFL shifting toward arcade-style experiences with Take-Two to capture an estimated $1.4 billion in unrealized monetization potential.
- The games industry’s superior financial performance relative to Hollywood is attributed to its software-driven model and lack of reliance on celebrity-centric risk mitigation.
- Epic Games and Unity are engaged in a technological arms race, acquiring specialized firms like Cubic Motion and Artomatix to secure development pipelines and lock in customer verticals.
Will xCloud and Caffeine.tv Be Game Changers? Winners and Losers in the Escalating Streaming Wars
The convergence of major technology and media firms within the streaming sector marks a critical shift in the competitive landscape of digital entertainment.
- Microsoft is pivoting from a hardware-centric model to a service-oriented strategy with xCloud, aiming to deliver console-quality gaming to mobile devices to compete directly with Google Stadia.
- Fox has invested $100 million into Caffeine.tv to establish Caffeine Studios, focusing on live sports and esports to enter the interactive entertainment market.
- Caffeine.tv faces significant barriers to entry, as it must compete for market share against established giants like Twitch and YouTube, which serve a global audience of 900 million gaming video viewers.
Game of Thrones: Conquest Revenue Grew 90% Year-Over-Year in April
The mobile strategy title Game of Thrones: Conquest experienced a significant surge in financial performance during April 2019, driven by the heightened public interest surrounding the final season of the HBO television series.
- Warner Bros. mobile game Game of Thrones: Conquest grossed a record $19 million worldwide in April 2019, marking a 90% year-over-year revenue increase.
- The title's April performance surpassed its previous record set in March 2019, when it grossed $17 million.
- The United States was the primary driver of revenue, accounting for 65% of total spending ($12.4 million) in April 2019.
HBO Apps Added 1.7 Million New Mobile Users for Game of Thrones Season 8
The final season of the television series Game of Thrones served as a significant catalyst for mobile user acquisition across HBO’s streaming platforms.
- HBO mobile apps (HBO NOW and HBO GO) recorded 1.7 million new installs during the premiere week of Game of Thrones season eight, a 32% increase over the 1.29 million installs seen during the season seven premiere.
- The HBO NOW subscription app saw 750,000 first-time installs between April 13 and April 20, 2019, marking the network's largest week for new users to date.
- HBO NOW's premiere week performance represented a 230% increase in new installs compared to the preceding seven-day period and a 15% increase over its own season seven premiere performance.
Apple Arcade: Subscription-Based Mobile Gaming
The launch of Apple Arcade marks a strategic shift for Apple as it moves toward a subscription-based model for mobile gaming.
- Apple is leveraging its install base of over one billion devices to shift from a transaction-based model to a recurring subscription revenue stream, supporting a $50 billion services target to offset slowing hardware sales.
- Apple Arcade serves as a strategic alternative to the industry-dominant free-to-play model by offering a curated selection of premium titles that explicitly exclude micro-transactions and aggressive monetization.
- The platform aims to solve mobile market discovery issues for narrative-driven and family-friendly content, which often struggle against high user acquisition costs and the dominance of major firms.
New Party Who Dis?: Gaming as a Broader Vernacular to Reach Voters
The intersection of gaming culture and political communication serves as a primary focus for this analysis, which posits that video games have evolved into a vital vernacular for reaching modern voters.
- Gaming has become a critical political communication tool, with figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez utilizing streaming platforms and memes to build authenticity among younger voters.
- Netflix identified Fortnite as a more significant competitor for consumer attention than traditional rivals like HBO, despite Netflix adding 8.8 million subscribers in Q4 2018.
- Niantic secured $245 million in funding at a $4 billion valuation, highlighting significant investor confidence in the sector during this period.
HBO's Streaming Apps Set Download Records for Game of Thrones Premiere
The premiere of the seventh season of Game of Thrones on July 16, 2017, served as a significant catalyst for HBO’s digital ecosystem, driving record-breaking mobile app adoption.
- The July 16, 2017, premiere of Game of Thrones Season 7 drove record-breaking mobile app installs for HBO, reaching approximately 222,000 combined downloads on the App Store and Google Play.
- The premiere day set a new single-day record for HBO GO and HBO NOW, representing a 14% increase over the previous record of 195,000 installs set during the Season 6 debut on April 24, 2016.
- HBO NOW saw a 14% increase in daily installs to 171,000, while HBO GO installs grew by 11% to reach 51,000.
Digital Ad Insights: Beauty Brands
The digital advertising landscape for the beauty industry is characterized by a heavy reliance on established social media platforms, with significant opportunities emerging in streaming services.
- In 2025, Facebook and Instagram dominated the retail beauty industry's advertising spend with a 46% share, while TikTok accounted for only 11%.
- Major retail beauty advertisers currently include Sephora, Ulta, Scentbird, Target, and Walmart.
- Key advertising channels for the beauty sector include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and OTT streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+.