Most Downloaded Mobile Games: March 2022

The mobile gaming industry has experienced significant shifts in both download volume and monetization strategies, as evidenced by data from March 2022 and broader trends through 2026. In March 2022, the global mobile games market reached 4.7 billion downloads, a 2.4% year-over-year increase. India emerged as the leading market, accounting for 16% of total installs, followed by the United States and Brazil. During this period, the title Merge Master led the download charts, with India representing 38% of its total install base.

By 2025, the industry’s focus shifted toward the expansion of advertising as a primary revenue stream. Advertising revenue in mobile games exceeded $12 billion across 19 analyzed countries, supported by 2.4 trillion ad impressions and 24.6 billion downloads of ad-supported titles. The prevalence of ad monetization grew from 45.1% in 2021 to 55.6% by mid-2026, a trend driven by the stagnation of traditional in-app purchase models. This reliance on advertising is particularly pronounced in developing markets like India, where ads accounted for over 70% of revenue, compared to approximately 22% in the United States.

Casual and hyper-casual genres dominate the ad-revenue landscape, collectively accounting for 80% of such earnings, with puzzle games serving as the leading sub-genre. The market remains highly concentrated, with AppLovin and AdMob controlling 65% of ad revenue as of May 2026. Top-performing titles in this space, such as Block Blast! and Vita Mahjong, underscore the profitability of ad-centric monetization models in the current mobile ecosystem.