Levelling Up: Mozillion’s Mobile Gaming Report 2022

Available on both iOS and Android, the mobile version of world-famous game Minecraft is practically identical to the version that can be played on PC and is the most popular mobile game in our rankings, with 24,900,000 global searches last year alone. The game has users navigating their way through a 3D world where they can build up and break down a variety of different blocks; across survival mode where players have to source their own food, craft their own weapons and find their own building supplies, creative mode where they’re given unlimited resources and multiplayer mode where they can play with friends or other users. The mobile version is the same if not better on some devices, with the only big difference being that it has stronger parental permission options - allowing parents stricter control over their kids' gameplay.

Originally a tabletop card game, Solitaire was popularised when the digitised version was first included with the Windows operating system from 1990 onwards and pulls rank as the second most popular game that can be played on mobile, with 16,600,000 global searches last year. The aim of the game is to place the entire deck of cards from ace to king, in sequence and four times over (once for each suit). A good game for brain training and mindfulness, there’s now many different iterations from different developers on app stores, but Microsoft still holds the reins for the best mobile version out there.

A battle royale game (a genre of video games that merges “last-man-standing” gameplay with survival elements like scavenging and exploration), Free Fire is available on both iOS and Android and in 2019 was the most downloaded game globally, leading to more than 150 million daily active users in 2021. Despite reportedly having been banned in India, where a large portion of its users are based, it still holds this record in 2022 - having been downloaded 24 million times in January alone and pulling in 13,600,000 global Google searches last year.

It perhaps comes as no surprise that Minecraft ranks first for players looking for tips, walkthroughs and cheats since it ranks so highly in the popularity rankings too. While we don’t condone cheating… in Minecraft it does unlock some pretty cool features, from changing the weather to teleporting pretty much anywhere you want. With 49,500 searches for cheats, 9,900 searches for tips and 1,600 for walkthroughs, Minecraft has over double the amount of people searching for extra playing assistance compared to the next game in the rankings, Pokémon Go.

Falling into second place is the augmented reality, viral hit game developed by Pokémon in collaboration with Nintendo and Niantic. Merging the real and virtual worlds in an epic adventure, users can search and discover Pokémons in the world around them, by searching with their mobile devices when out and about. With over 30,000 combined Google searches last year for tips and tricks, many players are looking for hacks and shortcuts in the hopes of adding new and rare Pokémons to their Pokédexes.

Completing the top three games that have players searching for extra help is the simulation game Stardew Valley, where users are dropped into a farming set up to grow crops, raise livestock, mine and forage while leading lives in the valley, where they can marry and have kids. Originally designed for Microsoft Windows before being migrated over to other platforms, including mobile in 2018, it has seen immense success, with over 8,000 global Google searches last year alone for tips, 4,400 searches for walkthroughs and 12,100 searches for cheats.

Influenced by slasher movies, Dead by Daylight is a 4 vs 1 multiplayer game where users can opt to play as the killer or as one of four survivors being hunted down and lured to their death. Featuring some of the most iconic slasher movie killers like Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface and Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head, players take on average 635 hours and 3 minutes to complete the game - you’re in this one for the long haul.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is a multiplayer online battle arena game designed for mobile, where players build out a team of five heroes who compete against another team trying to take over each other’s towers. The game garnered most of its popularity in southeast Asia and has over 100 million monthly players, taking on average 401 hours to complete.

PUBG is an online multiplayer battle royale game that took the gaming world by storm, becoming one of the best-selling, highest-grossing and most-played video games of all time and taking players on average 168 hours and 53 minutes to complete. The mobile version was released in 2018, with over a billion players landing on the battleground where they scavenge for survival supplies and compete to be the last team standing in 10-minute matches.

Microsoft’s Solitaire provides a nice, quick gaming fix to players who don’t want to be consumed by their phone for more than a few minutes. Using logical thinking it both trains your brain and soothes the mind, allowing players to enter a meditative state while playing. Frequent playing has even been shown to improve memory skills, so at an easy 5 minute completion time - this is a great option for your next perfunctory gaming endeavour.

Coming in with the second shortest completion time is Honor of Kings, taking players just 19 minutes on average to complete. Initially released in China, it’s another multiplayer online battle arena game that much like other games in the rankings has at some point achieved the accolades of highest-grossing mobile game of all time and most downloaded app globally. In 2020 the game had over 100 million daily active players and its popularity led its developers to release an international version known as Arena of Valor in the European Union.

A 3D game with more than 500 million downloads in 2020, Helix Jump requires players to control a ball, the main aim is to send the ball through certain gaps and land on a platform without touching specific coloured areas within the game, and each time you manage this you’ll complete a level. Taking users on average just one hour to complete, this one’s another quick gaming fix for anyone not wanting to get too invested in a game.