Q3 2020 - go.sensortower.com · The Q3 2020 Store Intelligence Data Digest offers analysis on the latest mobile trends: 5. 6. 16. Top Charts for the Quarter. Top Categories: A look

Q3 2020Store Intelligence Data Digest

Executive Summary: Highlights

Global app downloads reached 36.4 billion in 3Q20, an increase of 22.8 percent year-over-year. App Store installs grew 2.5 percent to 8.2 billion, while Google Play grew 30.3 percent to 28.2 billion.

Remote learning apps have become more important than ever amid COVID-19. U.S. Education app downloads in August and September reached 90 percent of their March peak.

U.S. mobile game spending reached a record $6 billion in 2Q20, and followed up with another $5.8 billion in Q3. This strong growth seen amid COVID-19 was present across top game genres.

The return of sports helped Sports category apps bounce back from a slow second quarter. Downloads for many top sports apps approached near pre-COVID-19 levels in 3Q20.

© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved

2

Table of Contents: Topics Covered

Market Overview: Worldwide year-over-year download growth for the App Store and Google Play

Top Apps: Top non-game apps globally, in the U.S., and in Europe

Top Games: Top mobile games by downloads across the App Store and Google Play

Top Publishers: Top publishers of mobile apps and games worldwide, in the U.S., and in Europe

The Q3 2020 Store Intelligence Data Digest offers analysis on the latest mobile trends:

5.

6.

16.

Top Charts for the Quarter

Top Categories: A look at year-over-year growth for the top categories on both app stores

Top Countries: The countries that had the most installs in the quarter and a look at year-over-year growth

36.

39.

U.S. Mobile Gaming is Booming: Mobile games across top genres have achieved record revenue totals in the U.S.

Rise of Remote Learning: A look at the impact of the new school year during COVID-19

Sports Return to Action: A study of how Sports apps have bounced back in the U.S. and Europe

44.

50.

54.

Stories of the Quarter

26.

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REQUEST DEMO

Sensor Tower’s Mobile Insights team compiled the download estimates provided in this report using the Sensor Tower Store Intelligence platform.

● Figures cited in this report reflect App Store and Google Play download estimates for January 1, 2015 through September 30, 2020.

● Download estimates presented are on a per-user basis, meaning that only one download per Apple or Google account is counted towards the total.

● Downloads of the same app by the same user to multiple devices, updates, or re-installs of the same app by the same user are not counted towards the total.

● Android app install estimates represent downloads from the Google Play Store only. Sensor Tower does not provide download estimates for third-party Android stores.

About This Data: Methodology

Store Intelligence

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Market Overview: Q3 2020 Worldwide Download Growth

36.4 Billion App Store + Google Play Downloads

8.2 Billion App Store Downloads

28.2 Billion Google Play Downloads

Worldwide App Store and Google Play Downloads

0

5B

10B

15B

20B

25B

30B

35B

40B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

36.4B29.6B

+22.8%

Worldwide App Store Downloads

0

5B

10B

15B

20B

25B

30B

35B

40B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

8.2B8.0B

+2.5%

Worldwide Google Play Downloads

0

5B

10B

15B

20B

25B

30B

35B

40B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

28.2B21.6B

+30.3%


5

Top Apps

TikTok .

Facebook .

Zoom .

WhatsApp .

Instagram .

Google Meet .

Snack Video .

Messenger .

Telegram .

Snapchat .

Likee .

Spotify .

Netflix .

Pinterest .

Microsoft Teams .

YouTube .

MX TakaTak .

Amazon .

Twitter .

PicsArt .

0 20M 40M 60M 80M 100M 120M 140M 160M 180M 200M

App Store Google Play

Overall - Worldwide

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.

Q3 2020 Apps by Worldwide Downloads 7


TikTok regained the top spot for global downloads in Q3 2020 despite being banned in India during the quarter. After surpassing 300M downloads in both Q1 and Q2 2020, its installs dipped under 200M in Q3.

Snack Video, Kuaishou’s short video app, took advantage of TikTok’s absence in India. It was the only app to reach the top 10 for the first time in Q3 2020, and more than 80 percent of its downloads in the quarter were from India.

TikTok .

Zoom .

YouTube .

Instagram .

WhatsApp .

Facebook .

Messenger .

Gmail .

Google Maps .

Netflix .

Taobao .

Google Chrome .

PinDuoDuo .

Microsoft Teams .

Spotify .

Google .

Google Meet .

Pinterest .

Telegram .

Snapchat .

0 10M 20M 30M 40M 50M 60M

iPhone iPad

App Store - Worldwide

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for iPhone and iPad for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. Apple apps are excluded. We report unique installs only (one download per user). Figures represent aggregate installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.



Some prominent Business apps returned to the top 20 in Q3 2020, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. App Store downloads for all three of these apps peaked in Q2 2020 as many business shifted to remote work during COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the return of Google Maps to the top 10 reflects how some countries have started to reopen. After its lowest quarter since 2016 in Q2 2020, Google Maps bounced back to No. 9 in Q3.

TikTok .

Facebook .

Zoom .

Snack Video .

Google Meet .

WhatsApp .

Instagram .

Messenger .

Telegram .

Snapchat .

Likee .

MX TakaTak .

Josh .

Moj .

WhatsApp Business .

InShot .

Spotify .

Pinterest .

Google Classroom .

Amazon .

0 20M 40M 60M 80M 100M 120M 140M

Google Play - Worldwide

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for Google Play for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. We report unique installs only (one download per User). Google preinstalled apps are excluded. Android download estimates do not include third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.



While TikTok held the top spot on Google Play in Q3 2020, its absence from India left a huge void for competing short video apps to fill. Snack Video led the way at No. 4 and was joined by new launches MX TakaTak (No. 12), Josh (No. 13), and Moj (No. 14).

WhatsApp fell down the rankings in three consecutive quarters, dropping from No. 1 in Q4 2019 to No. 6 in Q3 2020. Facebook still had four of the top 10 apps, with Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger joining WhatsApp.

Zoom .

TikTok .

YouTube .

Messenger .

Facebook .

Cash App .

Instagram .

Netflix .

Disney+ .

Google Meet .

Gmail .

Microsoft Teams .

Snapchat .

WhatsApp .

Amazon .

DoorDash .

Spotify .

Discord .

Pinterest .

Hulu .

0 5M 10M 15M 20M 25M 30M


Overall - United States

Q3 2020 Apps by U.S. Downloads


10


Zoom was the top app by U.S. downloads for the second consecutive quarter. Its 66 million downloads during the past two quarters was well ahead of TikTok, the No. 2 app in the U.S. at around 42 million.

The subscription video on demand (SVOD) space remained competitive in the U.S. Netflix (No. 8), Disney+ (9), and Hulu (20) each surpassed 6.5 million U.S. downloads in 3Q20.

Zoom .

TikTok .

YouTube .

Gmail .

Facebook .

Messenger .

Netflix .

Instagram .

Cash App .

Google .

Google Maps .

Google Chrome .

Disney+ .

Google Meet .

Amazon .

Microsoft Teams .

Spotify .

Snapchat .

Pinterest .

Discord .

0 2M 4M 6M 8M 10M 12M 14M 16M 18M 20M

iPhone iPad

App Store - United States



11


Google had a particularly strong quarter in Q3 2020 with six of the top 20 apps. Gmail, Google, and Google Chrome each reached new highs for their U.S. App Store downloads, and Google Meet had its second best quarter to date.

Discord reached the top 20 for the first time off of more than 100 percent growth Y/Y in Q3 2020. Download growth took off over the past three quarters as Discord provided a way to stay connected during COVID-19.

Zoom .

TikTok .

Cash App .

Messenger .

Instagram .

WhatsApp .

Google Meet .

Facebook .

Disney+ .

Snapchat .

Likee .

DoorDash .

Netflix .

Microsoft Teams .

PayPal .

Discord .

Walmart .

Tubi .

Peacock TV .

Hulu .

0 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M 7M 8M

Google Play - United States



12


Square’s Cash App continued to rise the charts in the U.S. It ranked No. 3 in Q3 2020, up from No. 5 in Q2 and No. 11 in Q1. The app has added new functionality over the years, including a debit card, Bitcoin, and fractional shares investing.

Peacock TV debuted at No. 19 on Google Play in the U.S. Its 2.2 million downloads since launching on July 15, 2020, ranked just ahead of Netflix in that period (2.1 million downloads).

TikTok .

WhatsApp .

Instagram .

Telegram .

Zoom .

Spotify .

Facebook .

Messenger .

Reface .

Snapchat .

QR & Barcode Reader .

NHS COVID-19 .

Pinterest .

Netflix .

Microsoft Teams .

SHEIN .

Likee .

Google Maps .

Shazam .

YouTube .

0 5M 10M 15M 20M 25M 30M 35M 40M


Overall - Europe

Q3 2020 Apps by European Downloads


13


TikTok, WhatsApp, and Instagram each moved up one spot from Q2 2020 as Zoom fell from the top spot. Zoom still ranked among the top five apps in Europe in Q3 2020.

NHS COVID-19, the COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales, surpassed 12 million downloads in September 2020. This was enough to rank as the No. 12 app in all of Europe in Q3 2020, and only the game Among Us had more European downloads in September.

WhatsApp .

TikTok .

Instagram .

Google Maps .

YouTube .

NHS COVID-19 .

Spotify .

Facebook .

Zoom .

Messenger .

Telegram .

Microsoft Teams .

Gmail .

Netflix .

Pinterest .

Reface .

Snapchat .

SHEIN .

Google Chrome .

Google .

0 2M 4M 6M 8M 10M 12M 14M

iPhone iPad

App Store - Europe



14


WhatsApp was the top App Store app in Europe in Q3 2020. Its 12.4 million downloads was its best quarter in the region in two years.

Google Maps bounced back after a slower quarter during COVID-19 in Q2 2020. After its downloads dipped below 5 million in Q2 2020 for the first time since Q2 2016, its 8.7 million downloads in Q3 2020 nearly matched its high from a year prior.

TikTok .

WhatsApp .

QR & Barcode Reader .

Instagram .

Telegram .

Zoom .

Spotify .

Reface .

Likee .

Facebook .

Snapchat .

Messenger .

Pinterest .

QR & Barcode Scanner .

SHEIN .

Wish .

AliExpress .

Shazam .

Netflix .

NHS COVID-19 .

0 5M 10M 15M 20M 25M 30M

Google Play - Europe



15


TikTok was the top downloaded app on Google Play in Europe. Its 25 million installs was well ahead of the WhatsApp at No. 2.

Spotify had a huge quarter, jumping 12 spots from No. 19 in Q2 2020 to No. 7 in Q3. Its 35 percent Q/Q growth propelled it past 9.5 million downloads in Q3, the first time it had surpassed 8 million downloads in a quarter in more than six years.

Top Games

Among Us .

My Talking Tom Friends .

Scribble Rider .

Subway Surfers .

Garena Free Fire .

Cube Surfer .

Stack Colors .

Tie Dye .

Ludo King .

PUBG Mobile .

Tiles Hop .

Roblox .

Homescapes .

Brain Wash .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Join Clash 3D .

Gardenscapes .

Puppy Town .

Tangle Master 3D .

Candy Crush .

0 20M 40M 60M 80M 100M 120M


Overall - Worldwide

Q3 2020 Games by Worldwide Downloads


17


Among Us by Inner Sloth was the only game to reach 100 million downloads in Q3 2020. Originally released in 2018, Among Us gained popularity after spreading through the influencer sphere across YouTube and Twitch.

My Talking Tom Friends by Outfit7 was the No. 2 game by worldwide downloads. Its more than 68 million downloads in the quarter was a new high for an Outfit7 game, breaking the previous record set by My Talking Tom 2 in 4Q18.

Among Us .

Cube Surfer .

Scribble Rider .

Subway Surfers .

PUBG Mobile .

Tie Dye .

Tangle Master 3D .

Homescapes .

Roblox .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Call of Duty: Mobile .

Color Roll 3D .

Doctor Care .

100 Scenes of Jiangnan .

Brain Wash .

Beat Blade .

Arena of Valor .

Gardenscapes .

Tile Master .

Brawl Stars .

0 5M 10M 15M 20M 25M 30M 35M 40M

iPhone iPad




18


Two Voodoo titles joined Among Us as the top three games on the App Store in the quarter. Voodoo, the hyper-casual games publisher based in France, achieved more than 34 millions downloads combined from Cube Surfer and Scribbler Rider.

Subway Surfers from Sybo Games saw its App Store downloads nearly double Q/Q in Q3 2020. It reached about 16 million downloads in the quarter, beating the previous high of 15.2 million downloads in Q1 2013.

Among Us .


Garena Free Fire .

Scribble Rider .

Subway Surfers .

Stack Colors .

Ludo King .

Cube Surfer .

Tiles Hop .

Tie Dye .

Puppy Town .

Hunter Assassin .

Roblox .

Homescapes .

Join Clash 3D .

Brain Wash .

Bubble Shooter .

Candy Crush .

PUBG Mobile .

Gardenscapes .

0 10M 20M 30M 40M 50M 60M 70M




19


While Among Us was also the top game globally on Google Play, the gap between it and the No. 2 game was much smaller than on the App Store. My Talking Tom Friends and Garena Free Fire rounded out the top three.

Voodoo had three of the top 10 games on Google Play. These included Scribble Rider (No. 4), Stack Colors (6), and Cube Surfer (8).


Q3 2020 Games by U.S. Downloads


20


Among Us had the best quarter for any game in the U.S. since Call of Duty: Mobile’s huge Q4 2019 following its launch. The 24 million downloads Among Us achieved was more than 3x the total from any other game in the quarter.

Six seasons following its launch in 2014, Electronic Arts replaced Madden NFL Mobile with a new app for the 2020-21 season. Its more than four million U.S. downloads were better than any previous Q3 for the franchise.

Among Us .

Tie Dye .

Scribble Rider .

Subway Surfers .

Cube Surfer .

Roblox .

Color Roll 3D .

Tangle Master 3D .

Fruit Clinic .

Doctor Care .

Beat Blade .

Brain Wash .

Pull Him Out .


Madden NFL .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Pocket Sniper .

Match 3D .

Stack Colors .

Braindom .

0 5M 10M 15M 20M 25M 30M


Among Us .

Subway Surfers .

Tie Dye .

Cube Surfer .

Color Roll 3D .

Scribble Rider .

Roblox .

Beat Blade .

Doctor Care .

Tangle Master 3D .

Fruit Clinic .


Pocket Sniper .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Madden NFL .

Brain Wash .

Office Life 3D .

Stairway to Heaven .

Braindom .

Riddle Master .

0 2M 4M 6M 8M 10M 12M 14M 16M 18M

iPhone iPad




21


Among Us finished more than 10 million downloads above the No. 2 game on the U.S. App Store. It also benefitted from a resurgence in iPad installs following COVID-19, with the iPad contributing more than 2.5 million downloads.

Only two of the top 10 games in Q2 2020 returned in Q3: Roblox and Tangle Master 3D. While Roblox saw its downloads decrease slightly Q/Q, the popular sandbox game was able to maintain most of its gains achieved following the spread of COVID-19.

Among Us .

Scribble Rider .

Tie Dye .

Roblox .

Pull Him Out .

Stack Colors .

Cube Surfer .


Fruit Clinic .

Tangle Master 3D .

Brain Wash .

Subway Surfers .

Tiles Hop .

Clue Hunter .

Match 3D .

Doctor Care .

Puppy Town .

Gacha Club .

Good Slice .

Rescue Machine .

0 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M 7M 8M 9M




22


Among Us was the first game to surpass 8 million U.S. downloads on Google Play since Hello Stars last reached that total in Q3 2018. Among Us had even more downloads than Call of Duty: Mobile’s 7 million in Q4 2019.

Hyper-casual games were common among the top 20, including four games from Voodoo and three games from AppLovin’s Lion Studios. Seven of the top 10 games were hyper-casual, with Among Us, Roblox, and My Talking Tom Friends as the exceptions.

Cube Surfer .

Among Us .

Tie Dye .

Subway Surfers .

Brawl Stars .

Scribble Rider .

Stack Colors .

Brain Wash .

Roblox .


Homescapes .

Tiles Hop .

Tangle Master 3D .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Beat Blade .

Spiral Roll .

Fishdom .

Brain Test 2 .

PUBG Mobile .

Join Clash 3D .

0 2M 4M 6M 8M 10M 12M 14M 16M 18M 20M


Overall - Europe

Q3 2020 Games by European Downloads


23


Cube Surfer from Voodoo was the top game in Europe in Q3 2020. Scribble Rider, Stack Colors, and Spiral Roll were other Voodoo titles among the top 20.

Brawl Stars was the No. 5 game in Europe in back-to-back quarters. Nearly half of its downloads to date have been from Europe. Its largest markets outside of Europe included Brazil, the U.S., and South Korea.

Among Us .

Cube Surfer .

Subway Surfers .

Tie Dye .

Scribble Rider .

Tangle Master 3D .

Roblox .

Homescapes .

Beat Blade .

Brawl Stars .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Braindom .

Doctor Care .

Brain Wash .

PUBG Mobile .

Good Slice .

Color Roll 3D .

Pokémon GO .

State of Survival .

Gardenscapes .

0 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M

iPhone iPad

App Store - Europe



24


Subway Surfers’ downloads increased 112 percent Q/Q and it ranked No. 3 in Europe on the App Store in Q3 2020. It had been outside the top 20 for the previous five quarters.

State of Survival, a 4X strategy game from FunPlus, ranked in the top 20 for the first time in Q3 2020. It was the No. 2 strategy game in the quarter behind Brawl Stars.

Cube Surfer .

Among Us .

Tie Dye .

Stack Colors .

Brawl Stars .


Scribble Rider .

Subway Surfers .

Brain Wash .

Roblox .

Tiles Hop .

Homescapes .

Spiral Roll .

Tangle Master 3D .

Fishdom .

Brain Test 2 .

Join Clash 3D .

Magic Tiles 3 .

Clue Hunter .

Tile Master .

0 2M 4M 6M 8M 10M 12M 14M




25


Cube Surfer from Voodoo was the top game in Europe on Google Play. 27 percent of its European downloads came from Russia, with France and Turkey contributing about 10 percent apiece.

Brawl Stars and Roblox were the only games among the top 10 on Google Play in both Q2 and Q3 2020. Three of the top five games in Q2 2020 were outside the top 20 in Q3, including the Save The Girl (No. 1 in Q2), Gardenscapes (2), and PUBG Mobile (4).

Top Publishers

Google .

Facebook .

Voodoo .

ByteDance .

AppLovin .

Outfit7 Limited .

Crazy Labs .

Microsoft .

InShot .

Say Games .

Tencent .

BabyBus .

Playgendary .

Miniclip .

Amazon .

Kuaishou .

Abishkking .

Zoom .

Azur Interactive .

Good Job Games .

0 100M 200M 300M 400M 500M 600M 700M 800M 900M


Overall - Worldwide

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores.

Q3 2020 Publishers by Worldwide Downloads 27


After becoming the first publisher to surpass 1 billion downloads in a quarter in Q2 2020, Google followed it up with its second best quarter in Q3 at approximately 850 million downloads. Facebook and Voodoo rounded out the top 3 publishers for the quarter.

Voodoo also had its best quarter to date with more than 500 million downloads. It passed ByteDance to rank in the top 3 in Q3 2020.

Google .

Tencent .

Facebook .

Voodoo .

ByteDance .

Microsoft .

Alibaba Group .

AppLovin .

Amazon .

Crazy Labs .

Zoom .

NetEase .

Baidu .

Rollic Games .

Good Job Games .

InnerSloth .

Say Games .

Playgendary .

Adobe .

Supersonic Studios .

0 50M 100M 150M 200M 250M 300M

iPhone iPad


Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for iPhone and iPad for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. Apple apps are excluded. We report unique installs only (one download per User).



Google, Tencent, and Facebook held their positions as the top three publishers. The only change in order among the top five was Voodoo and ByteDance switching spots at No. 4 and 5, respectively.

The bulk of Facebook’s downloads came from a few apps, while Google and Tencent provided a variety of offerings. Google had 14 apps with at least 5 million App Store downloads in Q3, compared to nine from Tencent and four from Facebook.

Google .

Facebook .

Voodoo .

Outfit7 Limited .

AppLovin .

Crazy Labs .

InShot .

ByteDance .

Say Games .

BabyBus .

Microsoft .

Miniclip .

Kuaishou .

Abishkking .

Playgendary .

Azur Interactive .

Amanotes .

Good Job Games .

Zoom .

Amazon .

0 100M 200M 300M 400M 500M 600M


Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for Google Play for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. We report unique installs only (one download per User). Google preinstalled apps are excluded. Android download estimates do not include third-party stores.



After passing Facebook for the first time on Google Play in Q2 2020, Google kept the top spot on Q3. Google’s downloads in Q3 fell 21 percent from its high the previous quarter.

Voodoo’s downloads on Google Play grew 117 percent Y/Y in Q3 2020, climbing from 181 million Q3 2019 to 394 million in Q3 2020. Approximately 77 percent of Voodoo’s installs in the quarter were from Google Play, compared to 23 percent from the App Store.

Google .

Voodoo .

Facebook .

AppLovin .

Amazon .

Microsoft .

Crazy Labs .

Zoom .

InnerSloth .

Good Job Games .

Say Games .

ByteDance .

Rollic Games .


Playgendary .

Amanotes .

AT&T .

Outfit7 Limited .

PayPal .

Adobe .

0 20M 40M 60M 80M 100M 120M 140M



Q3 2020 Publishers by U.S. Downloads


30


Google, Voodoo, and Facebook were the top three publishers in the U.S in Q3 2020, maintaining the same top three as the previous quarter. AppLovin and Amazon rounded out the top five.

Seven of the top 10 publishers by U.S. downloads are based in the U.S. Some top hyper-casual games publishers were the only non-U.S. based publishers to reach the top 10, including Voodoo, Crazy Labs, and Good Job Games.

Google .

Voodoo .

Facebook .

Amazon .

Microsoft .

AppLovin .

Crazy Labs .

Zoom .

Good Job Games .

InnerSloth .

ByteDance .

Rollic Games .

Say Games .


Playgendary .

AT&T .

Adobe .

PayPal .

Amanotes .

Electronic Arts .

0 10M 20M 30M 40M 50M 60M 70M 80M 90M

iPhone iPad




31


The top four publishers were the same as last quarter, with Microsoft as the lone entrant to the top five in Q3 2020. Microsoft’s top app in the quarter was Microsoft Teams, a popular remote work app in the U.S.

Games publishers were again frequent among the top 20, including Voodoo, Crazy Labs, Good Job Games, Rollic Games, and Say Games. Many of these publishers are based outside of the U.S.

Google .

Voodoo .

AppLovin .

Facebook .

Amazon .

Microsoft .

Crazy Labs .

Say Games .

InnerSloth .

Outfit7 Limited .

Amanotes .

Zoom .


Azur Interactive .

Playgendary .

Good Job Games .

ByteDance .

Rollic Games .

Abishkking .

AT&T .

0 5M 10M 15M 20M 25M 30M 35M 40M




32


AppLovin had more downloads than Facebook in a quarter three out of the last four quarters. AppLovin’s downloads primarily came from its game publishers including Lion Studios and Machine Zone.

InnerSloth, the publisher of hit game Among Us, reached the top 10 on Google Play in Q3 2020. Nearly all of InnerSloth’s 8.8 million downloads on Google Play were from Among Us.

Google .

Voodoo .

Facebook .

AppLovin .

Crazy Labs .

Say Games .

Microsoft .

ByteDance .

Outfit7 Limited .

Playgendary .

Yandex .

Azur Interactive .

Abishkking .


Amazon .

Playrix .

Amanotes .

InShot .

Good Job Games .

Rollic Games .

0 20M 40M 60M 80M 100M 120M 140M


Overall - Europe

Q3 2020 Publishers by European Downloads


33


Voodoo’s downloads in Europe increased 31 percent Q/Q in Q3 2019. It had close to 130 million installs in the quarter in Europe, nearly as many as Google.

Yandex moved up from No. 18 in Q2 2020 to No. 11 in Q3. Yandex.Maps was its top app in Q3, followed by Yandex Go and Yandex.Navigator.

Google .

Facebook .

Voodoo .

Microsoft .

AppLovin .

Crazy Labs .

ByteDance .

Amazon .

Rollic Games .

Say Games .

Yandex .

Playgendary .

Good Job Games .


Adobe .

Playrix .

DHS .

Spotify .

Ubisoft .

Zoom .

0 10M 20M 30M 40M 50M 60M

iPhone iPad

App Store - Europe



34


Google and Facebook were the top two publishers for back-to-back quarters. Voodoo passed Microsoft to take the No. 3 spot in Q3.

The Department of Health & Social Care (DHS) released a new COVID-19 contact tracing app in August, 2020. The app had approximately 6.5 million App Store downloads in Q3 2020.

Voodoo .

Google .

AppLovin .

Facebook .

Crazy Labs .

Say Games .

Outfit7 Limited .

Azur Interactive .

ByteDance .

Playgendary .

Abishkking .

Microsoft .

Yandex .


InShot .

Amanotes .

Playrix .

Good Job Games .

Amazon .

Miniclip .

0 10M 20M 30M 40M 50M 60M 70M 80M 90M 100M




35


Voodoo was the top Google Play publisher in Europe for the first time in Q3 2020, surpassing Google and Facebook. Russia was Voodoo's top European market in the quarter, followed by Turkey and France.

Crazy Labs, publisher of games such as Tie Dye and Super Stylist, ranked among the top five for the third consecutive quarter. It had roughly 50 million Google Play downloads in Europe in Q3 2020.

Top Categories

0

500M

1.0B

1.5B

2.0B

2.5B

Games Photo & Video Entertainment Utilities Shopping

456M530M540M602M

2.32B

456M475M533M589M

2.44B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

App Store


Q3 2020 Categories by Worldwide Downloads

-4.7%

+2.2%+1.4% +11.6%

-0.1%

37


Game downloads on the App Store have fallen off from their high of nearly 3 million from Q1 2020. China contributed to this decrease as its game installs dropped 25 percent Y/Y in Q3 2020.

The order among the top five categories remained the same as last quarter. Photo & Video and Entertainment experienced modest growth, while Utilities saw downloads increase by 11.6 percent Y/Y.

0

2B

4B

6B

8B

10B

12B

Game Tools Entertainment Social Video Players

1.19B1.23B1.56B1.83B

11.85B

778M1.01B1.20B1.49B

8.69B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

Google Play


Q3 2020 Categories by Worldwide Downloads

+36.4%

+22.5%+30.5%

+22% +53.1%

38


While Game downloads decreased Y/Y on the App Store, growth remained strong on Google Play at 36.4 percent. This was the category’s second best quarter to date, only behind the 12.4 billion downloads in Q2 2020.

The remaining top categories also saw high growth, led by Video Players & Editors with more than 50 percent Y/Y growth in Q3 2020. India contributed more than 450 million downloads in Q3 2020, up 63 percent from 280 million in Q3 2019.

Top Countries

India .

U.S. .

Brazil .

Indonesia .

Russia .

Mexico .

Turkey .

Vietnam .

Philippines .

Japan .

0 1B 2B 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B


Overall

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for the App Store and Google Play for Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, 2020. Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report unique installs only (one download per User).

As Google Play is not available in China, we have excluded the country from this chart.

Q3 2020 Countries by Downloads 40


India’s rapid download growth continued in Q3 2020, reaching a new high of 7.8 billion across the App Store and Google Play. After its growth slowed throughout 2019, India saw huge increases each of the past two quarters.

The only change among the top 10 countries was the Philippines entering the top 10 at No. 9. Its downloads increased 68 percent Y/Y to nearly 800 million in Q3 2020.

App Store


Q3 2020 Countries by Downloads

0

500M

1.0B

1.5B

2.0B

2.5B

U.S.

China

Japan

U.K.

Russia

255M327M424M

1.83B

2.07B

262M301M423M

2.20B

1.87B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

+10.8%

-16.8%

+0.1%+8.8%

-2.7%

41


China’s App Store downloads fell below 2 billion for the first time since 2015 in Q3 2020. Meanwhile, the U.S. surpassed this threshold for the third consecutive quarter.

The U.K had its third best quarter on the App Store in Q3 2020 at 327 million downloads. Its previous high was from Q2 when COVID-19 helped boost app downloads to 365 million.

0

1B

2B

3B

4B

5B

6B

7B

8B

India

Brazil

Indonesia

U.S.

Russia

1.16B1.38B1.80B

2.66B

7.66B

1.06B1.36B1.33B2.00B

4.94B

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

Google Play


Q3 2020 Countries by Downloads

+55.1%

+33.1%

+35.1%

+2.0%+9.0%

42


India’s huge growth in Q3 gave it nearly 3x the downloads of the next closest country on Google Play, Brazil. India was responsible for 27.2 percent of all downloads on Google Play in Q3 2020, up from 22.8 percent in Q3 2019.

Indonesia continued to pull away from the U.S. after passing it back in Q2. Its 1.8 billion downloads was a new high for a quarter, led by top apps like Snack Video, TikTok, and Zoom.

Stories of the Quarter


Stories of the Quarter: 1. U.S. Mobile Gaming is Booming

U.S. Mobile Gaming is Booming 44


In Q2 2020, U.S. mobile game revenue surpassed $6 billion for the first time off of 55 percent year-over-year growth. Games kept much of the growth gained during the pandemic with $5.8 billion in gross revenue in Q3 2020.

● U.S spending in mobile games surged during COVID-19, prompting 55 percent quarter-over-quarter revenue growth in Q2.

● All top game genres saw strong Y/Y growth in Q3, led by Simulation (59%), Casino (51%), and Shooter (49%).

● 4X Strategy was an example of a gaming sub-genre where a variety of different titles saw a boost. The No. 10 4X Strategy game earned nearly $25 million in Q3 2020, up 78 percent from the No. 10 game in Q3 2019. REQUEST DEMO











$0

$1B

$2B

$3B

$4B

$5B

$6B

$7B

Q1 2015

Q2 2015

Q3 2015

Q4 2015

Q1 2016

Q2 2016

Q3 2016

Q4 2016

Q1 2017

Q2 2017

Q3 2017

Q4 2017

Q1 2018

Q2 2018

Q3 2018

Q4 2018

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

Gross Revenue Pre-2020 Growth Trend

U.S. Mobile Game Revenue

App Store and Google Play 45


Mobile game spending in the U.S. spiked in Q2 2020 during COVID-19. It jumped from $4.5 billion in Q1 to more than $6 billion in Q2. Revenue remained strong in Q3 at $5.8 billion.

COVID-19 created a boost unlike what’s been seen for game revenue since 2015. If there had been the same growth in 2020 as the average growth between 2015 and 2019, U.S. revenue would still be under $5 billion in Q3 2020.

Note Regarding Revenue Estimates Our revenue estimates capture gross revenue, including the cut taken by Apple or Google. Our estimates include U.S. revenue for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1, 2015 through Sep. 30, 2020.

46


All top game genres have benefitted from the lift in U.S. mobile game spending. Simulation, Casino, and Shooter game genres experienced particularly high Y/Y growth in Q3 2020.

Other game genres like Puzzle, Strategy, and RPG also experienced strong growth. The top 100 Puzzle games in the U.S. combined for more than $1.1 billion in revenue in Q3 2020, up from $860 million a year prior.

Top Game Genres

U.S. Revenue for Top 100 Games by Genre

Note Regarding Revenue Estimates Our revenue estimates capture gross revenue, including the cut taken by Apple or Google. Our estimates include U.S. revenue for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jul. 1, 2019 through Sep. 30, 2020. Data includes top 100 games in each genre in the quarter.

Data from our new Game Taxonomy feature.

Casino

Puzzle

Strategy

RPG

Simulation

Shooter

Lifestyle

Geolocation AR

Sports

Arcade

$0 $200M $400M $600M $800M $1.0B $1.2B

$135M

$162M

$165M

$183M

$317M

$516M

$785M

$875M

$1.1B

$1.2B

$105M

$126M

$138M

$131M

$213M

$325M

$563M

$680M

$860M

$766M

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

+51%

+32%

+29%

+40%

+59%

+49%

+40%

+19%

+29%

+29%

Top Game (Q3 2020):

Coin Master

Candy Crush Saga

Clash of Clans

DBZ Dokkan Battle

Roblox

PUBG Mobile

Design Home

Pokémon GO

Golf Clash

Yahtzee with Buddies

Slots (Casino)

4X Strategy (Strategy)

Puzzle & Decorate (Puzzle)

Squad RPG (RPG)

Classic Match 3 (Puzzle)

Sandbox (Simulation)

Battle Royale (Shooter)

Social Casino (Casino)

Geolocation AR (Geolocation AR)

Puzzle RPG (RPG)

$0 $100M $200M $300M $400M $500M $600M $700M $800M $900M

$162M

$165M

$178M

$200M

$246M

$323M

$352M

$392M

$613M

$808M

$141M

$138M

$81M

$163M

$138M

$301M

$223M

$222M

$440M

$576M

Q3 2019 Q3 2020

47


All top sub-genres experienced growth, led by Social Casino (119 percent Y/Y), Sandbox (78 percent), and Puzzle & Decorate (77 percent). 4X Strategy, the second largest sub-genre, also saw strong growth at 39 percent.

Some sub-genres were dominated by a few apps or publishers. Playrix’s top three games accounted for 67 percent of the Puzzle & Decorate revenue in Q3 2020, while Pokémon GO alone was responsible for more than 90 percent of Geolocation AR game revenue.

Top Game Sub-Genres

U.S. Revenue for Top 100 Games by Sub-Genre

Note Regarding Revenue Estimates Our revenue estimates capture gross revenue, including the cut taken by Apple or Google. Our estimates include U.S. revenue for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jul. 1, 2019 through Sep. 30, 2020.


Top Game (Q3 2020):

Slotomania

State of Survival

Homescapes

MARVEL Strike Force

Candy Crush Saga

Roblox

PUBG Mobile

Coin Master

Pokémon GO

DBZ Dokkan Battle

+40%

+39%

+77%

+58%

+7%

+78%

+23%

+119%

+19%

+15%

Slots (Casino)

4X Strategy (Strategy)

Puzzle & Decorate (Puzzle)

Squad RPG (RPG)

Classic Match 3 (Puzzle)

Sandbox (Simulation)

Battle Royale (Shooter)

Social Casino (Casino)

Geolocation AR (Geolocation AR)

Puzzle RPG (RPG)

$0

$10M

$20M

$30M

$40M

$50M

$60M

$70M

$80M

$90M

Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020

No. 1 No. 5 No. 10

48


The rise in 4X Strategy sub-genre revenue reflects how the space has become more competitive and is not just driven by one or two standout titles. While the revenue required to rank No. 1 and 5 have generally increased, the revenue needed to rank in the top 10 nearly doubled between Q1 2019 and Q3 2020.

Four different 4X Strategy games have had the highest U.S. revenue in a quarter in the last five quarters. This has required at least $50 million in U.S. player spending each quarter.

Top 4X Strategy Games

U.S. Revenue to Rank Each Quarter



$0

$50M

$100M

$150M

$200M

$250M

Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020

49


No single 4X Strategy games has managed to claim the U.S. market. Four different games have ranked No. 1 in a quarter since Q1 2019, and seven different games have ranked among the top three. State of Survival from FunPlus was the newest hit, leading the pack in Q3 2020.

In Q3 2020, the top five 4X Strategy apps each had at least $39 million in U.S. spending. No games hit that threshold in Q1 2019.

Top 4X Strategy Games

U.S. Revenue for Top 5 Games




Stories of the Quarter: 2. Rise of Remote Learning

Rise of Remote Learning 50


In March, remote learning apps helped U.S. educators adapt to school closures. These apps have continued to be essential at the start of the new school year, giving teachers and students the ability to access virtual classrooms and communicate remotely.

● U.S. Education app downloads reached a new high in March 2020. Monthly totals in August and September reached 90 percent of this March peak, suggesting remote learning apps retained most of the gains seen earlier in the year.

● COVID-19 shook up the relatively stable landscape for remote learning apps in the U.S. in 2020. The order among top apps was reshuffled as Google Classroom, Canvas Student, and Flipgrid saw huge gains.

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0M

10M

20M

30M

40M

50M

60M

70M

Jan-17

Mar-17

May-17Jul-1

7

Sep-17

Nov-17

Jan-18

Mar-18

May-18Jul-1

8

Sep-18

Nov-18

Jan-19

Mar-19

May-19Jul-1

9

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

Mar-20

May-20Jul-2

0

Sep-20

U.S. Education App Downloads



Education app downloads reflect a seasonal pattern in the U.S., with spikes at the start of the school year. School closures amid COVID-19 upset that pattern as Education app installs reached record highs in March and April.

The boost from remote learning continued into the fall as some schools adopted fully remote learning or hybrid systems. Downloads in August and September 2020 were up 21 percent Y/Y.

Schools Closed During

COVID-19

Beginning of School Year

2017

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include downloads for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1, 2019 through Jun. 30, 2020. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores.


2018


2019


2020

Remind ClassDojo Google Classroom Canvas StudentPowerSchool Flipgrid Seesaw

0

5M

10M

15M

20M

Aug-Sep 2017 Aug-Sep 2018 Aug-Sep 2019 Mar-Apr 2020 Aug-Sep 2020

52


A look at remote learning apps in particular reveals a similar pattern to the Education category overall. Downloads for the top five apps grew by more than 3 million from 15.8M in fall 2019 to nearly 19M in spring 2020, largely driven by Google Classroom.

Remote learning apps kept some of the gains in fall 2020 and Google Classroom remained the top app. Canvas Student managed to return to No. 2 after being outside the top five in the spring, and Remind fell to No. 3.

Top 5 Remote Learning Apps

U.S. Downloads

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include U.S. downloads for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1 through Jun. 30, 2020. Data includes top 200 games each month. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores.

0

1M

2M

3M

4M

5M

6M

7M

8M

Q1 2017

Q2 2017

Q3 2017

Q4 2017

Q1 2018

Q2 2018

Q3 2018

Q4 2018

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

Google Classroom Canvas Student Remind ClassDojo Flipgrid PowerSchool

Top Remote Learning Apps

Quarterly U.S. Downloads 53


COVID-19 shook up the remote learning space. The order of top apps had remained unchanged in the third quarters of 2017, 2018, and 2019, suggesting that the market was quite stable prior to school closures in 2020.

Google Classroom saw a huge surge during COVID-19 and has remained the top remote learning app since. Canvas Student and Flipgrid also gained ground on the longtime top apps Remind and ClassDojo.

Google Classroom

Canvas Student

Remind

ClassDojo

Flipgrid

PowerSchool

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include downloads for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1, 2019 through Jun. 30, 2020. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores.

During COVID-19

Pre COVID-19


Stories of the Quarter: 3. Sports Return to Action

Sports Return to Action 54


Sports returned to action in Q3 after delays and shutdowns during the spread of COVID-19. Downloads for many top sports apps returned to near pre-COVID-19 levels.

● Sports app downloads in the U.S. were only down 9 percent year-over-year in Q3, while Europe actually saw a 13 percent increase Y/Y. While the rescheduling of postponed seasons could be responsible for some of the downloads in Q3, the quick bounce back is promising for the Sports app category.

● Top U.S. and U.K. Sports apps experienced huge quarterly download growth in Q3. ESPN’s U.S. downloads fully recovered, matching its total from Q3 2019.

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0

10M

20M

30M

40M

50M

60M

70M

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

U.S. Europe

Sports App Downloads



After a decline during COVID-19 in Q1 and Q2 2020, Europe’s Sports downloads grew 13 percent Y/Y in Q3. Russia’s Sports app downloads grew 116 percent Q/Q to 12.1 million, and France had even higher growth of 132 percent Q/Q to 8.2 million.

The return of U.S. Sports downloads tracked a bit behind that seen in Europe. Still, Q3 2020 had a modest 9 percent decline vs. Q3 2019 as top leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB returned to action.

Europe +13% Y/Y

U.S. -9% Y/Y

-37% Y/Y

-28% Y/Y

-19% Y/Y

-10% Y/Y

Note Regarding Download Estimates Our estimates include downloads for iPhone, iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1, 2019 through Sep. 30, 2020. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores.

0

1M

2M

3M

4M

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

ESPN NFL ESPN Fantasy Yahoo Sports NBA FOX Sports

Top U.S. Sports Apps

Quarterly U.S. Downloads 56


The postponement of sports during COVID-19 made an immediate impact on Sports app downloads, with major declines seen across top apps in Q1 and Q2 2020. There was also a clear bounce back as sports returned in Q3.

The rescheduling of sports upset the seasonal pattern seen by some top apps. For example, NBA’s downloads in Q3 2020 increased by more than 5x vs. Q3 2019 as the postponement of the NBA Playoffs pushed demand from Q2 into Q3.

ESPN +0% Y/Y

NFL -20% Y/Y

ESPN Fantasy -38% Y/Y

Yahoo Sports -22% Y/Y

NBA +441% Y/Y

FOX Sports -64% Y/Y


0

100K

200K

300K

400K

500K

600K

700K

800K

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

Premier League BT Sport Sky Sports Mobile Sky Bet BBC Sport William Hill

Top U.K. Sports Apps

Quarterly U.K. Downloads 57


Premier League surpassed 500K downloads in Q3 2020. While this was 31 percent below its total in Q3 2019, some of this dip was likely explained by the season starting more than month later into the quarter in 2020 than it had the previous year.

Sky Sports and BBC Sport downloads started to return to pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2020. Meanwhile, downloads for few sports betting apps, Sky Bet and William Hill, actually increased Y/Y in Q3.

Premier League -31% Y/Y

BT Sport +61% Y/Y

Sky Sports -17% Y/Y

Sky Bet +2% Y/YBBC Sport -35% Y/Y

William Hill +13% Y/Y


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Q3 2020 - go.sensortower.com · The Q3 2020 Store Intelligence Data Digest offers analysis on the latest mobile trends: 5. 6. 16. Top Charts for the Quarter. Top Categories: A look