Remember the first-ever mobile games, like Snake? It’s hard to think that once upon a time, we didn’t have a pocket gaming device! Mobile gaming has certainly become indispensable for many smartphone users nowadays, and with their processing power increasing year after year, they’re almost as powerful as a console or gaming PC. Though differentiating between all of the games to try and find the best is a challenge, we’ve come up with some that we think are the best.
Most Popular Mobile Games in 2023
When deciding which games make a list, it was important to look at both paid games and free games and those that are available across all platforms. We decided that they didn’t need to be new releases but games that are available to play currently.
Our List of 5 Amazing Games
When you’re playing games on mobile phone devices, you have so many choices. Here is our list of what we consider to be the top five mobile games for 2023:
Raid: Shadow Legends
Raid: Shadow Legends is a ‘freemium’ role-playing mobile game by Plarium Games, a game developer from Israel. The company is a subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure, a gambling company. Despite being free, it does have an in-game currency that you can purchase.
The story unfolds in a fictional realm called Teleria. Players become ancient warrior whose job is to defeat Siroth, the Dark Lord. It has more than 400 boss battles, 3D graphics, and the chance to play with other players from around the world.
League of Legends: Wild Rift
This game was released back in 2021 and is still among the best MOBA games (multiplayer online battle arena games). In the game, a match lasts between 15 and 20 minutes, so it is a little longer than most mobile games.
The game was developed and published by Riot Games for iOS and Android. It’s free and is a mobile-modified version of the League of Legends PC game.
Genshin Impact
The action role-playing game Genshin Impact is a production by miHoYo, a Chinese game developer. It was released in 2020 and is available across multiple platforms. The game is an anime-style, action-based battle in an open-world environment. It’s free to play but has gacha game features. There is a plot and many teammates involved. This stands out as one of the best games for 2023 with its gameplay and graphics.
Call of Duty: Mobile
This game is popular on many platforms, so it’s no surprise that it features in our list. This version was released in 2019 and is still one of the most popular mobile games out there. It is an FPS battle royale game that offers smooth gameplay and excellent mechanics. It is free on both iOS and Android, but it does have in-game purchases. As well as being one of the best games in general, it’s also one of the best mobile war games.
Among Us
This free game takes on a space theme in which players are armless astronauts of different colors. It was published in 2018 by Innersloth, an American developer. This is a multiplayer ‘whodunit’ game that was inspired by the movie The Thing and the game Mafia.
It was so successful on mobile platforms that it was later released on Windows, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. Its popularity really took off in 2020 when YouTubers and Twitch streamers started playing it. This game is one of the most popular and is said to be quite addictive.
Other Popular Games
We can’t write about the best games for 2023 without mentioning Minecraft and Roblox. It goes without saying that these two games will always be popular. However, they’re still somewhat niche and are more popular with younger gamers, which is why we’ve focused on other games in our Top 5.
Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt about it; mobile gaming is here to stay. A generation ago, we were limited to Game Boys or Snake on the very first mobile devices. Who could have imagined we’d be where we are now? Mobile gaming is a big business. Unlike console games, developers realize that people want free games (at least initially) and so ‘freemium’ or gacha games are the most popular type. Who knows where the mobile gaming world is heading next – Forbes expects it to transform esports this year. Watch this space.