India Records 7.3 Bn Game Downloads In 9 Months Of 2020, Highest In The World

India has been ranked number one in global mobile game downloads in the first nine months of 2020. Indian’s installed 7.3 Bn games, nearly 17% of all worldwide downloads, app intelligence firm Sensor Tower has revealed.

In March ending quarter, Indians installed nearly 1.8 Bn games. In the subsequent quarter, installs rose 50% as the country went into a lockdown. In the September ending quarter, game downloads grew 7% to 2.9 Bn downloads as the gaming craze continued.

The US came second position in terms of installs with nearly 10% of the total downloads, followed by Brazil at 8%.

Garena Free Fire was the most downloaded game globally in the first nine months of 2020, followed by PUBG Mobile and Subway Surfers. PUBG Mobile has also become the highest-grossing game, producing more than $2 Bn in revenue during the first nine months of 2020. 

Meanwhile, PUBG Mobile, which has been banned from India, one of its largest market had announced last week that it would launch ‘PUBG Mobile India’ in the country soon to specifically cater to the needs of Indian players. However, it did not share when it planned to release the title. As part of its India push, South Korea’s Krafton, Inc, of which PUBG is a subsidiary, said it is planning to make investments worth $100 Mn in India. The company also said it would create an Indian subsidiary to enhance communications and services as it prepares for the comeback.

In October, India had the highest number of installs, representing 15% of the total downloads, followed by the US at nearly 12%, Sensor Tower said.

Google Play downloads grew more than 40% in the first nine months compared with last year, while Apple’s App Store installs rose 16% compared with last year.

Over the next few years, the pandemic is likely to result in an increase in the number of downloads through to 2024 above pre-Covid-19 forecasts. Sensor tower has earlier projected that new app installs in 2024 will reach 44.5 Bn on the App Store and 139.2 Bn on Google Play. 

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