Mobile gaming in 2025 is not just blasting — it is blowing up. In fact, it is more than a drift now, and it involves everything from how people connect to how they compete, down to how they even earn. With smartphones and skill-based games, mobile apps are leading the entertainment space, most especially in sports and esports.
In this article, Kate Richardson, a mobile gaming expert, explores all the best games we’ve seen since 2024, including top titles like Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Among Us. Many of these titles are available on the Google Play Store and the iOS app store. Ready? Let’s count down to the release of the year together.
Best Mobile Games on iOS
Every new iPhone release pushes the limits of mobile phone performance, and mobile players are always among the first to enjoy these features. The App Store is packed with a wide variety of options to appeal to every possible user. This is our selection of the best games based on our professional assessment and users’ reviews.
Zenless Zone Zero
Top on the list of iOS games of 2024 is Zenless Zone Zero. One of the best indie games of the last decade, this title is published by MiHoYo as a free-to-play action role-playing game. With an iPhone, Android, PC, or PlayStation 5 console, users can join the fun in this post-apocalyptic action release. You’re in the last surviving civilization, and you have to guide others through the Hollows and fight your enemies.
Genshin Impact
This Cognosphere title has some of the best visuals and combat mechanics you can find on a mobile role-playing game. The release has racked up 2.3 million daily players, making the multiplayer experience engaging and authentic for users. With all the new events and regions constantly being added, the fun never stops.
Call of Duty: Mobile
Call of Duty has always been in the league of the most popular combat games online, and the mobile version keeps up to the standard. CODM has over 12 million monthly users and delivers an exciting FPS experience for mobile gamers.
The release also has one of the best monetization structures, especially since the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023. It has frequently overtaken Candy Crush Saga, which is undoubtedly one of the best games ever, as a testament to CODM’s acceptance among mobile gamers.
Best Android Games on Mobile Devices
Android devices are the most commonly used handheld devices in the world, so games on Google Play Store are accessible to most of the market share worldwide. We’ve selected the very best mobile games available for Android users here.
Pokemon Go
“I wanna make friends with all the Pokemon in the world. That’s gotta be what it means to be a Pokemon Master,” Ash Ketchum, the popular Pokemon anime character once said.
And understandably so. Pokemon has become a universal franchise that it is sometimes difficult to catch up with the new series and innovations.
At some point, Pokémon GO had to be the most played augmented reality game worldwide. Till today, it has up to 6.1 million active users and still gets people outside and participating because of its community, game mechanics, and engaging seasonal content.
Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor is a mobile multiplayer online battle arena game where players control heroes and defeat enemies to gain XP, earn gold, and level up their characters. As a multiplayer release, it can get engaging, keeping players hooked and always coming back.
Wuthering Waves
This Kuro Games special was launched in 2022 and has already become a gamer’s favorite because of its captivating stories and gameplay. The setting is a post-apocalyptic world, and players have to complete some combat challenges to level up.
Best Card Games on iOS and Android
Card games have always had a special attraction to gamers, from in-person table games with family to online versions available for mobile devices, PC and console. Interestingly, card games are one of the few gaming types that allow for both regular, casual play and adaptation to casino gambling.
For instance, in a country like Qatar where card games are popular, local games like Baloot can be played physically, online as a downloadable app or at casinos. Many top Qatari online casinos also include popular titles like blackjack and video poker to spice up the card gaming action.
In addition to the top drawer of quality titles these casino sites possess, MightyTips, an internationally reputed tipster platform, ranks them highly for bonuses, customer support and swift payments.
That said, below are some co-op card games that are among the best in the world right now.
Card Thief
This title uses a 3×3 grid of cards from a 45-card deck, and the player tries to get as much gold from each card, steal a treasure chest, and escape through the last card in the deck. Card Thief brings thrill into what would otherwise have been a basic card release.
Pokémon TCG Pocket
The Pokémon Trading Card Pocket is a simple 20-card deck game, but it is designed with daily booster packs, well-designed cards, a community, and casual and ranked battles to step up the gameplay for users. This collectible card game was released in 2024.
Sage Solitaire
This release is just like the classic Solitaire, but with more features and tricks. There are nine stacks of cards here for your regular game, but it comes in multiple modes to keep things interesting, along with different bonuses and additional features.
Best Games of All Time by Downloads and Revenue
No review can beat real-time data from the app stores that handle payments and downloads for the mobile games. These are the mobile apps for gaming that rank the highest based on user downloads and overall revenue.
Honor of Kings
Honor of Kings by TiMi Studios is a very popular title in the Chinese market and racks up to 15.2 million active users. The gameplay here is designed to keep users engaged and as competitive as possible while playing.
Clash of Clans
A lot of mobile gamers were introduced to strategy games through Supercell’s Clash of Clans. The game has up to 12.3 million active users and boosts the community through its clan structure, wars, and seasonal events to keep users engaged. Alongside Brawl Stars, the release generated over a billion dollars for Supercell and holds multiple records for top downloads.
Among Us
Among Us peaked during the 2020 lockdowns and has remained a big deal for a lot of players ever since. The game is based on social deception, where players have to identify the impostor before time runs out or lose.
Arguably one of the best roguelike games to be ever made, the release was a resounding success and inspired its creators to launch a fund for indie developers. The fund, Outersloth was announced via a reveal video that went viral on social media.
“We made Among Us,” the reveal video read. “You made our indie game successful. We want to use that success to fund other indies!”
Honourable Mention: Best Free RPG Download Games
You don’t have to spend loads of money online before you get to experience the thrill of mobile RPG gaming. These are some top mobile titles that are actually free to play.
- PUBG Mobile
- Battle Royale
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Another Eden
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross
- RAID: Shadow Legends
- AFK Arena
- Epic Seven
- Summoners War: Sky Arena
- Fire Emblem Heroes
- Evertale
Concluding Remarks: Why the Top Games of 2024 and 2025 Have Had So Much Impact
Mobile gaming has become more popular than ever before, and between last year and this year, publishers have redefined what is possible on smartphones. The graphics, the stories, and gameplay mechanics have all been improved, and more users are joining the mobile trend through casual games and more competitive, technical titles.
Additionally, these releases have a wide accessibility. Not only are many of them entirely free and available on both Android and iOS devices, they are also playable on console and PC. With the world of mobile gaming switching to VR/AR, it won’t be long before we seen new games dominate the App Store and Google Play for your phone or tablet while also delivering a sensational experience to your headsets.
The article was provided by Kate Richardson