Leading Esports Titles You Can Play on a Mobile App
Within the last decade, the gaming industry has seen spectacular growth, swelling its market worth to over $240 billion as of 2023. Two leading causes of this success are the rise of mobile gaming and esports. Yahoo estimates that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for esports over the next five years will exceed 20%. Meanwhile, Precedence Research forecasts that mobile gaming’s CAGR within the same period will surpass 15%. But what are the biggest esports titles?
As such, it makes sense that many industry insiders have taken the next logical and lucrative step to merge these two sectors. Case in point: leaks recently confirmed that a VALORANT mobile game is close to completion. After years of speculation, social media posts have hinted that an official release may be scheduled for later this year. Once launched, this app will join several of the biggest esports titles already available through mobile apps, further expanding their reach and impact. It should be noted, though, that most mobile versions are considered offshoots because they don’t offer cross-play. Nevertheless, both PC and mobile options are recognized within a title’s unique universe. Here are some examples:
League of Legends
Considered one of the biggest competitive gaming titles today, League of Legends (LoL) pulls in about 180 million active players every month, as per Priori Data. In a LoL guide, this is described as a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game set in the fictional realm of Runeterra. That is released in 2009 by industry titan Riot Games, LoL draws its inspiration from the Warcraft III map Defense of the Ancients. With the largest ones hailing from North America, Europe, South Korea, and Japan. Every year, these teams battle it out in the League of Legends World Championship, which is popular among players, fans, and even sports bettors.
In its mobile form, LoL is reimagined MOBA with new objectives, strategies, and champions. Called League of Legends: Wild Rift. This free-to-play game also offers faster matches, given that many mobile gamers only have a few minutes to spare. Since its release in 2020, LoL: Wild Rift has been celebrated as a great adaptation with a friendlier atmosphere than its PC predecessor. Even beginners can start from here. Wild RIft also receives regular updates, with the latest one including new player versus environment (PvE) setups and champions lore. LoL: Wild Rift is available on iOS and Android.
Call of Duty
One of the oldest games on this list, the Call of Duty (CoD) franchise, was first published by Activision in 2003. Over 20 years later, it remains one of the most relevant gaming titles, with more sub-series entries released as recently as 2023. While the first few games centered on World War 2, more recent iterations have covered more contemporary conflicts like the Vietnam War. Aside from these, the series has evolved to include its own fictional World War 3 storyline. Some titles have even embraced more modern competitive gaming themes, like a battle royale format and zombie objectives. As of last year, CoD has been given the Guinness World Record as the best-selling first-person shooter game in history. Apart from video games. The CoD franchise has birthed other content like action figures, a comic book miniseries, and a card game, among others. In December 2023, CoD gaming bundles even included collaborations with the new Dune film, highlighting the game’s impressive status. Its mobile format, Call of Duty: Mobile, was released as a free-to-play download in 2019. Available on iOS and Android, the game generated almost $480 million in a single year.
Esports
In terms of esports, both the PC and mobile versions of CoD have regular tournaments. While the latter has seen prize pools of over $2 million as of 2021, the former features even bigger prizes. This can reach almost $2.4 million. As an actively played title in esports championships since 2006. CoD has also established an official league of several teams from hubs like Atlanta, New York, and Florida. In January 2024, the just-concluded Stage 1 Major saw over 245,000 viewers tuning in. This marked a 100,000 increase over the previous year, which is also why sources like Bovada named CoD one of the most popular titles in esports betting.
PUBG: Battlegrounds
PUBG Studios developed and released PUBG: Battlegrounds in 2017, previously known as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Inspired directly by the hit Japanese film “Battle Royale” from 2000. The game sees players parachute onto a remote island where the objective is to be the last one standing. Furthermore, PUBG also leveraged the introduction of decreasing map sizes, the need to scavenge for weapons, and in-game currencies. Players can use these currencies to purchase customization options for their avatars, further enhancing engagement. The game has received several accolades, including several Game of the Year nominations. Since 2017, PUBG has held numerous esports competitions. What started as a charity game in celebration of hitting two million copies sold. PUBG competitions now see international teams participating. The 2023 finals in Bangkok even had a prize pool of over $2 million.
Inarguably, PUBG: Battlegrounds’ impact on the competitive mobile gaming genre has been huge. Additionally, PUBG has shown that this format boosts overall accessibility and engagement, still drawing up to 30 million global players daily. Released about a year after its original PC version, the mobile version is now celebrated as one of today’s most intense battle royales. Available on iOS and Android, PUBG: Battlegrounds has surpassed a billion downloads as of 2022.This makes it the second-most-played mobile game in history. Its successful run has spawned other titles, including an Indian version called “Battlegrounds Mobile India.”
Through mobile gaming showing no signs of slowing down and esports continuing to grow in reach. This can aspire gamers and developers would do well to familiarize themselves with these leading titles. For more on apps and gaming, check the rest of our tech blog at Nandbox.
