As detailed in our app revenues market post, Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store both earn a majority of revenue from games, accounting for 71 percent across both platforms.
It shouldn't be a surprise then that the majority of top grossing apps are games, especially as certain apps have found ways to avoid users paying for subscriptions on the platform.
For example, Netflix and Spotify have both removed the ability to subscribe in-app on iOS and Android. We estimate that Apple and Google missed out on $1.8 billion in 2020-2021 from Netflix removing the ability to subscribe in-app.
In-app purchases are more of a difficult workaround, as users often make impulsive purchases. That means almost all games use Apple and Google's payment solutions for in-app purchases.
In terms of countries, China, Japan and the US are the three largest spenders worldwide, in that order. Japan has the highest spending per capita, while China, due to the amount of mobile users, can often elevate a game to top grossing completely on its own.
An example of this would be Honor of Kings, which has consistently held a top three position in grossing for five years. The game is only available in China, and is a semi-port of the popular PC game League of Legends.
We have collected data and statistics on the top grossing apps. Read on below to find out more.
Top Grossing Apps Key Statistics
- TikTok was the top grossing app of 2023, generating $2.7 billion revenue
- Google One was the top grossing app in the United States in 2023 with $510 million revenue
- Honor of Kings was the top grossing game of 2023, generating $1.47
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