Among Us reaches 100M downloads in COVID-stricken Q3 2020
As there are always two sides of the same coin, COVID-19 is not without its flip side. Despite the shattering global economies, the global app economy has reared its head within the crumbling clutter in the face of the Corona pandemic. The recent data analytics, Store Intelligence Data Digest Q3 2020, published by Sensor Tower is an important document to understand the world’s most important market. Among other things, the success of Among Us is an indicator of how mobile gaming is becoming a great influencer in driving market intelligence.
According to the Sensor Tower report, the overall spending on mobile gaming in the US was $6 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2020 and gained another $5.8 billion in the third quarter. While Among Us clings to the top of the charts, other game genres also enjoyed similar growth. This growth can be attributed to the changing user behavior and psychology resulting from Lockdowns, and Stay at Homes. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Work from Home has become a new normal. With no definitive end in sight, the graph of app downloads is expected to go even higher.
The data generated by Sensor Tower clearly shows the overall growth of app downloads worldwide. The third quarter has witnessed the rise of app downloads to 36.4 billion globally which is a 22.8 percent year-over-year increase. Both App Store and Google Play installations grew 2.5 percent and 30.3 percent respectively with 8.2 billion and 28.2 billion downloads.
In overall app downloads worldwide, TikTok remained at the top followed by Zoom, YouTube, and Instagram. Released in 2018, Among Us led the gaming category worldwide with My Talking Tom Friends, Scribble Ridder, and Subway Surfers to follow. Among Us beats every game in downloads on both App Store and Google Play. The game is also number one in the US as far as downloads are concerned.
For digital marketers, app developers, and industry experts, there are key insights to take away from the Sensor Tower report. The statistics of Among Us alone are an eye-opener for digital strategists. As I said earlier the flip side of Coronavirus is an opportunity for the sinking economies to catch at the straw of mobile marketing. Apart from gaming, and overall app downloads analysis, the report covers sports category apps trends, and also highlights the importance of remote learning apps during the pandemic. What we have witnessed so far is just the tip of the iceberg, the rest of it lies dormant waiting to be explored and exploited.
