Garena Free Fire was most downloaded mobile game of 2021, PUBG Mobile third

Free Fire has enjoyed much success since its release. Aside from winning various awards, it also has good download numbers and does well financially.

According to a new report by popular data analyst site Sensor Tower, Garena's popular battle royale offering was the most downloaded mobile game of 2021, with nearly 250 million downloads. The title was the only one to surpass 200 million installs last year, with 247 million installs on the Google Play and Apple App stores.

The enhanced version of the game, Free Fire Max, released in late September 2021, alone saw 50 million installs.

Free Fire crosses 800 million downloads in the last three years

The famous esports title also became the only mobile game to cross the 800 million installs mark over the last three years (2019-2021).

Garena Free Fire crossed 247 million downloads in 2021 (Image via Sensor Tower)

With 278 million downloads in 2019, it was the second-most installed title after PUBG Mobile, while in 2020, it was behind Among Us with the same number of downloads.

There was a decrease in downloads in 2021, but it may be because the world is opening up, and people do not spend that much time at home as they did in 2020.

Spending in different markets for shooter games (Image via Sensor Tower)

PUBG Mobile impresses despite hurdles

PUBG Mobile by Tencent was the most downloaded mobile game in 2019, with 286 million downloads. However, it saw a sharp decline in 2021, to 182 million installs.

This decline was since the game got banned in one of its biggest markets, India, in mid-2020. Still, the game has done well and accumulated around 709 million in three years.

In the same period, the endless runner game Subway Surfer, by Sybo Games, has seen 675 million installs.