2020 has been an extremely interesting year in the mobile space. Not only did we see the addition of widely popular games ushering in a new generation of players to gaming, but we also saw legal proceedings unfold that looked to dictate the future for mobile titles.
The resurgence of older games, updates to popular titles, and completely original ideas for gamers to explore made 2020 fun on mobile. Whether it was casual games, competitive play, or fully developed RPG experiences, 2020 had something for all mobile gamers to enjoy.
Here are our picks for the best mobile games in 2020.
Genshin Impact
Seemingly arriving out of nowhere at the end of September, Genshin Impact swept the gaming space over a variety of platforms due to its release on PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. The game offered a full-length MMORPG adventure accessible right from your mobile device with stunning visuals, and flawless gameplay even on a touch screen display. Additionally, its free price tag encouraged gamers to play.
Outside of microtransactions, there is no financial barrier to play the game and the entire campaign can be completed with no need to purchase anything. With the team working to create new content for the game, this open world action-adventure will likely remain one of the best mobile titles on the market for a long while.
Legends of Runeterra
2020 was a massive year for Riot Games with the addition of multiple mobile titles to its roster. The first of these was the card game Legends of Runeterra.
Taking its lore from the widely popular MOBA League of Legends, Runeterra set out to utilize these characters in a strategic card game. While at first, it may seem easy to draw comparisons to Hearthstone once you have tried out the game, the experience is vastly different. Over the year since its release, Legends of Runeterra has seen multiple updates, adding countless new cards as well as a thriving ranked play mode. For fans of strategy card games, Legends of Runeterra is an exceptional choice and definitely worth trying out given it is a free download.
Among Us
It’s no surprise Among Us be on our list of top mobile games of 2020. The title that was initially released in 2018 saw a massive rise in popularity due to streamers embracing the game as a fun party game to play with other streamers.
While it may cost a few dollars on PC, the mobile version is completely free and still offers all the features of the PC title. Better yet, players on mobile are able to connect and play with their friends on PC as the game is cross-platform. As far as multiplayer games go, Among Us must be the breakout title of 2020 and easily one of the best mobile titles of the year.
PUBG Mobile
With Fortnite being pulled from the App Store earlier in the year, PUBG Mobile has quickly become many gamers go-to mobile battle royale experience, and for good reason. PUBG Mobile has a range of new cosmetic items, modes, maps, and weapons that make for a good change of pace. PUBG has also built a thriving competitive scene around the mobile title that keeps players striving to be the best they can.
Similarly to many games on this list, the game itself is free for all players with the only cost coming for cosmetic items purchasable in-game.
League of Legends: Wild Rift
Since the release of League of Legends, players have been attempting different ways to play the game on the go. Many of these saw buggy ports of the game or the use of underpowered tablets to run the PC title. In 2020, however, Riot Games have begun rolling out a completely native mobile experience.
Wild Rift is not just a port of League of Legends—the game has been completely developed and optimized to suit the hardware and control of mobile devices. Riot has produced an exceptional product, featuring a smaller map to reduce game time and champions altered to suit. Wild Rift is the quick, simple MOBA experience fans have been waiting for.
While the United States and some other areas of the globe will not be getting their taste of the game in 2020, many other regions have had access for a short while now and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. When Wild Rift finally gets its global release in 2021, you can expect the title to blow up and potentially inspire an esports scene of its own.
Pokémon Go
Even years after its release Pokémon Go continues to thrive as one of the most popular mobile titles in 2020.
With numerous community days and events, the game has kept its consistent playerbase happy while encouraging former players to return during these events.
With countless Pokemon in the game and more to be added, there is no stopping Pokémon Go and it will likely continue to be one of the most popular mobile games for years to come.
Call of Duty: Mobile
Much like PUBG, Call of Duty has consistently grown since its initial mobile release. CoD: Mobile offers the full Call of Duty experience on a mobile device but one of the keys to the game’s success has been the consistently new content. Whether it be remakes of old maps from the series, new cosmetic items, or new game modes, players continue to come back to the mobile title for both casual and competitive play.
For many players, Call of Duty: Mobile is their first CoD experience and the game is perfectly capable of bringing them up to speed. On the other hand, players who have owned many of the previous games in the franchise will be pleasantly surprised that many of their favorite maps are available in the game. The game is the best FPS experience you can possibly have on a mobile device and it is available for free.
