These are the most popular and profitable apps in the Google Play Store for all times

Ever since the Play Store's inception, its total number of downloads and revenue have been growing exponentially, as you can see from the charts. Which is the most downloaded title for all times, though? Why, Facebook if it comes to apps, and Subway Surfers if it comes to games. When we look at profits, though, the tables are turned - the highest grossing revenue in the Android world comes from the hugely popular in Asia LINE messenger and its adjacent games. Puzzle & Dragons, on the other hand, is the most profitable Android game for all times, according to the App Annie analytics.

If you wonder why you haven't heard about these two titles at all, you shouldn't. As you can see, 6/10 of the most profitable apps, and 4/10 of the most profitable games are with a Japanese origin, made predominantly for local use, which comes to show how important the Asian market is for the Play Store's revenue numbers. Given that just 0.15% of mobile gamers contribute to half of all monthly in-app purchases that are the bread-and-butter of the widespread freemium monetization model, Android developers should be following the twists and turns of the Japanese and South Korean users' tastes with bated breath at least as closely as they are following the US or German markets.