Out of curiosity, we had a look at the icons of the Top 50 games on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store to see if we could identify major trends among each game category. Here’s a summary of our analysis for the top 10 gaming categories with the most pronounced trends.
If you have a mobile game, or if you are about to launch one, make sure to closely analyze other games’ icons in the same category. The game icon can highly influence your conversion rate, so you want to make sure it is fully optimized. A popular game icon is probably the result of numerous iterations and tests; therefore, there are definitely some good practices to learn from.
Dices and Dominoes on Android, mixed on iOS (higher presence of puzzles and word games)
Main Colors
Black and White (especially on Android)
Text
The name of the game is often highlighted
Style
Retro
Game: Card
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Only cards on Android. A mix of cards and slots on iOS
Main Colors
Dominance of green on Android. Half green (card games) and half purple (slots games) on iOS
Text
The Ace symbol is very present
Style
Classic Solitaire
Game: Casino
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Figures are overrun by text
Main Colors
Purple and gold
Text
Nearly all icons have huge shiny text
Style
Bling Bling
Game: Music
Android
iOS
Main Figures
High presence of piano tile
Main Colors
Purple (or shades of pink and blue)
Text
Low presence
Style
Galaxy
Game: Racing
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Cars, cars & cars!
Main Colors
Majority red cars
Text
Low presence
Style
Realistic vs. Cartoon
Game: Role Playing
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Characters and people
Main Colors
Two main genres: either light pink or obscure colors
Text
Low presence
Style
Manga vs. Heroic Fantasy
Game: Sports
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Balls in movement
Main Colors
Ligh green and blue
Text
Low presence
Style
Cartoon vs. Realistic
Game: Strategy
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Close up on angry warrior faces
Main Colors
Dark colors
Text
Low presence
Style
Fantasy
Game: Word
Android
iOS
Main Figures
Words and letters
Main Colors
Diverse
Text
The word "WORD" is everywhere (!)
Style
Scrabble
Fine-Tuning Your Game’s App Store Profile
As a result of this anaylsis, we found that trends were more pronounced on Google Play than on the App Store. This is mainly due to the fact that, on Google Play, games can only choose one category to list in. On the other hand, games on the App Store can be listed in several categories at once. Nevertheless, several trends in each category emerge, whether in the icon or the keywords used in the games’ metadata. Make sure you take this into account when working on optimizing your mobile game.
If you’re ready to bring your game’s optimization to the next level, sign up to AppTweak to access all our amazing ASO features.