[Infographic] Mobile Games App Icon Trends

Marie-Laure Cruytby 
CPO at AppTweak

3 min read

Out of curiosity, we had a look at the icons of the Top 50 games on the Google Play Store and 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.

Don’t forget to check out our color palette analysis of app icons on the App Store!

Game: Arcade

Android

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Arcade Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Arcade Category

Main Figures Geometrical forms
Main Colors Bright primary colors
Text None
Style Cartoon

Game: Board

Android

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Board Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Board Category

Main Figures 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

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Card Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Card Category

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

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Casino Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Casino Category

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

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Music Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Music Category

Main Figures High presence of piano tile
Main Colors Purple (or shades of pink and blue)
Text Low presence
Style Galaxy

Game: Racing

Android

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Racing Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Racing Category

Main Figures Cars, cars & cars!
Main Colors Majority red cars
Text Low presence
Style Realistic vs. Cartoon

Game: Role Playing

Android

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Role Playing Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Role Playing Category

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

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Sports Category iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Sports Category

Main Figures Balls in movement
Main Colors Ligh green and blue
Text Low presence
Style Cartoon vs. Realistic

Game: Strategy

Android

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Strategy Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Strategy Category

Main Figures Close up on angry warrior faces
Main Colors Dark colors
Text Low presence
Style Fantasy

Game: Word

Android

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US Play Store Game - Word Category

iOS

App icons of Top 50 mobile games in the US App Store Game - Word Category

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 analysis, 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.

Discover our top recommendations to optimize your game product page on the App Store and on Google Play

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Marie-Laure Cruyt
by , CPO at AppTweak
Marie-Laure is CPO at AppTweak, she has always worked in digital companies with a product focused around an app or a SaaS. She’s a real (dark only) chocolate lover.