The Most Popular iPhone Games to Play Proper Now (July 2023)

When you’ve got the most recent and finest iPhone, then meaning you’ll be able to play nearly any cell sport with ease—because of the smartphone’s sheer energy and buttery smoothness. In truth, even when your iPhone is a number of years outdated, you’ll nonetheless get an important expertise gaming on the go.

And whereas there are hundreds of thousands of them on the Apple App Store and Apple Arcade, there’s a really helpful checklist of the most well-liked cell video games—divided by the most well-liked free video games and paid video games obtainable for the iPhone in July 2023 (most of those titles can be found as iPad video games as nicely).

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From easy match-three video games to highly effective MMORPGs, we rounded up the highest 10 from the high free and high paid video games (20 video games in complete) that will help you navigate the App Store simply. There are a variety of winners, under:

TL;DR – These are the Most Popular Apple iPhone video games

Free iPhone Games

Paid iPhone Games

Most Popular Free Games

1. Monopoly Go!

Everyone’s favourite board sport Monopoly is out there to play on the Apple iPhone with Monopoly Go!. It options the identical gameplay as the unique, however quicker, wilder, and extra ruthless. Play together with your family and friends from all over the world, whereas the thing of the sport is to purchase property, construct homes and resorts, acquire Monopoly Money, bankrupt everybody, and destroy their properties.

2. Pokemon Sleep

A sleep tracker blended with Pokemon Go? Sign us up. By setting Pokemon Sleep up earlier than you go to mattress, and letting it monitor your sleep, you’ll herald Pokemon in a single day with related sleeping patterns to yours. And within the morning, you’ll be able to add these Pokemon to the Sleep Style Dex. Snorlax is your foremost companion within the app as nicely, which makes it even higher.

3. Royal Match

Royal Match is a match-three puzzle sport the place you assist King Robert restore his kingdom again to glory. The extra you match, the extra ranges you full, and the extra you restore the dominion. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to unlock bonus ranges and rooms to gather cash to remain alive.

4. Happy Hospital: ASMR Doctor

Happy Hospital: ASMR Doctor has you working in and/or managing a hospital. In it, you’ll be able to play as a health care provider, nurse, and even tackle the position of a hospital administrator if you wish to construct, preserve, and handle your personal hospital.

5. Roblox

Immerse your self in a completely digital expertise in Roblox, a cross platform sport that’s obtainable on Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and Xbox. The app is part-gaming and part-social media the place you’ll be able to play video games, create your personal sport, or simply chat with buddies from all all over the world with hundreds of experiences—consider it as Club Penguin, however for Gen Z.

6. Subway Surfers

Set in Windy Chicago, Subway Surfer is an infinite working sport the place you play as Jake, a graffiti artist, as he runs by means of subways and practice yards to flee the inspector and his canine. You should dodge shifting subways, poles, tunnel partitions, boundaries, and extra to achieve objects and power-ups to extend your pace and improve your particular talents.

7. Fishdom

In Fishdom, you’ll be able to construct and embellish your personal aquarium, work together together with your fish inside it and deal with them, and even play quite a lot of minigames. According to the sport’s App Store description web page, there are “a whole lot of difficult and enjoyable match-3 ranges,” to maintain you busy.

8. Call of Duty: Mobile

A couple of years in the past, Activision created a cell model of their hit online game known as Call of Duty: Mobile. This is the fourth season of the first-person shooter with varied multiplayer modes, together with Team Deathmatch, Domination, Battle Royale, and extra. This is a cross-platform sport for iOS and Android gadgets.

9. Wordscapes

Puzzle video games are all the time nice to have in your cellphone, and word-based puzzle video games are even higher. In Wordscapes, you might want to join letters from the middle circle to seek out as many hidden phrases as you’ll be able to to fill out the crossword puzzle above it.

10. Among Us

Who’s the Imposter? In this cell model of Among Us, you’ll be able to crew up with some crewmates to trace down who the killer is amongst you! You can play on-line with as much as 15 folks as you journey into house. It even helps cross-play, so you’ll be able to play with buddies on PC and console, too.

Most Popular Paid iPhone Games

1. Minecraft ($7)

Minecraft is likely one of the hottest video games on the planet and it’s obtainable to play on Apple iPhone for simply $7. It’s a sandbox sport the place gamers are free to create and discover the world to climb mountains, unearth caves, and mine valuable ore to construct houses, weapons, villages, and extra.

You may also see our information to play Minecraft without cost.

2. Heads Up! ($2)

It’s the sport “Who Am I?,” however for the digital age. Created by Ellen DeGeneres, Head Up! is charades with a twist. You place your iPhone (display out) in your brow, then a reputation or title seems on the show, your folks or household must act out the clues, after which you must guess the identify of the character, film title, animal, superhero, and extra inside 60 seconds. You may even play through Apple Facetime or Zoom. Not unhealthy for simply $2.

3. Monopoly – Classic Board Game ($5)

Now play Monopoly together with your Apple cell machine. This is the basic model of the board sport with new graphics and enjoyable animations in a completely immersive cell expertise. Roll the cube and journey across the board to purchase up properties, construct homes and resorts, acquire Monopoly Money, and bankrupt family and friends.

You may even play as basic sport items, together with the scottie, cat, T-Rex, rubber duck, and others. And since that is the paid model at solely $5, it’s ad-free with no interruptions or distracting pop-ups.

4. Geometry Dash ($2)

Geometry Dash is a rhythm-based platformer the place gamers management shapes to leap from point-A to point-B with distinctive soundtracks for every degree. The sport even encompasses a degree editor the place you’ll be able to create and share your personal ranges. The app is simply $2 and doesn’t embody any in-app purchases, so unlocking new icons and characters is totally based mostly in your expertise all through the sport.

5. Bloons TD 6 ($7)

At $7, Bloons TD 6 is a top-down tower protection the place gamers create defenses made up of hero monkeys, constructions, towers, bridges, and traps to cease “Bloons,” balloon-like objects, from exiting every map. Players acquire cash to improve their defenses.

6. Plague Inc. ($1)

Why reside by means of a pandemic in actuality when you’ll be able to play with one in your iPhone? At $1, Plague Inc. is a method sport the place you should finish humanity with a lethal pathogen throughout a worldwide plague. However, the folks all over the world are extra adaptive than you suppose, so you must create and evolve increasingly more lethal viruses to wipe away the entire folks on Earth.

7. Papa’s Freezeria To Go! ($1)

Make the last word ice cream sundae with Papa’s Freezeria To Go!. At simply $1, play as a employee at a beachfront ice cream store, as increasingly more clients are available for a candy deal with through the hectic and sizzling summer season season. Take ice cream orders and construct and serve treats, whilst you earn factors and ideas for upgrades across the store.

8. Five Nights at Freddy’s ($3)

With the brand new movie from Blumhouse releasing this October, there is not any higher time than now to play Five Nights at Freddy’s. For simply $3, you may step into the sneakers of a safety guard working the evening shift at a spot known as Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. However, the animatronics right here have been getting as much as hassle at evening, so you may must hold a detailed eye on them by means of the displays in your workplace… and attempt to survive 5 nights. See our information to the FNAF video games so as to see the complete collection.

9. Stardew Valley ($5)

Stardew Valley units your character up in Pelican Town, which is positioned in Stardew Valley, the place you inherit a small home and plot of land out of your grandfather. From there, you might want to clear the land and construct up your personal farm, with loads of livestock and crops. It presents over 50+ hours of gameplay, too, so it’s going to hold you busy.

10. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ($7)

For $7, you’ll be able to play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in your iOS machine. This model presents remastered graphics “together with lighting enhancements, an enriched colour palette and improved character fashions,” in response to its App Store description web page, twin analog stick controls, and extra. Explore the open world of San Andreas and its three main cities — Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas — as you unfold the primary character, CJ’s, story. See our information to the GTA video games so as to see the complete collection.

How to Choose Which iPhone Games to Play

There are hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of apps and video games on the Apple App Store, so it is perhaps intimidating to start out with only one to play. While the most well-liked sport lists—both free or paid—are a superb place to start out, there are another components it’s best to take into account earlier than you faucet obtain. Here’s what to search for in Apple iPhone video games.

First of all, if in case you have a really outdated iPhone, it’s best to verify if it’s suitable with the cell sport. Most video games require your iPhone to run, at the least, iOS 8 or larger—which is suitable with the Apple iPhone 4S or larger. This iPhone mannequin was launched in October 2011, so any iPhone launch beforehand is not going to be suitable with these video games.

You also needs to pay attention to how a lot house you’ve got in your iPhone. The file measurement for cell video games can go from a number of hundred megabytes all the best way as much as about 20GB, so in case you don’t have sufficient house in your smartphone, then it gained’t be capable to obtain fully in your {hardware}. If that’s the case, it’s best to take into account deleting a number of apps to liberate some house, get a brand new iPhone with a bigger storage capability, or take into consideration downloading a brand new sport altogether.

Then, it’s best to take into account the value. While there are a variety of free video games obtainable, free doesn’t essentially imply fully free. Lots of these free video games provide in-app purchases for upgrades. For instance, within the sport Royal Match, you’ve got a restricted variety of lives to play, when you lose a life, you must wait half-hour to regain it. However, in case you pay, you’ll be able to unlock the app to get extra lives.

Unfortunately, the identical factor will be mentioned for a paid sport too. Just as a result of you must pay for an app at first, it doesn’t imply there aren’t extra in-app purchases obtainable. But, if a cell sport is on the dear facet, then it’s possible that the unlocked model will obtain to your iPhone.

Additionally, you may as well get a subscription to Apple Arcade for $5/mo. to unlock the entire iOS video games obtainable with no in-app purchases to play on iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and Apple TV. If you’re an avid cell gamer, then that is the best way to go.

The remaining factor it’s best to look out for in an Apple iPhone sport is that if it seems enjoyable to play. If a sport seems like a variety of enjoyable or a problem, then faucet obtain and immerse your self in a complete new universe and expertise.

Upcoming iPhone Games

Wondering what new iPhone video games are coming down the pipeline? Take a have a look at our information to the entire greatest upcoming iPhone video games to see what’s coming in 2023 and past.

Rudie Obias is a contributing freelance Tech author and editor for IGN with a speciality in all issues Apple merchandise.