Google Play’s top games and apps for 2021 have been revealed

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

It’s been a big year for mobile apps and games. Earlier this week, Google Play revealed its Best of 2021 list featuring all of the most popular apps and games on the platform for this year.

In addition to the best apps and games for smartphones and tablets, this year’s list also includes the best apps for Google TV and WearOS devices.

Personal growth was high on the list of importance for apps this year, with the Balance app from Elevate Labs taking this year’s trophy for Best App. Balance is your own personal meditation coach that helps build a daily meditation routine with help from a vast library of thousands of audio files.

The other two top apps to make the list include Mentor Spaces, an app for connecting “Black and Latinx early career professionals with mentors,” and Speechify, a text-to-speech screen reader.

As for Google Play games this year, Pokémon comes out on top. But it might not be the game that you’re thinking. Pokémon GO has been the king of mobile Pokémon games for a few years, but not this time around. Pokémon Unite takes the crown as this year’s Best Game on Google Play.

Other games that made the list include League of Legends: Wild Rift and Marvel Future Revolution.

Google Play’s list also includes the best Users’ Choice game and app for the year. Users chose the battle royale game Garena Free Fire MAX as their favorite game of 2021 and the Paramount Plus streaming app took home the trophy for Users’ Choice in apps.

READ MORE: Apple has revealed its best games and apps of 2021

You can check out the full list of Google Play’s best games and apps of 2021 here. Like a Hollywood awards show, the list features the top apps in categories like “Best Everyday Essentials,” and “Best for Fun,” alongside the “Best for Wear,” and “Best for Google TV.”

There are also categories for different kinds of games, like “Best Competitive,” “Best Indie,” and more.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Delete these Android apps if they are installed on your phone
• Google Messages finally shows iMessage reactions on Android devices
• Oh great, the new MacBook Pro already has a charging issue
• Spotify is removing Car View with no immediate plans for a replacement