Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang brought the MOBA genre, previously tied mainly to mouse and keyboard, to the touchscreen, and did it in a way that worked especially well in Southeast Asia, where the game became one of the region's most-watched esports titles, with its own annual M Series world championship. Studio Moonton built matches on a shorter map than its PC forerunners, cut them down to fifteen to twenty minutes, and reduced the number of on-screen buttons to the bare minimum – a virtual joystick for movement, buttons for abilities, and automatic attacks on the nearest enemy.

The hero roster, which over the years has grown to more than a hundred, works on a free-to-play basis with permanent unlocks via in-game currency or direct purchase, alongside cosmetic skins sold through a gacha with a random outcome, and a ranked seasonal ladder that motivates long-term play. Mobile Legends faced comparisons to League of Legends from the start because of very similar heroes and mechanics, which also led to legal disputes between the publishers, but that didn't stop the game from becoming one of the most profitable mobile games in the world. In the West it remains a rather niche affair, while in the Philippines, Indonesia, or Malaysia it's among the most-played titles of all, with a professional scene comparable in viewership to the major PC esports.

Why play: For players outside Europe and America who want fast MOBA matches tailored to the phone, keeping in mind that progressing in the game without paying takes considerably longer than in similar titles.