Mobile Gaming SDKs, like Unity3D and FMOD, have been struggling in recent months, with installs down across the board. We look at the top five iOS, Android, and cross-platform mobile Gaming and Game Engine SDKs.

Welcome to our roundup of the top SDKs for mobile games! Each month, we discuss trends among the top Gaming SDKs and Game Engine SDKs, including solutions like Unity3D, FMOD, Game Analytics, and more. Come here for monthly updates on the top performing SDKs, leading SDK developers, installation trends, and more!

Here’s where things stand this month (click the links to jump to the corresponding section):

• Cross-Platform Gaming and Game Engine SDKs: Unity3D Leads by Nearly 400,000 Installs
• Android-Only Gaming and Game Engine SDKs: FMOD Tops Two Google SDKs
• iOS-Only Gaming and Game Engine SDKs: Apple Retains the Top Two Spots

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Cross-Platform Gaming and Game Engine SDKs: Unity3D Leads by Nearly 400,000 Installs

First, let’s check in on the top cross-platform gaming SDKs. These are solutions that can be installed on both iOS and Android apps.

Currently, the top cross-platform SDK that falls into the “Gaming and Game Engine” category is Unity3D, which is installed on 455,106 iOS and Android apps. While this makes it far and away the most popular cross-platform offering for mobile game developers, the number of apps using Unity3D has declined significantly since August, when it was installed on 505,249 apps. This turns out to be a common trend.

Check it out, here’s how the full list looks:

• Unity3D: 455,106 installs (down from 505,249 in August)
• GameAnalytics: 61,404 installs (down from 66,770 in August)
• Cocos2D-X: 49,636 installs (down from 53,435 in August)
• Solar2D Corona Labs: 7,368 installs (down from 7,541 in August)
• Prime31: 4,909 installs (down from 5,673 in August)

Android-Only Gaming and Game Engine SDKs: FMOD Tops Two Google SDKs

Now, let’s turn our focus to the top Android-only Gaming and Game Engine SDKs. Here, Google makes two appearances in the top five; however, FMOD is the overall leader with 303,956 installs (down from 357,027 in August).

Here’s the complete list:

• FMOD: 303,956 installs (down from 357,027 in August)
• Google Play Game Services: 136,174 installs (down from 153,108 in August)
• Google Play Games plugin for Unity: 26,527 installs (down from 33,894 in August)
• LibGDX: 10,070 installs (down from 10,290 in August)
• AndEngine: 1,442 installs (down from 1,820 in August)

iOS-Only Gaming and Game Engine SDKs: Apple Retains the Top Two Spots

Finally, let’s turn to the top iOS-only gaming SDKs! Unsurprisingly, Apple SDKs are very successful here. While Apple GameKit takes the overall crown with 74,277 total iOS installations, Apple SpriteKit comes in second.

Once again, installs were largely down from August. However, Apple SpriteKit actually improved on its August number! Indeed, while it was installed on 21,602 apps in August, it’s currently installed on 21,862. Check it out…

Here’s the full list:

• Apple GameKit: 74,277 installs (down from 74,685 in August)
• Apple SpriteKit: 21,862 installs (up from 21,602 in August)
• Ejecta: 4,979 installs (down from 5,062 in August)
• GameCenterManager: 947 installs (down from 959 in August)
• Chipmunk2d: 563 installs (down from 593 in August)

Final Thoughts

Of the 15 SDKs we looked at in this report, just Apple SpriteKit grew its installed base, going from 21,602 installs in August to 21,862 in November. The rest struggled to lesser or greater degrees—Unity3D and FMOD were both removed from upwards of 50,000 apps, Google Play Game Services was removed from approximately 17,000 apps, GameAnalytics was removed from 5,000, etc. Indeed, it’s been a rough few months for the mobile gaming SDK market.

In any event, we’ll be keeping an eye on changes in this space in the months to come. So, be sure to look for future iterations of our Gaming and Game Engine SDK roundup!