The Most Anticipated Mobile Game Releases of 2023

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2022 saw some very notable video game releases for PC, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and mobile. God of War: Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West were expected successes while cat-centered Stray surprised the gaming community with its unique narrative and gameplay that, while not particularly challenging, was a fresh breath of air among the other releases.

While most of the attention for last year was on PC games, mobile games continued to increase their reach and are expected to take an even bigger slice of the gaming pie. According to Statista, the worldwide mobile games market is projected to grow to $172.10 billion this year. This figure is likely aided by the accessibility of mobile phones as a gaming platform compared to other gaming devices.

So, if you’ve got a phone and a stable internet connection, you can look forward to playing any of these 2023 mobile game releases that, frankly, we’re quite excited about.

1. Honkai: Star Rail

Fans of Shanghai-based game development studio miHoYo were hoping for a late 2022 release of Honkai: Star Rail but it seems like we’ll be waiting a little longer. Honkai: Star Rail was announced back in October 2021 and quickly gained popularity among fans of Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd, two of miHoYo’s best-known live service games, due to its similarities with both games.

Honkai: Star Rail announced a second closed beta sign-up back in April 2022 that invited more players onto the Astral Express and to other worlds in its path. While news continues to be released about the game’s progress, there’s still no clear confirmation about when it’s coming out.

That said, we have good reason to believe that Honkai: Star Rail is coming out this year as an ad released by Apple for their upcoming iPad model, the 2023 iPad Pro. In the ad, Apple showed a brief clip from Honkai: Star Rail, implying that their new device will be able to run the game. At the end of the ad is fine print stating “Honkai: Star Rail and Racing Master coming 2023.”

2. Reverse 1999

Reverse 1999 is another anime-style gacha role-playing game coming in hot after the heels of miHoYo’s Genshin Impact and Hotta Studio’s Tower of Fantasy. The game has a gorgeous 2D art style and turn-based gameplay that’s familiar from older gacha games. Players use cards that trigger abilities, allowing characters to take down hordes of enemies.

What stands out about the game is its voice acting. It’s not every day you see a game incorporate a mix of accents from all over the globe to better suit the nationalities and backstories of its characters. While many games do it for the odd character or two, Reverse 1999 has a diverse cast that avoids the same-face design tendencies of other games in its niche.

The exact release date for the game is yet to be announced.

3. Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade

Jujutsu Kaisen‘s popularity as both an anime and manga is now getting another boost with a new mobile game title called Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade. The game was initially expected to release last year but was moved to a Spring 2023 release to polish the game further. It’s expected to be a free-to-play game however, given the mobile game monetization model, may have in-app purchases for players to use to progress faster.

4. Wuthering Waves

Wuthering Waves is shaping up to be one of the most beautiful mobile games of 2023 that, combined with what appears to be rather smooth and fast-paced gameplay, can make it one of the most popular mobile games of 2023. However, the question is whether Wuthering Waves can release this year. The game was expected to release back in October 2022 and was confirmed for both iOS and Android.

Kuro Games, the developer of Wuthering Waves, already made a name for themselves with an earlier live service game, Punishing: Gray Raven, regardless of the game’s exact release date, fans expect the game to live up to PGR‘s reputation.

5. Zenloss Zone Zero

Zenloss Zone Zero is a free-to-play action game currently in the works by the miHoYo team. The game is set in a city called New Eridu, said to be the ‘last metropolis’, according to Zenless’ website, implying that the city exists in a post-apocalyptic world which would explain the monsters that appear in the spherical dimensions that spawn throughout the city. Known as Hollows, these areas are filled with dangers as well as resources that New Eridu extracts to keep the city running.

The game is currently in closed beta and is expected to be available on PC, Android, and iOS.

6. Archeland

Let’s turn back to the fantasy-themed games with Archeland, a turn-based role-playing game that has a similar vibe to the Fire Emblem games on the Nintendo Switch. This Korean game is currently in development by Zlongame, a mobile games company, mostly known for their turn-based gacha game, Langrisser.

Archeland has a fully 3D art style that you can already experience now if you signed up for the game’s closed beta or if you’re in South Korea. The game has already been released for South Korean players as of December 2022 so a 2023 global release isn’t out of the question.

7. Dragonspire

Draglia Lost fans are excited about the upcoming release of Dragonspire and for good reason as the game appears to have a lot of similarities with the aforementioned Cygame action RPG. The game takes players to an anime world called Asteria, a fantasy setting with monsters to fight and kingdoms to explore. The game supports co-op so you and your friends can enjoy its roguelike gameplay together. It has an elemental system similar to that of Genshin Impact, making it familiar to anyone who’s played miHoYo’s gacha role-playing game.

The game’s Steam page currently states that Dragonspire is planned for a Spring 2023 release but is also slated to be available on iOS and Android.