honors the top-notch apps and gaming possessions of the year 2022 in the App Store
The App Store and Apple Arcade have announced their winners for the year 2021, honouring a diverse range of games and applications that have captivated users worldwide.
In the world of gaming, Moncage took home the title of iPad Game of the Year, while Wylde Flowers was crowned the Apple Arcade Game of the Year. On the Mac platform, Inscryption earned the Mac Game of the Year award, with a double honour as it was also recognised as a Cultural Impact Winner.
The Cultural Impact category, introduced to recognise games that have a profound impact on society, saw several notable winners. Waterllama, developed by Vitalii Mogylevets, was one such winner, helping users meet their hydration goals in a fun and engaging way. Inua - A Story in Ice and Time, an engaging, mystical adventure that weaves in elements of Inuit traditions and folklore, also received the Cultural Impact Winner accolade for the Mac Game of the Year. El Hijo, an engaging narrative about a young boy and his journey, was named the Apple TV Game of the Year and also earned a Cultural Impact Winner title.
Other Cultural Impact Winners included Dot's Home, which spotlights systemic housing injustices and their impact on communities of colour, and Locket Widget, which drives intimate connection between loved ones. How We Feel, developed by Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, together with Pinterest cofounder Ben Silbermann, was another Cultural Impact Winner, helping users manage their emotional well-being.
Outside of gaming, GoodNotes 5 was named the iPad App of the Year, while MacFamilyTree 10 took the Mac App of the Year title. BeReal was awarded the iPhone App of the Year, and Gentler Streak was crowned the Apple Watch App of the Year. The Apple TV App of the Year went to ViX.
In 2020 alone, the App Store facilitated $643 billion in billings and sales, and the platform continues to grow, now home to 1.8 million apps and visited by more than half a billion people each week across 175 regions. League of Legends Esports Manager was named the China Game of the Year, further demonstrating the global reach of the App Store.
These awards celebrate the innovative and impactful apps and games that have made a difference in people's lives in 2021. From helping users stay hydrated to connecting loved ones across distances, these winners truly embody the spirit of innovation and creativity that the App Store and Apple Arcade stand for.
