5 iconic games that should become mobile esports in 2026

Mobile esports is a fast-growing industry. With popular esports games like VALORANT and Destiny making the move to mobile devices, it’s broadening the player pool and welcoming gamers who don’t have a powerful gaming PC or a console.

Indeed, Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Android devices allow users to buy and download games as they wish, but in the past, it’s been rare that you’ll see a mobile game take prominence at esports events like EVO or the Esports World Cup (EWC). That looks to be changing with VALORANT Mobile and Destiny: Rising in open beta testing on iPhone and Android handsets in China.

These are great examples of the same console experience being optimised for these smaller devices. However, we’re going to suggest five more games that should make the move from console and PC to the mobile space.

When looking at the candidates for games that could move over to mobile devices, it’s not as simple as looking at the games that are dominating at esports events worldwide. Instead, we’ve listed the five games below that have broad appeal to a wide age range, could draw in viewers with their gameplay and content, and the potential drama that could happen.

We’ve looked at how certain games in some genres could work on mobile devices, and judged the five below that have a greater chance than most of making the move.

Tekken 8 is one of the more obvious choices to appear on mobile devices, but perhaps as a way of redemption. Developer Bandai Namco made a mess of the game’s Season 2 pass with balancing issues and strange story choices, but the gameplay itself is still fantastic. Plenty of fighting games have appeared on handsets in the past, such as Super Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Soul Calibur, and more. Bringing Tekken 8 to iPhone and Android devices could reintroduce it to a new, younger audience. As the game features tense 1v1 battles, a fun bonus mode called Tekken Ball, and a mostly great story mode, Tekken 8 could be perfect for a skill-based mobile esports tournament.

Although you can play the X-COM 2 Collection on Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, as well as on Android, developed by Firaxis Games, there has never been a dedicated multiplayer spinoff that could fit into mobile esports. Why this series would work in particular is due to the legacy of the series since its debut in 1994. Having a franchise like that would give mobile esports another form of legitimacy, instead of releasing a whole new franchise that might not work for veteran esports players and viewers. Turn-based strategy games work great on touchscreens, so to combine that with a PVP mode, deep squad customisation, and big stakes of permadeath could work well for the mobile esports scene, giving players and viewers a tense, strategically paced environment for tournaments. 

With the fall of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile in May, and the upcoming Destiny: Rising and VALORANT: Mobile in open beta testing in China, another free-to-play first-person shooter like Halo could be a big moment for mobile esports. First developed by Bungie before being moved over to 343 Industries, now renamed Halo Studios, a spinoff of Halo: Infinite multiplayer into its own mobile game could be alluring to plenty of players worldwide, especially if they can play a part of the series for free on their iPhone and Android devices. Modes like Firefight, custom playlists for maps, tight matchmaking, an esports-friendly user interface, and more, could give Microsoft an in to a rising industry before it explodes — what could be better than Halo?

We’ve seen Tetris dip its toe into mobile esports before with Tetris 99 on the Nintendo Switch, a puzzle battle-royale game. It involves 99 players competing with one another to clear rows of tetrominoes — not being able to clear them in time would kick players out of the match, as well as letting others target different players. It’s fantastically addictive and cutthroat, so to see it refocused as a mobile esports title would be a perfect match. Tetris is easy to learn, fun to watch, and hard to master — perfect for esports. Streamlined touchscreen controls and live events could set the game apart from the turn-based and first-person-shooter games that are commonly seen at esports events, giving viewers something fresh to watch.

Despite Nintendo last releasing a new entry of its futuristic-racing game, F-Zero, in 2003, aspects of the series have remained in several ways since. F-Zero 99, a battle-royale racer that pits 99 players against each other before one remains, has been well received, while F-Zero GX is playable via the new Nintendo Switch 2 on its GameCube Nintendo Classics service. Its fast-paced gameplay with fantastical graphics could work perfectly at esports events as a mobile title. This could feature matchmaking, time trials, ghost challenges, and a leaderboard for players to compete in throughout the tournament, ramping up the fun and tension as to who is the last man standing. Being seen as a racing mobile esports game that focuses on reflexes and precision for vehicles that go over 800 KM, could be a breath of fresh air for mobile esports.

Due to budgets and staff time management, developers may want to focus all of their energies on the main console and PC versions. However, handing these games off to other studios, much like how NetEase is taking on the reins of Destiny: Rising for mobile, not Bungie, could reveal a huge player base for these titles.

There’s a clear untapped opportunity for some of these games to move over, and it would make the entry point for some players far easier. They would only need to buy a dedicated controller for their iPhone or Android handset and play the game as they would on a console or PC. Mobile esports is growing more and more, and developers could be missing out on an untapped revenue stream if they continue to dismiss the category.