UPDATED 21:12 EDT / DECEMBER 06 2015

NEWS

Google Play names its best Android apps and games for 2015

Google, Inc. has released its annual Google Play Best of 2015 list, and while there were some surprises, the list saw a number of old favorites continue to dominate.

The list, which includes Best Games of 2015 and Best Apps of 2015, includes approximately 50 selections from the year that was and were based on a combination of downloads and user ratings.

Topping the app list was the music video editor Flipgram, followed by the Robinhood stock trading app and the Language Learning app from Busuu, Ltd.

Video was again popular with the HBO Now app and Showtime App featuring at 6th and 9th, respectively, the YouTube Kids app, launched earlier this year, coming in at a respectable 20th, with the video game streaming app Twitch at 24th, YouTube Gaming at 28th and Netflix at 36th.

E-commerce apps were few and far between in the list, with the notable exceptions of B&H Photo Video Pro Audio at 5th, real estate app Trulia at 27th and Jet.com at 32nd.

Dashlane, Inc.’s popular password manager app snuck in at 39th.

Microsoft put in a reasonable showing with its Skype app sitting at 22nd, Office Lens at 38th and Microsoft Word at 51st (we’re not sure why there’s a 51st place on a list of 50, but there is).

While Twitter made the cut in 23rd position, notably missing were social networking apps from the likes of Facebook, Inc. and its subsidiary Instagram, Snapchat, Inc., LINE Corp., and WhatsApp.

Games

Not surprisingly free games dominated the Best Games of 2015 list, with Mineclip, Inc.’s Agar.io taking 1st place, Walking Dead: Road To Survival coming in 2nd, and the cringeworthy Pew Pew Die: Legend of Brofist (it’s painful to even type the name) sitting at 3rd.

Among the big names in gaming, Electronic Arts had three games on the list, with Need for Speed, Minions Paradise and Madden NFL Mobile sitting at spots 15, 16 and 18 on the list, respectively, and Warner Bros. scored two spots, with Mortal Kombat at 25th and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes at 53rd (the game list had 55 entries).

Few paid games made the list, with the two highest ranked ones coming as no surprise, with Minecraft: Story Mode taking the 5th spot and Minecraft: Pocket Edition coming in at position 11.

Among the most popular games from years gone by, the latest incarnation of the Candy Crush franchise, Candy Crush Soda Saga, came in at a respectable 6th position, while Angry Birds 2 held the 19th spot.

A full list of all the best Google Play apps, games, music, movies and books, can be viewed here.

Image credit: Google Play/Scoopley

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