Subway Surfers reaches 4B lifetime downloads a decade after launch thanks to TikTok

Subway Surfers reaches 4B lifetime downloads thanks to TikTok

Subway Surfers, the endless runner title from Sybo, has been downloaded 4 billion times since its 2012 launch. The title was also the most downloaded mobile game of 2022.

“Over ten years in the making, we’re beyond proud of our team at Sybo for hitting this milestone of 4 billion downloads and grateful to our global community of Surfers who have stayed devoted to the game along the way,” said  Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO of Sybo, at GDC 2023.

Subway Surfers has seen a resurgence recently thanks to TikTok. The game is widely used by creators on the platform to catch users’ attention with its “oddly satisfying” gameplay. Sybo has capitalized on this, creating similar videos. Nørvig confirmed that this user-generated content is contributing to the game’s growth in an interview with Kotaku. The Subway Surfer account’s fans have doubled last year to over 6.9 million, averaging 31 million views per month.

Sybo also confirmed that it is working on giving fans new ways to engage with the Subway Surfers IP this year. In 2022, Sybo was acquired by Miniclip for an undisclosed amount.