Mobile IO games come in all genres and types, though all have two things in common: they’re free-to-play and have light graphics. This means that most, if not all of them, are accessible on any phone regardless of how old it is or how low its RAM is.
But there are quite a few of them online. That said, we’re listing down the best and most convenient IO games to play on mobile.
Slither.io
Slither.io is based on the classic pellet-eating game Snake, and plays exactly like it too—with the extra challenge of avoiding other players on the map. Each Slither comes with 16 default skins, though you can customize its appearance with odd textures, country flags, and even colors based on popular YouTubers like Jacksepticeye.
Agar.io
If you’ve played Osmos, then you know exactly what to expect out of Agar.io. You control a blob whose goal is to be the biggest blob on the map. Unlike Slither.io where you simply eat pellets, however, your blob can grow by eating other blobs too, which are controlled by fellow players. This makes the game extremely competitive but a lot of fun.
Related: Best Mobile Multiplayer Games
AXES.io
For a genre as scarce with its resources as IO, AXES.io is perhaps the most polished-looking game of the bunch. It’s a mobile 3D arena battle royale game, where the goal is to hurl axes at each other until you’re the last player standing. AXES.io features both online and offline play, over 40 types of axes, and more than 20 hero designs.
Noodleman.io
The goal of every noodleman is simple: to throw all other noodlemans off the ring. However, there’s one catch: every character is soft-bodied, meaning they have bouncy jiggle physics. This can make it difficult to push other players off and even change directions. Every round goes by super fast, making Noodleman.io the ideal game for quick breaks.
Hexar.io
Hexar.io is a land capture game with mechanics similar to Pokémon Rangers. You’re assigned a color, and the goal is to dominate most of the board by enclosing other Hexagons (both unoccupied ones and those occupied by other players) with your color. This is done by swiping circles around your screen. It demands a lot of real-time strategy, so it’s ideal for players into those.
If you’re looking to discover more great mobile games, take a look at our picks for the Best Offline Mobile Games and Best Mobile MMORPGs at Pro Game Guides.
Bianca has over three years of experience in gaming journalism, specializing in anything remotely turn-based and strategic, like Pokémon, Final Fantasy, and Honkai: Star Rail. She's a huge fan of Square Enix, RPGs, party games, and visual novels, but will play anything with a banger OST. She's a proud early bird.