Mobile Gaming Isn’t Playing Around: YoY Growth Suggests A Resurgence for Top Gaming Apps

$80.9 billion in IAP revenue. 49.6 billion downloads. One industry on the comeback. 

This is the story of mobile gaming’s rejuvenation and resurgence. The 2020 pandemic brought an unanticipated surge in global screen time; now, five years later, the mobile gaming economy is enjoying positive year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth for the first time since 2021. As the market stabilizes and mobile users adjust to the post-Covid era, behaviors and preferences are shifting — and developers are doing their best to keep up.

Our comprehensive exploration of the 2025 mobile landscape sheds light on which genres are performing the best, as well as which tactics need reconfiguring. In the race to capture player spend and engagement, old classics are competing with new entries; top genres with emerging niches; and established businesses with innovative monetization strategies. 

So, which genres are winning in this new phase of mobile gaming? And where can forward-thinking brands find opportunities for growth? Let’s dive in to some of the key takeaways from State of Mobile 2025:

The Market is Stabilizing: Fewer Downloads, Higher Revenue

As noted above, 2024 was the year that mobile gaming saw its first YoY revenue growth since 2021. Global weekly mobile game spend surpassed $1.54 billion, with weekly downloads capped at just under a billion. Overall, there was a 4% jump in revenue from 2023, accompanied by a 6% decline in downloads. It seems that developers and industry players are offsetting the costs of lower user acquisition with stronger monetization strategies — a trend that has wide-reaching implications for the space. 

Top-performing games have found creative ways to capture consumer spend, including offering live services, subscriptions, and maximizing in-app purchase (IAP) revenue through innovative means. Players are spending more per game, yet downloading less frequently, leading to more stabilization within the market. In addition, fewer (yet higher-quality) new releases dominate the revenue charts. It seems that high-quality gaming experiences are being prioritized, but this may mean less room for new entrants trying to break into certain genres and subgenres. 

What does this mean for businesses? Focusing on retention over acquisition, prioritizing monetization over raw downloads, and live-service models as well as thoughtful engagement strategies are key to success. 

Top Performing Genres & Subgenres: Who is Fueling Revenue Growth?

If you’re looking at revenue, Strategy and Puzzle games are both powerhouses, with the former representing only 4% of global downloads, while accounting for 21.4% of consumer spend. User acquisition may not be as high for these games — which include titles like Last War: Survival and Brawl Stars — but it’s clear that their monetization strategies are working, and they enjoy a level of revenue disproportionate to their engagement. The story is similar when it comes to the Puzzle genre; a 3% decline in downloads was accompanied by a 14% revenue climb. It appears strong monetization models are also driving growth for this casual style of gaming. In addition, 4X strategy games, which allow players to do things like build and expand empires, had the highest IAP revenue of any subgenre across the board. 

Regional Growth & Market Shifts: Emerging Regions Make Gains

Out of the 23 markets studied in the report, Turkey was the region that drove the highest percentage of growth. The transcontinental country saw a 28% increase in IAP revenue YoY. Coming in second, third, and fourth places were Mexico (+21%), India (+17%), and Thailand (+16%), followed by Saudi Arabia at +14%. These emerging markets provide significant opportunities for continued growth, while established regions such as the US and EMEAR (Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Russia) saw steady inclines as well. Conversely, Japan saw a 7% drop in spend, likely due to economic challenges surrounding its national currency. Most regions saw fewer downloads in 2024, with Saudi Arabia (+5%) and Indonesia (+4%) being two notable exceptions. 

Looking Ahead to 2025

Going forward, more growth in spend is projected for 2025 due to developers prioritizing retention, high quality gaming experiences, and better regional monetization strategies. The State of Mobile 2025 offers even more exclusive insights into the past year in mobile gaming, including:

• How legacy titles are holding their ground against new releases

• The genres with the highest and lowest market concentrations 

• The subgenres capturing the most player time

• And so much more 

Download the free report today to gain access to gaming data you can’t find anywhere else, and stay tuned for our 2025 State of Mobile Gaming report — coming soon.