Revenues brought in from mobile games will hit $70.3 billion in 2018, according to a report by market intelligence firm Newzoo.

In its quarterly update of the Global Games Market Report, the firm forecasted mobile games revenues to grow 25.5 per cent year-on-year and to account for more than 50 per cent of the global games market as it reaches $137.9 billion this year.

Smartphones will account for 80 per cent ($56.4 billion) of the $70.3 billion, with the remaining 20 per cent coming from tablets.

Looking forward, Newzoo expects mobile revenue growth to continue to outpace the overall games market by hitting $106.4 billion in 2021. Furthermore, smartphone and tablet games combined will generate 59 per cent of revenues in the entire market.

Land of the rising sun

The Japanese games market will continue to be the third-largest in the world in 2018 and will grow 15.1 per cent year on year to $19.2 billion.

Japanese gamers are said to spend more than any other country on mobile games. The average spend per payer in Japan is 1.5-times higher than in North America and more than 2.5-times higher than in Western Europe.

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