AppMagic: Games revenue growth stalls at 0.2% in 2025 as strategy emerges as the fastest-growing genre

• Direct-to-consumer monetisation gained momentum, led by top-grossing titles shifting revenue beyond app stores.
• Games accounted for a larger share of new releases in 2025, rising from 63% to 72% year on year.
• Apps overtook games in IAP revenue for the first time in September, generating $4.8bn compared with $4.5bn.

Global games market growth slowed in 2025 as mobile revenue rose just 0.2% year on year, down from 3% the previous year. 

That's according to AppMagic's Mobile Landscape report, which showed that download growth also slowed to 4.6%. Strategy emerged as the fastest-growing major genre, with revenue up 16% and downloads increasing 15%. 

After several years of strong momentum, Latin America is showing signs of saturation as downloads have stalled or declined across key markets including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina. 

Direct-to-consumer adoption is also increasing, with revenue growth driven by top-grossing titles and signalling a gradual shift toward alternative monetisation channels beyond app stores.

At the same time, AI has moved firmly into the mainstream of creative advertising, with 56% of the top 100 grossing games using AI in ad creation in 2025.

Global trends 

Apps overtook games in IAP revenue for the first time in September, generating $4.8 billion in net revenue versus $4.5bn, led by strong growth from ChatGPT, TikTok and HBO Max.

Overall in 2025, non-gaming app downloads were up 11.9% Y/Y while revenue rose by 19.1%, led by rapid growth in generative AI apps.

Games increased their share of new releases from 63% in 2024 to 72% in 2025. Market saturation is accelerating in apps and games as while releases climbed 25% year-over-year to more than 1.4 million in 2025, only around 10% attracted meaningful user attention.

You can access the full report here.