"I don't see app studios getting into games. I just see game studios getting into apps"

• E-commerce companies are looking to acquire apps more than games, Evelin Herrera says.
• She suggests apps are better able to leverage AI technology.
• "An app even with just one single feature can grow to thousands and even millions of dollars in MRR."

As the games industry continues to recalibrate post-pandemic, the dial is turning back up on M&A. This year alone has seen huge deals like EA’s $55 billion buyout and Scopely’s acquisition of Pokémon Go, while investment growth is on the rise too - though not everyone is feeling it.

And it isn’t just game makers snapping each other up. This summer Duolingo acquired the majority of NextBeat’s team, a spinoff from Supercell’s Space Ape, unlocking new gamified potential in its learning app.

So as the realms of apps and mobile games collide, Pocket Gamer Connects is expanding its scope with the launch of the Apps Business Summit, taking place alongside PGC London 2026 on January 19th.

To get a better feel for the current state of apps and games, the M&A landscape surrounding them, and apps’ potential AI advantage, we speak with mobile dealmaker and EHVM Capital founder Evelin Herrera, winner of the Rising Star accolade at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025.

Herrera's business closes up to 25 deals per month, helping companies sell their mobile apps and games. She collaborates with more than 125 buyers across games, entertainment, health and more.

"I get tonnes of companies coming and telling me, ‘I want a puzzle game with these retention metrics and these monetisation metrics’," she says.

"They’re probably going to just use the source code and reskin it, but they already know that the game mechanics work. So maybe they aren’t looking for huge IPs, but healthy games in terms of metrics that they can go and scale with their own branding."

Herrera suggests companies are opting to acquire promising titles rapidly rather than risk spending years developing a game from scratch, as the latter is a gamble which may or may not pay off. This prioritisation of speed is why she believes smaller acquisitions have become of greater interest.

Naturally, smaller purchases also come with lower investment risk. She calls such acquisitions "a new competitive advantage".

The advantage of apps

In the mobile world, one major difference between apps and games is the application of AI. Herrera argues it’s easier to develop apps than games using AI as the tech can be utilised more across the board.

"For consumer apps, they can do 90% of it just with AI even if they are not technical. But for games it's not the same. You can get support from AI for different parts of the process, for automation and so on, but you cannot launch a game that’s 90% ready just from AI and scale it."

Herrera states that once a mobile game is ready to scale, new content needs developing and a deep knowledge of monetisation is required, gained through experience. This means AI isn’t a significant enough competitive advantage for games.

Apps, meanwhile, have a lower skill requirement. They can optimise ASO keywords or rely on organic content like UGC to get growing and generate revenue.

"An app even with just one single feature can grow to thousands and even millions of dollars in MRR. For a game that's growing to millions, you need to have high-quality content, good monetisation, and most probably pay for user acquisition."

This year, Herrera has "rarely" seen a game become a hit purely because of strong ASO keywords and organic acquisition: "It's not realistic, but it is for apps."

It’s unsurprising, then, that in-app purchases have recently overtaken in-game purchases on the App Store for the first time.

"Historically it was always games, but now that’s changed. My take - from talking with tonnes of industry-leading parties - is that it's because apps are launching way faster so there’s just more offering of apps than games right now," Herrera says.

"I’ve heard many times that there’s this trend of LTV of maybe five to eight years for a game, and then players are maybe no longer interested in that experience itself. It doesn’t matter what you do if players are no longer interested.

"For apps, it’s kind of the opposite. An app that has been in the store for 10 years is probably going to last another 10 years, still getting organic traffic and subscribers, so it’s more like a long-term business.

"It’s a worldwide trend that users and consumers are getting more used to subscriptions. It’s way easier and more predictable to have a subscription business than one that’s in-app purchase or monetisation-driven, where you need to add more users all the time."

Herrera does add that strong IPs can be an exception to games’ shorter average lifespans.

Joining forces?

Returning to M&A, Herrera notes that e-commerce companies aren’t looking to acquire games as much as they are apps.

"E-commerce folks are coming to apps, and that’s probably another reason why apps are surpassing games, because they come with more capital and more knowledge to spend in paid acquisition."

Furthermore, VCs "are no longer interested in gaming" like they were. At the same time, some games companies are also looking to acquire apps.

"They see these as like, low maintenance, easy to distribute and monetise," Herrera explains.

Comparing metrics, she highlights that D1 retention above 30% in a mobile game makes it a good title, but a good app has 50% retention after a year. This also means user acquisition and maintenance are easier and cheaper for apps.

"I really see this trend of gaming studios looking to expand into apps as well. I don't see it the other way around. I don't see app studios getting into games. I just see game studios getting into apps."

Herrera concludes with a bold prediction for the future of the industry: AI will bring screentime down.

Considering ChatGPT now allows users to have AI go into an app and do something via voice command, that naturally reduces the time a user needs to spend looking at their screen. Thus, Herrera anticipates that users will begin to spend less time directing their eyes at their devices and thus the only games they'll play will be "high-quality ones that they love".

"So I think consolidation is going to continue. And I think buyers are only going to look at high-quality opportunities, and high-quality opportunities are pricier."

On the first day of Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026, the brand-new Apps Business Summit will bring together developers, publishers and growth experts from games and non-games sectors to discuss user acquisition, monetisation, engagement, gamification and more.