Mobile accounts for 55% of total games revenue in 2025 as studios shift towards retention

• The global paid-to-organic install ratio surged 61%, rising from 2.07 to 3.33.
• Publishers reduced acquisition partners, with the average falling from six to 5.3 per app.
• Mobile generated 55% of the total games industry revenue in 2025, with nearly three billion players worldwide.

Mobile remains the industry’s largest segment, accounting for 55% of total games revenue in 2025 and reaching nearly three billion players worldwide.

That’s according to Adjust’s latest Mobile App Trends report, which showed that day one retention across all gaming apps stood at 27% in 2025, while the global paid-to-organic install ratio jumped 61%.

Global gaming app sessions increased 1% year over year in 2025 as studios increasingly focused on retention and long-term player engagement.

At the same time, the average number of marketing partners per app declined from six to 5.3, suggesting publishers are becoming more selective about acquisition channels.

Regionally, MENA recorded 2% install growth alongside a 7% increase in sessions. Europe and LATAM saw installs decline 7% and 9% respectively, though sessions still rose slightly. APAC and North America experienced small declines across both metrics.

Genre dynamics

Strategy games recorded the strongest session growth among genres, increasing 57% year-over-year.

However, hypercasual games continued to dominate install volume, accounting for 29% of all gaming downloads in 2025, up from 27% the year before.

Moreover, hypercasual generated a smaller share of sessions at 15%, though this marked a notable rise from 11% in 2024 as developers increasingly introduced progression systems and in-app purchases to improve retention.

Puzzle games made up 10% of installs but accounted for 13% of sessions, while action titles represented 8% of installs and 17% of sessions, reflecting their stronger long-term engagement. Casual and hybrid casual games each contributed just over 10% of installs and between 7% and 9% of sessions.

You can access the full report here.