Mobile games successfully "squeezing" more revenue per install as average player spending rises 11% despite 7% install fall

Average spending in mobile games rose to $1.52 per install in 2024, up 11% year-over-year.

Appfigures Intelligence’s latest report Mobile Games in 2025: Growth Trends Shaping the $66bn Market suggested that despite falling installs, total mobile games revenue increased by nearly 4% in 2024 compared to 2023.

Consumer spending hit an estimated $65.7 billion worldwide last year, with games "squeezing" out more revenue per install.

High-value markets

While global installs fell by nearly 7% YoY in 2024, the report suggested that smarter monetisation has successfully compensated for this. This has been achieved through limited-time offers, battle basses, consumable in-app purchases and more, triggering a rise in player spending per install.

Appfigures attributed the fall in downloads to saturation, fatigue or both, noting that the trend is being seen across the landscape and is not exclusive to games. There was also a 43% drop in new mobile games released in 2024, down to 126,000 compared to 222,000 in 2023.

In the US specifically, downloads fell by 11% last year but the average spending per player rose by the exact same percentage - up 11% to $6.43 per download. This level of spending was more than four times the global average.

Notably, increased spending despite falling downloads wasn’t a universal trend but was rather observed in mature economies, such as the US, Japan and South Korea. Lower-spending markets remained below $1 per download in average player spending.

Top tactics

Of the 1,000 highest-earning mobile games in 2024, 50% were midcore - led by RPGs, strategy and shooter games. In fact, the RPG genre represented nearly 34% of the top games alone.

The next most prevalent segment was casual at 32%, followed by casino at 11%.

90% of those top 1,000 games featured premium currency and 80% had bundles or package deals on offer. Unlockables and purchasable cosmetic options appeared in 70% of those top games.

Overall, every one of the top games featured limited-time offers or events and in-app purchases for consumables or currency.

Roughly half of the top games had a battle pass.

Naturally, these numbers mean many of the top mobile games have employed a range of strategies to monetise players, meeting needs or desires at various stages of the player’s time with the game and at different points of engagement.

Appfigures suggested in a blog post that monetisation adapts "as the player commits", meaning they may begin with a cheap consumable purchase but eventually buy bundles and a more expensive season pass.

There is also a shifting willingness towards premium experiences, as players are opting for "quality over quantity".