The latest quarterly report from LA research outfit Interpret shows the growing power of YouTube as the key recommendation engine for mobile games discovery by US kids.

Rising from 19 per cent in 2015, YouTube is now cited as the most important source for finding out about mobile games, finally besting friends' recommendations by 49 to 48 per cent.

In contrast, Twitch was only cited by 12 per cent.

Family remains another important source cited by 40 per cent of the 1,000-strong survey of US kids (and parents) aged 3-12 years.

But the key trend over the past five years remains the growth of YouTube, combined with a small decline in the importance of peer pressure. Parental advice has remained broadly the same.

"Minecraft and Roblox videos are especially big draws for this demographic who regularly upload their own videos at a young age," commented Interpret's VP of Research and Strategy Jesse Divnich.

"YouTube's recommendation algorithm also means that kids are introduced to other games and videos constantly based on their search and browsing habits."

You can find more research via Interpret's website.