Industry Outlook
Games industry deal value hits $6.2bn in Q2 2025
New report from Aream & Co shows that mobile revenue remains steady at $20bn quarterly
The Power Of Playables
Interactive ads surge 20% among top apps as advertisers bet big on playables
Liftoff’s latest report shows the playable ads formats grew eight times higher than non-playables for top spenders last year
Deal Deluge
Games M&A hits $3bn disclosed deal value in Q2 2025
A new wave of M&A through late 2025 and into 2026 is expected as companies leverage improved valuations for growth
Resilient Growth
Green Game Jam reached 108m daily active players to spur real-world climate action in 2024
The new Playing for the Planet Annual Impact report shows that the alliance fell short of its goal to grow membership by 25%, achieving a 14% increase
Market Growth
India’s mobile games market booms with 8.45bn installs
In-app purchase revenue remains modest at just over $400m
Market Growth
Newzoo revises 2025 global games market growth forecast to $188.9bn
Mobile is projected to reach $103.1bn in 2025 and $107.7bn by 2027
Market Report
US video game spending hit $59.3 billion in 2024 led by mobile
Mobile is the most popular platform with 72% of households
Market Report
Asia and MENA games markets hit $86.6 billion in 2024
Revenue is projected to reach $96bn by 2029
Market Report
Minecraft mobile revenue surges 44% following movie release
New Sensor Tower report also shows a 77% increase in DAUs for Fallout Shelter
Market Report
Games industry growth stalls at $189.3 billion as companies struggle with player retention
New report from Duamentes finds that 60% of new mobile games in crowded genres struggle to gain traction
Environmental Impact
PlanetPlay reports 79% of players made eco-friendly changes after playing green themed games
In-game poll data from PlanetPlay after surveying 181,000 players from 189 countries
Earnings Report
Netmarble reports $429m revenue in Q1 2025
Revenue growth was driven by the success of RF Online Next in Korea
Market Growth
UK video game consumer spending hits £7.6bn
Ukie’s new report found that mobile games grew by 8.1% to £1.7bn in 2024
Game Optimisation
Hypercasual games see 78% boost from story-driven ads despite low spend
New AppsFlyer report finds that top 2 percent of ad creatives in games still drive 53 percent of total spend
In-game Advertising
Report: Mobile leads in reach while PC and console drive deeper ad engagement
New report from Anzu finds that advertisers can benefit by combining the deep engagement of PC and console with the broad reach of mobile
Market Report
Gaming VC deals rose 35% in Q1 2025 to $373m
But deal value was down 41% year-over-year
Major M&a
Games industry M&A hit $6.6bn in Q1 2025 with mobile domination led by Scopely
The figure was a two-year high and more than doubled Q1 2024’s result, according to Aream & Co.’s first quarterly Video Game Market Update report
Smadex Ctv Guide
The Smadex Connected TV Guide: A must-read for any marketer
Unlock the full potential of CTV
Market Report
German games market declined to €9.4bn in 2024 as in-app purchase and hardware sales fell
In-game and in-app purchases fell 3% to €4.6bn ($4.9bn)
Subscription Superiority
Apple Arcade "likely wouldn’t be profitable" without Apple One bundle, report claims
Apple Arcade reached two million users in its first year, but would reportedly struggle to break even alone
Platform Power
90% of devs’ most recent games launched on mobile
Unity’s Gaming Report 2025 revealed a 34% year-over-year increase in developers targeting three or more platforms
Employee Engagement
What makes games industry employees more engaged and loyal?
InGame Job CEO Katya Sabirova shares her findings on the engagement of games industry employees using data from the Big Games Industry Employment Survey 2024
Xsolla Report Q1 2025
Xsolla releases Q1 2025 report on the future of global gaming and game development: Analysis of metrics and emerging trends
Key topics include the global gaming market, mobile monetization trends, player engagement led by gen Z and gen alpha, and rising investments tools and platforms
Mobile Growth
Half of mobile gamers in the US and UK are earning money playing games, survey claims
Almedia study reveals that 75% of players feel positive about games offering such incentives
Recruitment Report
Who has pet projects in the games industry and what drives them?
InGame Job CEO Katya Sabirova analyses the findings from the Big Games Industry Employment Survey 2024
Africa Mobile Market
Mobile leads the charge in Africa’s $1.8 billion games market
The continent added an estimated 32m new gamers in 2024, bringing the total to 349m, up from 317m in 2023
Midnights On Mobile
40% more North Americans are playing mobile games at 1AM than global average
Mobile players are most active at 8PM worldwide, but some regions stay up later than others
Mobile Growth
Mobile app downloads hit 136 billion in 2024 as revenue surges to $150bn
Users spent 4.2 trillion hours on mobile apps last year a 5.8% YoY increase
Africa Is Mobile
Mobile growth drives Africa’s games industry to $1 billion in revenue
Candy Crush and PUBG Mobile lead Africa’s mobile games revenue with $50m and $40m, respectively
Gaming Growth Guide
Level Up ROAS: Get Your Gaming Growth Guide for 2025 and Beyond
Mobile gaming attribution insights from Kochava + TikTok for Business
Sweden Stands Strong
Swedish games industry revenue hit $3.3 billion in 2023
Domestic sales saw a rise of 6.4% year-over-year
Xsolla Report Autumn 2024
Xsolla releases Autumn 2024 Report on the future of mobile gaming and game development
Latest Report highlights key topics including the growth of web shops, the Influence of women gamers, and the impact of the Digital Markets Act
Industry Outlook
India’s games industry is projected to reach $7.5 billion by 2028
India has 568 million gamers, 25% of whom are paying users, showing a 17% YoY increase
Financials
Unity reveals its Q3 financials as results “exceed guidance”
This year has also marked many changes for the company with new leadership, the cancellation of the Runtime Fee and the launch of Unity 6
Games Industry Survey
21% of game developers in Europe hit by layoffs with 54% now utilising AI in daily work
New employment survey shows that 39% of developers work on pet projects, but 10% have left game development for other industries
Gaming Trends
Games industry M&A activity hits $2.5 billion in Q3 2024
M&A activity in games has grown for the fourth consecutive quarter
Mobile Growth
Southeast Asia's mobile game downloads hit 4.2 billion in 2024
Simulation games became the most downloaded mobile game genre in Southeast Asia this year
Mena Market
MENA investments recovers after 63 startups raised $282 million in September
This marked a 234% increase month-on-month and a 607% rise year-on-year
Africa Is Mobile
Africa's video games market projected to rise from $2.14 billion to $3.72 billion by 2029
Mobile penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa is set to reach 50% by 2030, with an expected 475 million connections by 2025
Repeat Revenue
Less than 2% of mobile gamers make an in-app purchase
Unity report finds that most repeat purchases happen within 30 days of original spending
Ad Appeal
Unity: Global rewarded ad engagement rose by 3.2% in 2023
Unity’s Mobile Growth and Monetisation Report 2024 finds 38.1% of users will watch ads when out of resources
India Insights
Why India's mobile gamers are more willing to spend in battle royale hits Battlegrounds Mobile and Free Fire
New report delves into player habits and market dynamics in the country
Market Report
U.S. tops global marketing spend in mobile, parting with $6.6bn on iOS and $5.5bn on Android
Meanwhile the top European markets for marketing spend are the U.K., Germany, and France
Mena Market
MENA market hits 7.9 billion downloads and $1.78 billion revenue in H1 2024
PUBG Mobile dominates games downloads and leads in revenue alongside Roblox and Subway Surfers
Casual Games Report
Match-3 downloads are down 23% but Royal Match revenue coins it in
Newcomer Truck Star is the most profitable casual release of H1 2024, generating over $1.2 million in August alone
Improving Engagement
Research finds that app icon optimization can boost user numbers by up to 25%
A SplitMetrics study shows that clear and simple icon backgrounds can boost conversion rates by over 26%
Mena Market
Saudi Arabia and UAE to propel Gulf region games spending to $3.24 billion by 2028
The KSA alone represented 49.5% of the gulf total revenue and 61.7% of its gamers in 2023
Developer Deals
81% of mobile devs are making new games, but 27% say publishers "take more than they give"
Only 39% now see publishers as "necessary" as the landscape changes and deals get tougher
Scaling The Industry
TIGA identifies risk period for UK game start-ups and five tips to scale the industry
Studios with fewer than five staff are highly vulnerable to failure with 50.2% studios failing to grow
Mega Mobile Market
Consumer spending in mobile games projected to reach $109.3 billion in 2024 up 3.3% YoY
Aldora’s latest report highlights mobile games as the biggest segment of all interactive entertainment