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
Metrics And Upcoming Trends
Xsolla releases quarterly report on the future of gaming and game development for summer 2024
Key trends include the rapid growth of indie games, the power of influencer marketing and the impact of recent legal and regulatory changes in mobile gaming
Apps And Att
Fewer than 19% of mobile games receive ATT consent as game CPIs rise 6% on Apple
Mobile game CPIs increased on Apple during Q2 2024 while becoming cheaper on Android
Growing Chinese Games Overseas
SocialPeta Partnered with Liftoff to Release the Guide to Growing Chinese Gaming Apps Overseas
SocialPeta and Liftoff, have jointly released the report 'Guide to Growing Chinese Gaming Apps Overseas' based upon 133 billion ad impressions, 7.9 billion clicks, and 18 million installs gathered in 2023-24
Mena Market Growth
Saudi Arabia leads MENA in VC investments and games market growth in 2024
With 21 million active gamers, the KSA is MENA's largest games market to be valued at $6 billion come 2027
Rpg Reposition
RPGs overthrown by strategy genre as new consumer spending king
RPGs have topped consumer spending charts since "at least" 2017, but were dethroned in Q2 2024
Multi-platform Gaming
Japan and Korea's 97 million gamers drive growth for multi-platform games
The latest Niko Partner's report shows a clear shift as Japanese mobile players embrace console and PC
Pokemon Power
The Pokémon Company caught $10.8 billion from merch and licenced goods last year
License Global’s latest Top Global Licensors Report places Pokémon seventh among all licensors based on 2023 revenue
State Of Play
Two-thirds of Chinese mobile gamers play mini games
650 million players drive mini games growth while gamers aged 18-22 now play more hours per week than those aged 23 and up
Gaming Trends
74% of midcore installs come from ads in casual games as iOS CPI continues to rise
Hypercasual games still contribute 29% of installs across all genres, while puzzle games also hold strong at 37%
Keeping It Casual
SocialPeta's casual & puzzle games report for Q1 finds advertiser ratio rising
The new SocialPeta report on casual & puzzle games for Q1 2024 finds advertiser ratio risen by two percent year-on-year
Resilient Growth
Asia and MENA to reach 2 billion gamers by 2028 as revenue soars past $85 billion in 2023
India is the fastest-growing market and is expected to add 277 million gamers by 2028
Mighty Mobile
Mobile app revenue reached a new quarterly record at $35.8 billion in Q1 2024
Mobile games specifically surpassed $20 billion for the first time in two years
Industry Outlook
Mobile accounts for 49% of global games market share, despite 2% revenue dip
Spending on mobile games fell 2% YoY in 2023 to $107 billion, but increased 4% outside of China
Hyper-casual Growth
Hyper casual games lead ad media buys at 34% share, with US at the forefront of ad spend
Mintegral's latest casual gaming report reveals that video ads lead the casual market with 70% market share
Backend Burnout
Top mobile devs spend a "startling" $21 million on game backends
A Metaplay survey finds that deploying game developers to backend development leads to higher crunch rates and staff turnover
Gaming Trends
2023 games revenue forecast drops to $183.9 billion, down $3.9 billion
Newzoo's latest report reins in their previous projected total, alongside dips in mobile gaming revenue
Gaming Trends
65% of Gen Z gamers spend over 3 hours a day playing video games
The study from ZBD also shows that 34% find online gaming too toxic while 57% prefer playing casual mobile games
Merging And Moving
Q1 2024 saw $2.4 billion in games industry investments, while M&As are up for the first time since 2022
Disney’s investment in Epic Games is responsible for $1.5 billion of that $2.4 billion total
Mobile App Trends
Ramadan sparks rise in Middle East mobile app downloads and purchases
Financial apps saw a 39% increase in conversions, food delivery apps experienced a 169% spike in NOIs, while eCommerce apps showed a solid 27% growth
Gaming Trends
Platform barriers tumble down as almost half of gamers play across devices
PC, console, and mobile divides are fading as 47% of players enjoy playing their favourite games across multiple platforms
Gaming Generations
62% of Gen Alpha gamers play 5+ hours per week, VS only 17% of Gen Z
Livewire’s 2024 Next Gen Attention report compares playing habits of Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha
State Of Play
72% of women play video games with half of female players being payers
Meanwhile diversity in games is a key issue with 65% of men and 62% of women affirming the point
Gaming Glory
Hybridcasual generates 800% more revenue per user than hypercasual
Adjust and AppLovin’s The Gaming App Insights Report highlights hybridcasual’s impressive year after analysis of the top 5,000 gaming apps
Organic Opportunities
SuperScale's ebook serves organic growth tips, making mobile games more sustainable
Longevity is a rarity in the mobile gaming space with 83% of games not making it to their three year anniversary
Multiplatform Multiplayer
Multiplatform and multiplayer games overtake single format and single player
Unity’s 2024 Gaming Report reveals a rise in multiplatform development and with a focus on multiplayer
Retention Vs Revenue
In-app purchases decline but ad revenues is up 26.7% despite falling player retention
Unity’s 2024 Gaming Report finds retention rates and IAPs are down, but there's still plenty of room to make money
Powering Prototypes
Game development time slowed in 2023 despite AI tech, but 71% celebrate its strengths
Unity’s Gaming Report 2024 reveals a slowdown from 218 days to 304 in average development
Mobile Must-have
Mobile games expertise a "must-have" as sector projected to generate $195 billion by 2030
GlobalData’s Mobile Gaming Thematic Intelligence report predicts "most gamers will embrace mobile gaming in the next few years"
Cpi Situation
ATT continues taking a toll: The cheapest CPI on Apple still costs more than the priciest on Android
Android’s most expensive ad form costs $1.22; Apple’s cheapest is $3.09
Mena Market
India on track to become a leading gaming hub as esports players hit 2.5m in 2024
The number of smartphone users in India remains a driving factor of its overall gaming industry growth
Into The Numbers
Gaming M&As down 43% year-on-year while deal value falls 69%
Q1 2022 saw the most spending on M&A in the past five years
App Marketer Insights
What game marketers need to know about driving user acquisition through ad campaigns
Liftoff's VP of Global Sales, Joey Fulcher dives into the results of the company's recent survey to lift the lid on why App Marketers are optimistic about the future - despite market challenges
Install Increase
ATT consent reached 39% in 2023 as racing games turbo-charged installs
Action games generated the most installs and longest play sessions of 2023, but racing games saw the largest year-on-year install increase
Nitro Numbers
Nitro Games sees record Q4 revenue but the year’s net results remain red
Autogun Heroes supported a successful Q4 and pushed Nitro Games to a stronger 2023, but the dev’s not in the green just yet
Applovin Ai
AppLovin reveals AI ad creative tips as its SparkLabs team triples production
Generative AI is becoming increasingly prominent in the industry, with features such as content-aware fill becoming a boon for ad creatives
State Of Play 2024
Xsolla releases a new winter 2024 edition of the State Of Play report
Xsolla provides insights into video games by taking a look back and providing insights into what is to come in 2024
Mighty Mobile
Krafton earned record-breaking $1.4 billion in 2023 with 66% from mobile
Krafton’s mobile earnings grew by 34.5% in Q4
Mobile Marketing Insights
New SocialPeta 2023 white paper highlights growth and emerging markets
New white paper analyses the core dynamics of the global mobile gaming market in 2023 and gives insight into the data behind the biggest marketing trends
Roblox Victory Rally
Roblox rises with $2.8 billion in revenue and 68 million DAUs in 2023
Roblox users spent 60 billion hours on the platform in 2023
Gaming Growth
MENA-3 games market grows 7.8% to $1.92 billion in 2023
The total number of gamers reached 68.4 million in 2023, indicating a 2.9% year-over-year rise, with that number expected to reach 79.6 million by 2027
Dena Data
DeNA pulls back from China as game profits fall 95%, but there’s optimism for Q4
DeNA’s games made a loss in Q3, though its livestreaming revenue is on the rise
Super Mario Success
Nintendo’s mobile and IP sales are up 93.4%
Nintendo reveals $9.38 billion earned in total sales across the first three quarters of its financial year