U.S. tops global marketing spend in mobile, parting with $6.6bn on iOS and $5.5bn on Android

• Ad revenue overall rose 4% in Q2 2024, driven by a 12% increase on Android, though iOS saw a 10% drop
• 22.99% of paying users on iOS and 21.11% on Android make a purchase on day one

Mobile games companies spent $29 billion on marketing last year with the U.S. at the forefront after spending $6.6 billion on iOS and $5.5 billion on Android.

These figures come from AppsFlyer’s Mobile Gaming Market in 2024 report which also shows that Japan is the second-largest market after spending $1.8 billion on iOS and $1.2 billion on Android, while South Korea ranked third.

The top European markets for marketing spend are the U.K., Germany, and France.

AppFlyer’s report highlights that games are increasingly blending monetisation strategies in order to find new revenue streams. Those with in-app purchases (IAP) are adding ads, while ad-based games are integrating IAP. The share of hybrid monetisation games grew from 36% in Q2 2023 to 43% in Q1 2024, while ad-only and IAP-only games decreased. 

Looking at genres, its casual games that are expanding, with notable growth in genres such as match and simulation games, whereas mid-core and hypercasual games are in decline.

Ad revenue overall rose 4% in Q2 2024, driven by a 12% increase on Android, while iOS saw a 10% drop. Meanwhile, IAP revenue fell significantly, down 15% on Android and 35% on iOS.

Impact of early purchases on long-term monetisation

An app's first week is critical for evaluating a project's monetisation potential. The report finds that 22.99% of paying users on iOS and 21.11% on Android make a purchase on day one. Also, revenue from top-paying users in North America decreased from 34% in Q1 2023 to 27% in Q1 2024, though it slightly increased on Android, from 34% to 35%. 

On both platforms, the top 5% of paying users contribute about 50% of total revenue. Instals on Android rose by 3% in H1 2024, whereas iOS saw a 9% overall decline and a 2% drop in non-organic instals. 

Notably, iOS experienced significant declines in instals for RPGs and strategy games, with RPGs dropping by 36% overall and 25% in paid traffic, and strategy games falling by 15% overall and 48% in paid traffic.

On iOS, non-organic instals grew most notably in sports, racing, and merge games, with casino and bingo games also experiencing growth. On Android, puzzles led in non-organic install growth, with Sudoku showing the highest increase among subcategories.

You can read the full report here.