2016 Mobile Gaming Trends Report

The 2016 Mobile Gaming Trends Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the mobile gaming landscape, focusing on revenue performance and market dynamics for the 2016 calendar year. The study examines mobile games that generated at least $250,000 in net in-app purchase (IAP) revenue during any single month on iOS and Google Play. By categorizing these titles through a standardized industry taxonomy, the analysis highlights shifts in genre dominance, the impact of major releases, and the evolving influence of intellectual property.

Key findings indicate that Strategy, Casino, and Puzzle games were the top-performing categories, collectively accounting for the majority of net revenue market share. While original intellectual property continued to dominate the market, branded IP games demonstrated significantly higher growth rates. The data also reveals a stark disparity in platform performance; despite having a smaller global installed base compared to Android, iOS generated 56% of the total IAP revenue analyzed. Furthermore, the market exhibited high concentration, with the top five titles capturing 28% of total revenue among the top 200 grossing games.

The report underscores the volatility and competitive nature of the industry, noting how the mid-year launch of Pokémon GO temporarily disrupted the market share of the Strategy category before revenue trends stabilized. Additionally, the analysis identifies MZ as the leading U.S. publisher for the year, driven by the success of titles like Game of War and Mobile Strike. These insights illustrate the critical importance of brand recognition and high-performing live operations in maintaining revenue leadership within the increasingly crowded mobile gaming ecosystem.