Mobile Games: State of the Market H1 2023

The mobile gaming market in the first half of 2023 experienced a period of contraction across most genres, characterized by a decline in both download volumes and revenue compared to the same period in 2022. Based on data from the Apptica platform covering 37 countries across the Apple App Store and Google Play, the industry remains a dominant force in the mobile ecosystem, accounting for 29.6% of total application downloads and 51% of total revenue. While Google Play continues to lead in download volume with an 88.6% share, the App Store remains the primary driver of revenue, capturing 56.3% of the market.

Geographically, India maintains its position as the largest market for downloads, followed by Brazil and the United States. In terms of revenue, the United States leads the global market, showing a 4% growth in market share, while Japan and China also saw modest gains. Conversely, South Korea experienced the most significant revenue decline among top-tier markets. Across all regions, the Role-Playing Game (RPG) genre remains the highest revenue generator despite a notable two-year downward trend, with revenue falling from $5.9 billion in the first half of 2022 to $4.4 billion in the first half of 2023.

Advertising activity within the sector remains robust, with gaming advertisers representing 50.7% of all mobile advertisers, a 22% increase in volume compared to the previous year. Video content has solidified its role as the primary creative format, accounting for 72% of all gaming ad creatives. The analysis concludes that while the broader mobile gaming landscape faces challenges in maintaining historical growth rates, it continues to command a significant majority of mobile advertising investment and consumer spending.