Game Apps Conquer the Television Market

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Game apps are increasingly migrating to television screens as manufacturers adopt mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, Tizen, and WebOS for TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes.
02
The German game app market generated 263 million euros in sales in 2014, representing a 153% growth rate compared to 2013.
03
Game apps accounted for 75% of all sales revenue generated in German app stores, establishing them as the dominant force in the mobile app market.
04
Sales revenue from game apps in Germany increased by a factor of 2.2 between 2013 and 2014.
05
Germany is currently the second-largest market for game apps in Europe, trailing only Great Britain.
06
Major hardware players including Apple (tvOS), Google (AndroidTV), Amazon (Fire TV), Samsung (Tizen), and LG (WebOS) are actively integrating mobile-based gaming capabilities into their home entertainment devices.
07
The expansion of mobile operating systems into television hardware is expected to drive further growth in the game app sector by reaching new, beginner-friendly target audiences.

Summary

The integration of mobile operating systems into home entertainment hardware is driving a significant expansion of the gaming market, as game apps transition from smartphones and tablets to television screens. By utilizing adapted versions of mobile software—such as Apple’s tvOS, AndroidTV, and proprietary systems like Samsung’s Tizen and LG’s WebOS—manufacturers are enabling televisions, set-top boxes, and Blu-ray players to run mobile games with minimal technical adjustments. This trend is effectively lowering the barrier to entry for casual players and attracting new target demographics to digital gaming.

Market data from 2015 highlights the rapid growth of this sector in Germany, where game apps generated 263 million euros in revenue, marking a 153 percent increase compared to 2013. Games represent the dominant force within the mobile app economy, accounting for 75 percent of total app store sales revenue in the country. Germany currently stands as the second-largest market for game apps in Europe and the seventh-largest globally, with revenue figures increasing by a factor of 2.2 over the two-year period ending in 2015.

The findings are supported by data from the GfK Consumer Panel, which tracks the purchasing and usage habits of 25,000 representative German consumers, alongside industry reports compiled by App Annie. By leveraging established mobile ecosystems, hardware manufacturers are creating a seamless bridge between mobile and living room entertainment, a development expected to sustain long-term growth for the broader games industry. This shift underscores the increasing convergence of mobile software and traditional home media devices.