Mobile Gaming in 2022

Mobile gaming experienced a year-over-year decline in total consumer spend in 2022, ending a decade of consistent growth due to privacy regulation changes like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency and reduced discretionary spending.

While revenue contracted, engagement remained resilient, with total downloads and daily active users holding steady across both mature and emerging markets.

China’s market growth slowed significantly in 2022 due to domestic regulatory tightening and licensing freezes, pushing major publishers to prioritize international expansion.

Emerging markets including India, Brazil, and Indonesia became the primary drivers for new install volume during the year.

Mid-core and 4X strategy titles remained the primary revenue engines, utilizing sophisticated live-ops and battle pass systems to maintain high average revenue per user despite the dominance of hypercasual games in download charts.

Developers increasingly shifted toward cross-platform play, focusing on intellectual properties that transition seamlessly between mobile and PC to diversify revenue and improve retention.

Interest in play-to-earn models waned by the end of 2022, though developers continued to integrate concepts of digital ownership and decentralized economies into long-term roadmaps.