Apps Surpassed Mobile Games in IAP Revenue: Q2 2025

The mobile software market reached a historic milestone in the second quarter of 2025, as non-gaming applications surpassed mobile games in total in-app purchase (IAP) revenue for the first time. Data covering the App Store and Google Play indicates that total combined IAP revenue reached $40.9 billion during this period. Of this total, non-gaming apps accounted for $21.1 billion, representing a 24.1% year-over-year increase, largely driven by consumer demand for AI-integrated software such as ChatGPT. Conversely, mobile gaming revenue remained relatively stagnant, growing by only 0.7% to reach $19.8 billion.

Market activity regarding user acquisition also highlights a divergence between the two sectors. While total quarterly downloads for all apps and games remained flat at 36.6 billion, game-specific downloads declined by 6.8% to 12.8 billion. Within the gaming segment, strategy games emerged as the most profitable genre, generating $4.75 billion in revenue, followed by RPGs and puzzle games. Despite the overall stagnation in gaming, specific titles like Last War: Survival maintained their lead in revenue, while Block Blast and Delta Force saw notable gains in download rankings.

These findings reflect a broader shift in consumer spending habits within the mobile ecosystem. While the gaming sector continues to rely on established titles and specific high-performing genres, the rapid expansion of the non-gaming app market—fueled by technological advancements in artificial intelligence—has fundamentally altered the revenue landscape. This analysis, based on performance metrics from April through June 2025, underscores a period of transition where utility and AI-driven applications are increasingly capturing a larger share of the mobile economy compared to traditional gaming products.