Market (Mobile)·Updated Mar 17, 2026 by data.ai
Anime-themed mobile games generated 20% of total global mobile game consumer spend in 2021 despite accounting for only 1% of total usage.
Japan remains the dominant market, representing 55% of global anime-game spend in 2021, though its market share has declined by nine percentage points since 2018.
Global downloads for anime-style games grew 50% between 2018 and 2021, with South Korea emerging as a top growth market showing a 170% increase in downloads and 85% increase in spend.
RPG, simulation, and action subgenres drive the majority of revenue and downloads, with high-performing titles like Genshin Impact and Pokémon GO demonstrating significant cross-regional appeal.
Specific subgenres are seeing massive revenue acceleration, led by titles like Genshin Impact (+233% year-over-year) and Uma Musume Pretty Derby (+117% year-over-year).
The anime gaming audience skews heavily toward Gen Z, with U.S. iPhone users in this category being 217% more likely to use Discord and 52% more likely to use Snapchat than the average mobile gamer.
Anime-themed mobile games generated 20% of total global mobile game consumer spend in 2021 despite accounting for only 1% of total usage.
Japan remains the dominant market, representing 55% of global anime-game spend in 2021, though its market share has declined by nine percentage points since 2018.
Global downloads for anime-style games grew 50% between 2018 and 2021, with South Korea emerging as a top growth market showing a 170% increase in downloads and 85% increase in spend.
RPG, simulation, and action subgenres drive the majority of revenue and downloads, with high-performing titles like Genshin Impact and Pokémon GO demonstrating significant cross-regional appeal.
Specific subgenres are seeing massive revenue acceleration, led by titles like Genshin Impact (+233% year-over-year) and Uma Musume Pretty Derby (+117% year-over-year).
The anime gaming audience skews heavily toward Gen Z, with U.S. iPhone users in this category being 217% more likely to use Discord and 52% more likely to use Snapchat than the average mobile gamer.