Mobile

1 BANDAI NAMCO Group Outline 01 Consolidated Business Performance / 03 Sales by IPs / Facts & Figures Entertainment Unit (Digital Business) / Entertainment Unit (Toys and Hobby Business) 06 IP Production Unit (Visual and Music Business / Creation Business) / IP Production Unit (Visual and Music Business) / IP Production Unit (Creation Business) / Amusement Unit Entertainment Unit (Digital Business) 07 Game App Market / Top Publishers in the Global App Market / Home Video Game Market ...

www.bandainamco.co.jp TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Bandai Namco Group Outline 01 Consolidated Business Performance / Entertainment Unit (Digital Business) 04 Entertainment Unit (Toys and Hobby Business) 06 IP Production Unit (Visual and Music Business / Entertainment Unit (Digital Business) Entertainment Unit (Toys and Hobby Business) 09 Plastic Model Market / Figure Market / Capsule Toy Market / Card Product Market Children’s Lifestyle (Sundries) M...

www.bandainamco.co.jp TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 Consolidated Business Performance / 03 Sales by IPs / Entertainment Unit (Digital Business) 04 Entertainment Unit (Toys and Hobby Business) 06 IP Production Unit / Amusement Unit Entertainment Unit (Digital Business) 07 Game App Market / Home Video Game Market Entertainment Unit (Toys and Hobby Business) 09 Plastic Model Market / Figure Market / Capsule Toy Market / 10 Candy Toy Market / Children’s Lifestyle (Sundries) Mar...

The Q4 2025 investor presentation details a period of record financial performance for the company, characterized by significant revenue growth and successful strategic integration. The primary thesis centers on the company’s transformative year, highlighted by the successful consolidation of Plarium and a shift toward a midcore gaming focus. For the fourth quarter of 2025, the company achieved net sales of SEK 3,123 million, representing an 8% organic growth rate and a 108% increase in constant currency year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA reached SEK 717 million, maintaining a 23% margin, while unlevered free cash flow totaled SEK 878 million with a 66% conversion rate.

The scope of the report covers the global gaming operations of the company throughout the 2025 fiscal year, with specific emphasis on the fourth quarter. Key operational findings indicate that user acquisition (UA) spending rose to 38% of revenue in Q4, a 98% year-over-year increase in constant currency, largely driven by the integration of Plarium and the scaling of casual and racing franchises. Revenue streams showed a notable shift, with direct-to-consumer contributions rising 600 basis points to 32% of the total. Franchise performance was bolstered by strong results in the racing and word game segments, which saw year-over-year growth of 43% and 28%, respectively.

Methodologically, the financial data is presented on a reported basis, with constant currency adjustments applied to isolate organic growth trends. The report incorporates full-year 2025 figures and highlights the impact of the Plarium acquisition, which was integrated into the group starting in February 2025. Looking ahead, the company concludes the period with a stable leverage ratio and a new organizational structure, positioning itself for continued midcore expansion and the potential public offering of its PlaySimple division.

This technical guide outlines the strategic importance and functional mechanics of deep linking within the mobile app ecosystem. The primary thesis is that deep links are essential tools for streamlining the user experience, reducing friction, and driving higher conversion rates compared to standard mobile web interfaces. By directing users to specific in-app content rather than generic homepages, marketers can significantly improve retention and re-engagement through targeted campaigns across email, social media, and SMS.

The scope of the analysis covers the technical distinctions between three primary types of links: default, deferred, and contextual. Default deep links function only when an app is already installed, while deferred deep links—facilitated by specialized SDK integrations—route non-users to the appropriate app store before delivering them to the intended internal page upon installation. The guide also examines platform-specific solutions like Apple’s Universal Links, noting their ability to prevent error messages while highlighting limitations regarding attribution data and support within major apps like Facebook.

Key data points emphasize the commercial impact of native app environments, noting that consumers purchase at three times the rate of the mobile web. Furthermore, with 70% of emails opened on mobile devices, the integration of deep links into owned media channels is presented as a critical driver of revenue. The conclusion suggests that as digital interactions expand into voice, television, and automotive platforms, deep linking and cross-device tracking will remain the foundational technology for maintaining a cohesive and measurable mobile marketing strategy.

The mobile ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental structural transformation as the industry shifts from a volume-based growth model to one defined by monetization efficiency and technological integration. By 2026, the market has reached a state of saturation where total app releases have surged by 25% year-over-year, yet only 10% of new titles successfully secure meaningful user attention. A pivotal milestone occurred in late 2025 when non-gaming applications surpassed gaming in total revenue for the first time, largely propelled by the explosive 273% revenue growth in generative AI and the strategic expansion of utility-based tools.

Within the gaming sector, traditional genres such as Casino and RPG have faced stagnation, forcing publishers to adopt hybridization strategies that blend deeper monetization mechanics into previously hypercasual titles. This pivot has yielded significant results, with hypercasual revenue increasing by approximately 80% as developers move toward puzzle and simulation subgenres. Meanwhile, midcore gaming revenue has plateaued at $33–34 billion, prompting a reliance on intensified LiveOps and direct-to-consumer strategies. Across the broader app landscape, the integration of generative AI into creative assets has become standard, with over half of top-grossing games utilizing these tools to scale production, despite ongoing concerns regarding creative monotony.

Geographically, growth patterns are diverging as emerging markets like Indonesia continue to drive massive download volumes, while mature Western markets focus on maximizing revenue per user. The utility and social segments are similarly prioritizing premium subscription models to combat plateauing download numbers. While tools such as antivirus and cloud storage are seeing a resurgence in demand, the industry faces a broader challenge in maintaining long-term retention. Ultimately, the market is transitioning away from hypergrowth toward a sustainable, mature phase characterized by subscription-driven monetization and the strategic application of AI to optimize both user experience and operational efficiency.

The report argues that Vietnam’s mobile gaming sector will reach a billion‑dollar valuation by 2025, driven by an expanding user base and high spending per download. In 2023, 1.1 billion mobile users and 900 million mid‑core players generated gross revenue of approximately US$1.3 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.8 % across all platforms. The analysis attributes this surge to rapid mobile penetration, widespread 5G coverage (average speed 75.7 Mbps), and a growing banking‑linked payment ecosystem that facilitates in‑app purchases.

A key finding is the regulatory shift that began in 2025, when Apple introduced a mandatory license field and the Vietnamese government revoked 1,081 unlicensed titles. This crackdown reduced total downloads by 13.7 % but created a more favorable environment for compliant mid‑core games, which now dominate the market. The report’s methodology involved surveying 250 representative titles with significant download volumes, measuring D1 and D7 retention, playtime, and revenue. Data were cross‑validated with internal tools and third‑party analytics to correct discrepancies common in the local market.

Geographically, the study focuses on Vietnam but benchmarks against other Southeast Asian markets. It notes that while daily playtime is rising across the region, Vietnam’s revenue per download exceeds that of the Philippines by at least 28 %. The report concludes that early licensing and a focus on social, competitive, and narrative‑rich mid‑core experiences—particularly 4X strategy, MOBA, squad RPG, MMORPG, and battle royale genres—will be critical for publishers seeking sustainable growth in the Vietnamese market.

Vietnam’s mobile game sector has evolved from a consumer‑centric market into a burgeoning production hub, driven by a skilled talent pool forged through outsourcing, stringent regulatory frameworks that forced local publishing entities to emerge, and the explosive rise of mobile gaming. The country now hosts over 35 000 game programmers—comparable to China’s workforce—and more than 300 active mobile publishers headquartered in Vietnam. In 2024, five Vietnamese studios ranked among the world’s top 25 publishers by downloads, contributing nearly 2.4 billion downloads and $133 million in revenue—a 67 % increase in downloads and an 82 % rise in earnings since 2020. Key titles such as Car Race, Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle, and Hair Salon: Beauty Salon Game illustrate the domestic IP pipeline, while globally recognized titles like Sky Garden: Farming Paradise, Magic Tiles 3, and Axie Infinity showcase the country’s capacity for high‑impact releases.

The transformation accelerated after 2013 when Vietnamese solo developer Nguyen Ha Dong’s Flappy Bird achieved worldwide chart dominance, proving that local talent could produce globally successful mobile games with limited resources. This success spurred a wave of small studios and startups, many of which transitioned from outsourcing or publishing roles to independent IP creation. Vietnam’s high smartphone penetration (84 %) and a youthful, digitally native demographic further underpin market growth.

Regulatory challenges remain: stricter limits on gaming time for minors, mandatory Ministry of Information and Communications approvals, and content censorship can constrain creative expression and international appeal. Future success will hinge on navigating the shift from hypercasual to more complex casual and social mobile games while adapting to evolving regulatory constraints. Despite these hurdles, Vietnam’s established talent base, rapid growth trajectory, and increasing foreign investment position it as a rising contender for global mobile game leadership over the next decade.

Vietnam’s mobile gaming landscape is rapidly evolving from a download‑centric, ad‑driven model to a hybrid ecosystem that prioritizes in‑app purchases (IAP) and subscription revenue. In 2024, the country led global Google Play downloads with 6.1 billion installs yet generated only about $430 million, underscoring the profitability ceiling of pure advertising. Rising acquisition costs, privacy‑driven signal loss, and a plateauing average revenue per user (ARPU) have forced studios to adopt IAP‑first, hybrid casual titles that deliver deeper engagement and predictable cash flows. Global IAP and subscription revenue reached $150 billion in 2025, up 13%, while Vietnam’s IAP growth surged 65 %, positioning hybrids as the default blueprint for sustainable growth by 2026.

The transition hinges on data‑centric monetization strategies. AI‑driven programmatic advertising and hybrid supply‑side platforms help studios navigate privacy constraints, while sophisticated IAP systems require clean player‑behavior analytics and structured measurement frameworks. Localized pricing—using purchasing power parity tiers, local currency endings, and one‑tap tokenised payments—can lift conversion by over 20 % and reduce checkout abandonment by up to 30 %. Integrating multi‑currency settlement through a single provider such as Airwallex adds 2–5 % to net margin without altering game design.

A phased rollout model enables Vietnamese studios to pilot in core markets, expand regionally through configuration rather than new vendor projects, and scale into high‑value markets like the US for top‑line growth and FX savings. Premium ad formats on TikTok, when matched to specific spending barriers, can boost transaction values by 20–30 % and shift campaigns from cost‑per‑install to return‑on‑ad‑spend metrics. Case studies, such as Falcon Game Studio’s pivot to a hybrid model with 60–70 % day‑one retention and a 3–5 % global payer rate, illustrate the tangible benefits of this approach.

Overall, Vietnam’s mobile gaming sector is poised to compete globally by leveraging robust payment partners, privacy‑first acquisition tactics, and a disciplined IAP strategy that unlocks higher lifetime value and sustainable studio growth through 2026.

The survey, conducted by Aream & Co., gauges executive optimism regarding consumer spending on gaming in 2025 across multiple channels and functional areas. Overall, 49 % of respondents view spending as “more optimistic,” another 49 % see it as unchanged, and only 2 % are less optimistic. When broken down by platform, mobile spending is perceived as more optimistic (49 %) while PC and console views are split between “more” (15–33 %) and “about the same.” In‑app purchases are viewed as more optimistic (80 %) versus in‑app advertising (41 %).

Key challenges identified include content saturation and over‑supply, with 33 % citing these as concerns; marketing environment issues affect 49 %, and macro conditions are a worry for 17 %. Despite these, 54 % anticipate more new games in 2025, and 37 % expect higher average budgets. Marketing spend is expected to rise for 48 %, while engineering and game development are seen as more optimistic (71 % and 42 %).

The survey also highlights a strong appetite for mergers and acquisitions, with 71 % expecting more M&A activity. Advanced integration across multiple functions is viewed as more optimistic (49 %) but limited implementation remains a concern.

The data derive from a global sample of gaming CEOs, reflecting perspectives across mobile, PC, console, and various functional departments. The findings suggest a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2025, tempered by supply‑side pressures and marketing challenges.

The analysis focuses on mobile application usage patterns observed during the Ramadan period of 2026 across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The primary objective is to quantify shifts in user engagement, subscription behavior, and platform preference relative to the preceding year and a broader baseline average. Key metrics examined include overall app usage, subscription growth, in‑app purchases, and social media interaction.

Findings indicate a pronounced rise in overall app engagement during Ramadan 2026, with total usage increasing by approximately 111 % compared to the same period in 2025. Subscription activity shows a 42 % uptick, while in‑app purchase volume climbs by 91 %. Social media engagement metrics—measured through likes, shares, and comments—exhibit a 63 % increase. When benchmarked against the average growth rate for the same timeframe (2025‑2026), these figures represent a significant acceleration, suggesting heightened consumer activity during the holy month.

The data set covers all MENA markets and aggregates daily usage logs from a representative sample of mobile devices. The methodology involved longitudinal tracking of app sessions, transaction records, and social media interactions over the 30‑day Ramadan period. Comparative analysis was performed against both the previous year’s Ramadan metrics and a rolling 12‑month average to isolate seasonal effects.

In conclusion, the Ramadan period of 2026 drove substantial growth across multiple facets of mobile app consumption in MENA, with overall usage and monetization metrics surpassing historical trends. These insights underscore the strategic importance of tailoring app offerings, promotional campaigns, and user experience enhancements to align with cultural and religious calendars in the region.

Mobile gaming drives the global industry’s growth through 2025, accounting for more than half of worldwide revenue and over eighty percent of players. Global gaming income is projected to reach $197 billion in 2025, a 7.5 % year‑over‑year rise largely powered by mobile and PC segments, while console expansion remains modest. The sector’s resilience is most pronounced in emerging markets where Android and iOS user volumes surge, yet revenue concentration persists in Western regions—particularly the United States and the United Kingdom—where iOS dominates acquisition spend.

Competitive dynamics sharpen as the top ten to fifty titles on Google Play and Apple’s App Store capture an increasing share of revenue, creating a winner‑take‑all environment. Hyper‑casual and match‑3 games concentrate U.S. spend, whereas Android strategy titles spread more evenly across Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Sub‑genres such as chess, ludo, hidden object RPGs, and slots thrive in China, India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia, collectively commanding 15–20 % of global spend. Across most categories, day‑one retention has slipped from roughly 80 % to about 60 %, underscoring a broader challenge of sustaining early engagement.

Download patterns reveal Android’s volume advantage—about 70 % of global downloads—with the United States, India, Brazil, and Indonesia leading. iOS, though smaller in volume (30 %), delivers higher per‑download revenue, especially in China and the U.S. iOS penetration is rising in emerging markets such as Brazil and Vietnam, while Android’s share in India climbs from 18.8 % to 21.3 %. Genre‑level analysis shows modest growth (10–30 %) across most mobile categories, with occasional outliers and declines in specific niches. Overall, the landscape is characterized by rapid mobile expansion, concentrated monetization power, and shifting geographic priorities that shape strategic opportunities for developers and marketers.