No items found.
Video gaming has evolved tremendously since the introduction of first-generation consoles like the Magnavox Odyssey and Ping-O-Tronic in the 1970s. Console games today are a lot more advanced in terms of graphics, gameplay capabilities, user experience, and accessibility. Gaming, moreover, is the number one source of entertainment for Generation Alpha, or people born after 2010, with more than 90 percent of this population regularly playing console games and 72 percent watching others play, according to Newzoo.
Mobile gaming has followed a similar evolutionary trajectory, albeit at an expedited rate. Finnish mobile company Nokia introduced Snake, an elementary game in which players guided a snake-shaped trail of pixels around a small screen in search of food, in 1997. In the 25 years since, mobile games have become much more sophisticated, with enhanced graphics, innovative monetization models, and GPS integration.
Here's a closer look at the current state of the mobile gaming industry:
More Than 2 Billion Users
While there are different estimates as to how many people regularly play mobile games, it's generally accepted that there are more than 2 billion users worldwide. This is more than any other video game platform and in large part because of the ubiquity of smartphones. There are nearly 7 billion smartphone users in the world and almost 1 billion smartphone users in China alone.
One estimate by Newzoo shows more than 2.2 billion active mobile gamers globally as of 2023. Half of those gamers were from the Asia-Pacific region, which is largely attributed to India’s growing mobile device market. The country is among the fastest-growing smartphone markets in the world, and more than 60 percent of its total online players are between the ages of 18 and 24.
There's about 550 million mobile gamers in Europe and more than 300 million in Latin America. Approximately 207 million people in North America play mobile games.
Worth More Than $103.5 Billion
Newzoo also reported that, as of 2022, the gaming industry overall was worth more than $300 billion, which was a significant increase over its revenue prediction of $174 billion for 2021. Mobile gaming accounted for $103.5 billion of that total figure, up more than 5 percent year-over-year and outpacing other gaming markets, including browser PC games and console games.
The COVID-19 pandemic expedited the growth of the mobile gaming market worldwide as people looked for distractions while isolated in their homes. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) and LoopMe report What Mobile Gaming's 'New Normal' Should Look Like After the COVID-19 Pandemic, the pandemic facilitated a 12 percent increase in total mobile gamers worldwide. The report also stated that 6 percent of all players didn't play mobile games before the pandemic.
Consumer Spending Exceeding $40 Billion
The winddown of pandemic-response measures, however, hasn't halted the momentum of mobile gaming. Rather, consumer spending trends suggest the industry is still growing. Players worldwide spent $41.2 billion on in-game purchases during the first half of 2022, and the games Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile made more than $1 billion each. While this was a slight decrease from 2021 figures, the industry achieved record spending in 2023.
According to Data.ai, players spent nearly $34 billion on mobile games in the first quarter of 2023, up 29 percent from the same time period in 2022. Players spent the most on Tencent's role-playing game (RPG) Honor of Kings, while Cand Crush, Genshin Impact, and Roblox were among other popular titles for consumer spending in 2023.
More Popular with Each Passing Generation
Newzoo also reports that mobile is the most popular gaming platform across all generations, from Baby Boomers to Generation Alpha. It is also becoming more popular with each passing generation. Although 40 percent of Baby Boomers engage with games on any platform, they dedicate about only 11 percent of their spare time to gaming. In contrast, 90 and 94 percent of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, respectively, regularly engage with games. The average Gen Alpha gamer dedicates about 22 percent of their spare time on gaming.
While younger players are more likely to engage with games on multiple platforms, mobile has overtaken console gaming in worldwide popularity. A YouGov survey of 48 countries found that 46 percent of gamers on average in 2023 played on mobile devices, while just 40 percent on average played games on consoles or PC.
Most Popular Game Types
Hyper-casual is the most popular type of mobile game, based on Data.ai's State of Mobile 2022 report. It accounted for each of the top three most-downloaded genres (action, puzzle, and simulation) in 2022, although these games, which usually only make money from ad shares, weren't among the highest revenue earners.
Strategy games like Risk: Global Domination drew in the most consumer spending. These games made nearly $10 billion in consumer spending in 2022, due in large part to in-app purchases. Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), RPGs, and casino each accounted for more than $5 billion in consumer spending.
