Mobile games contribute to the majority of consumer spending on mobile devices, with games accounting for over half of spending on iOS and over a third on Google Play.
The methods for monetization have expanded over the years, from the simple $0.99 upfront cost to in-app purchases for cosmetics, levels, and other upgrades, alongside subscriptions.
This growth in monetization methods followed the expansion of game genres available on mobile platforms, from highly-detailed RPG, action, and adventure games to exceedingly simple "hypercasual" games.
Even though mobile games still lag behind console and PC releases in scope and development cost, mobile is way ahead on revenue generation. It surpassed PC and console in 2018, and was responsible for over 55 percent in 2023.
Mobile also has more gamers than PC or console, with a lower barrier-to-entry because of the cost of the device and the cost of games. Almost all mobile games are freemium, with in-app purchases, whereas the majority of console and PC releases still have an upfront cost.
Apple's iOS platform has been the better performer of the two when it comes to consumer spending on games, even though iOS has a much smaller userbase. This comes partly from where the iPhone is most popular, in the US, China and Japan.
In terms of regions, China, the United States and Japan are the big three in terms of consumer spending on mobile games, accounting for over 50 percent of spending.
China spends the most, but Japan spends more per-capita than any other country. Both countries are responsible for some of the biggest mobile games, such as Honor of Kings and Genshin Impact.
We have collected data and statistics on mobile game revenues. Read on below to find out more. Want an overview of the entire app economy? Check out our App Data report.
Key Mobile Game Revenue Statistics
- There was $82.7 billion consumer spending on mobile games in 2025
- $51.9 billion of this spend on mobile games came from iOS, $31 billion from Google Play
- The US was the largest spender on mobile games in 2025
- Strategy games generated the most revenue by genre
- Mobile games accounted for more revenue than console and PC combined
Want to learn all about the app industry? Our App Data Report covers revenues, downloads, and number of apps across both app stores, alongside most popular and top grossing apps of the year.
App Data Report 2026
Mobile Game Revenue
Mobile game consumer spending reached $82.7 billion in 2025, a 2.2% increase on the year prior.
Game revenue 2016 to 2025 ($bn)
Game revenue 2016 to 2025 ($bn)
| Year | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 37.7 |
| 2017 | 47 |
| 2018 | 53.9 |
| 2019 | 63.2 |
| 2020 | 79.5 |
| 2021 | 89.6 |
| 2022 | 81.3 |
| 2023 | 79.6 |
| 2024 | 80.9 |
| 2025 | 82.7 |
Sources: App Data Report, Sensor Tower
