As the fastest-growing segment of the gaming industry, mobile games continue breaking records and making billions in revenue each year.
According to data presented by Mejores Apuestas, gaming apps are expected to bring in more than $252bn in revenue in 2021, or 63% of the total app revenue this year.
Gaming App Revenues to Jump by $52B YoY, the Biggest Annual Increase to Date
The surge in the use of mobile phones and the COVID-19 restrictions have been major drivers for the growth of the entire mobile app market. According to Statista data, global app revenues are expected to hit over $400bn in 2021, 56% more than two years ago, and mobile games have had a significant role in this increase.
In 2019, gaming app revenues hit nearly $167bn, showing a 19% increase year-over-year. Statistics show that 2020 witnessed even more significant growth, with users worldwide spending over $200bn on mobile games.
As the strongest segment of the global mobile app market, mobile games are expected to witness the biggest annual growth in 2021, with revenues rising by $52bn YoY to over $252bn in total. By 2025, this figure is forecast to touch nearly $388bn.
The number of downloads is also on the rise. According to Statista data, mobile games are forecast to hit over 116 million downloads worldwide in 2021, five times more than any other segment of the market and 18% more than a year ago.
The Statista Digital Market Outlook estimates that revenue across most mobile app segments will increase over the next few years and overall will reach around $613bn by 2025.
More than 400 Million People Started Playing Mobile Games in the Last Two Years
Even before the pandemic, mobile games have witnessed a surge in the number of users. However, the entire industry boomed last year, as millions of people turned to gaming apps as their number-one at-home entertainment amid the lockdown. Although COVID-19 restrictions have loosened in most of the countries, the entire market shows no signs of slowing down.
According to a Statista survey, the number of people playing mobile games worldwide surged by more than 400 million amid the pandemic, growing from 1.37 billion in 2019 to almost 1.8 billion in 2021. More than one-third of all users this year will come from China as the world’s leading mobile games market. By 2025, the total number of people playing mobile games worldwide is set to jump over 2.2 billion.
