Mobile Market Landscape 2026
Download PDFMarket saturation
is accelerating fast
Releases grew +25% YoY to over 1.4M in
2025, but only ~10% of them capture
user attention. Visibility is getting
harder to win.
Key takeaways
2
Games are claiming an even
larger share
The share of gaming apps out of all
apps
released rose from 63% (2024) to 72%
(2025), intensifying the competition in
gaming.
Apps overtake games in
revenue figures
In September 2025, apps surpassed
games in revenue ($4.8B vs $4.5B). The
gap continues to widen despite
seasonal slowdown.
App market growth continues
to accelerate
Compared to 2024, apps picked up
+11.9% in downloads and +19.1% in
revenue in 2025. Growth remains broad
across categories.
Generative AI is the biggest
standout
Generative AI jumped +178% in
downloads and +273% in revenue in
2025. It is the clearest structural shift in
the market.
LATAM saturates,
monetization keeps rising
Several LATAM (Latin American)
markets show downloads decline in the
range of –2% to –6%, while revenue
continues to grow. Growth is shifting
from scaling to monetization.
Europe leads revenue growth
among top markets
Germany, France, and the UK posted
strong revenue gains (roughly +18% to
+56%), making Europe the key growth
driver.
AI is a new mainstream
in gaming ads
56% of the top 100 grossing mobile
games used AI to produce ad creatives
in
2025. AI-driven advertising is now a
standard practice.
2
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Global Trends
Page 8
Casual
Page 34
Game Trends
Contents
1
2
6
Generative AI
Page 68
App Trends
5
Midcore
Page 43
3
Entertainment
Page 74
6
Hypercasual
Page 51
4
Social
Page 81
7
Tools
Page 88
8
Key premises:
How is the market categorized?
All market analytics are based on
AppMagic’s core categorization.
Click here to learn more
What is the basis for the market
analytics data?
Estimates for downloads and revenue are
derived from app positions in the Top Free
and Top Grossing charts across all
countries. Downloads and revenue data
for China are available for the App Store
platform only.
How are the payment behavior metrics and
D2C revenue calculated?
D2C revenue and payment metrics are
calculated based on AppMagic’s internal
analytics and include data for the United
States only.
You can find more details on the chart calculation methodology in the footer of each slide.
Data recorded on January 15, 2026
Methodology
The report is based on AppMagic data for 2023–2025, providing an overview of global trends. It covers the App Store and Google Play markets and
does not include other app distribution sources. For distinction purposes and where context demands it, we refer to non-gaming and gaming apps,
respectively, as apps and games.
7
Global Trends
8
Market saturation
is accelerating fast
Releases grew +25% YoY to over 1.4M in
2025, but only ~10% of them attract
user attention.
Key takeaways
9
Games are claiming an even
larger share
The games’ share of the total releases
increased from 63% in 2024 to 72% in
2025
Apps overtake games in
revenue
Apps surpassed games in September
2025, generating $4.8B versus $4.5B.
The gap continues to widen despite a
seasonal slowdown.
Indonesia sees strong growth
in
downloads
Among the top five largest countries,
Indonesia shows strong growth, with
downloads up 10%.
Top countries are growing,
driven by apps
Many top-grossing countries, such as
China, Japan, Germany, and the UK are
seeing strong revenue growth.
Latin America is saturating
Many Latin American countries,
including Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru,
are seeing a decline in downloads.
Spain and the UAE lead
revenue growth
They show the largest YoY gains at 46%
and 42%, while France and Italy deliver
steadier, more moderate growth typical
of mature European markets.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
9
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
10
Release data is provided based on unique release identifiers on the App Store and Google Play. Analytics on the distribution of games and apps only include data for releases featured in AppMagic’s taxonomy.
Monthly trend for the total app releases (202 4–2025)
80K
90K
110K
100K
120K
Releases split between apps and games (202 4–2025)
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
130K
Games
Apps
2025
2024
The number of releases
is growing rapidly
The mobile market continues to become
increasingly saturated with both games and
apps. In 2025, there were 25% more releases
than in 2024.
The share of games grew noticeably, rising from
63% in 2024 to 72% in 2025.
Overall, more than 1.4M releases were launched
in 2025 across Google Play and the App Store.
However, only a fraction of them, around 10%,
actually draws user attention. Many releases
receive just a handful of installs—or none at all.
Releases
YoY Growth
+25%
2024
2025
Dec’25
11
Global trends in downloads (2023–2025)
4B
5B
7B
Games
Apps
6B
Global trends in revenue (2023–2025)
2.5B
3.0B
4.0B
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Games
Apps
3.5B
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
Dec’25
9B
8B
4.5B
5.0B
Apps overtake games in
revenue
In September 2025, for the first time in mobile
market’s history, apps earned more than
games:
the former generated $4.8B, while the latter
only
brought in $4.5B.
This shift was largely driven by the steady
growth of the apps segment, both in developed
regions with high LTV and in emerging markets.
The most significant contributors to absolute
revenue growth among the apps were:
ChatGPT
(+513% YoY),
TikTok
(+28%),
YouTube
(+36%),
Tinder
(+10%), and
HBO Max
(+17%).
At present, despite the slight market slowdown
in September and October (just prior to the
holiday season), the overall trend remains
intact: apps continue to outperform games.
Sep 2025
$4.8B
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
Dec’25
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
�
1.9%
3.5%
–1.4%
10%
4.5%
2.9%
–2.2%
10%
12%
3.2%
Global YoY changes in downloads (202 4–2025)
Indonesia sees strong
gains in downloads
The largest markets by downloads—India, the
United States, and Brazil—remain stable year
over year. Compared to 2024, there were no
major changes: downloads grew by 3.5% in the
US and by 1.9% in India, while Brazil saw a slight
decline of 1.5%.
The key shift took place in Indonesia. As the
country retained its No.4 position on the chart,
its downloads increased by 10%.
A similar trend is observed in Pakistan and
Vietnam, where downloads are growing rapidly,
showing gains of around 10%.
$0B
$5B
$15B
2024
2025
$10B
$20B
Global trends in downloads for the top 10 countries (202 4–2025)
12
$25B
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
India
USA
Brazil
Indonesia
China
Russian
Federation
Mexico
Pakistan
Vietnam
Turkey
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
7.8%
3.9%
4.0%
–6.5%
20.7%
12.5%
32.4%
–3.5%
6.0%
7.4%
Global YoY changes in revenue (202 4–2025)
Top countries keep
growing, driven by apps
Many top-grossing countries, such as China,
Japan, Germany, and the UK, are seeing strong
revenue growth. This growth is mainly driven by
apps, while games show little to no growth.
France also stands out, with revenue up 32%
year over year.
Asia underwent a mixed trend: while China and
Japan were growing strongly, South Korea and
Taiwan took a slight dip.
$0B
$10B
$30B
2024
2025
$20B
$40B
Global trends in revenue for the top 10 countries (202 4–2025)
13
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
USA
China
Japan
South
Korea
Germany
United
Kingdom
France
Taiwan
Canada
Australia
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
14
The fastest-growing countries
Downloads
5%
0%
10%
Revenue
0%
10%
20%
30%
Downloads
0%
–4%
–2%
Revenue
–2%
0%
The fastest-declining countries
–4%
Ukraine
Azerbaijan
Nigeria
Romania
Czech
Republic
Spain
UAE
Brazil
France
Italy
–6%
Colombia
Peru
Argentina
Ecuador
Dominican
Republic
South Korea
India
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Indonesia
-6-%
LATAM is approaching
saturation fast
Many Latin American countries, including
Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, are seeing a
decline in downloads. Just a year ago, the
LATAM region demonstrated solid growth and
was considered one of the most promising
regions for scaling user acquisition.
Current data suggests the market has reached
saturation. Meanwhile, Western Europe and the
UAE continue to show steady growth.
The strongest revenue increases come from
Spain (46%) and the UAE (42%). France and Italy
show more moderate but stable growth, which
is typical for mature European markets.
15%
20%
25%
–8%
40%
50%
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Expert Take:
LATAM market
saturation
The downloads decline across LATAM markets can be attributed to major
advertisers pursuing overly optimistic growth expectations, failing to
achieve the anticipated eCPMs and IAP performance, and consequently
reducing their budgets in 2025.
Similar patterns have previously been observed in other developing
markets and are likely to recur.
Roman Garbar
Marketing Director
15
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GLOBAL TRENDS
Top Grossing
Revenue
YoY
1
TikTok – Videos, Shop & LIVE
$4.83B
+28%
2
Google One
$2.67B
+27%
3
ChatGPT
$2.33B
+513%
30
4
YouTube
$2.09B
+36%
5
Honor of Kings
$1.68B
–3%
2
6
Last War: Survival
$1.57B
+40%
2
7
Roblox
$1.46B
+25%
2
8
Whiteout Survival
$1.40B
+30%
5
9
Royal Match
$1.37B
–1%
3
10
MONOPOLY GO!
$1.36B
–5%
5
Top Downloads
Downloads
YoY
1
ChatGPT
990M
+193%
9
2
TikTok – Videos, Shop & LIVE
770M
–22%
1
3
574M
–33%
1
4
487M
–23%
1
5
Google Gemini
474M
+381%
61
6
WhatsApp Messenger
465M
–29%
3
7
Temu: Shop Like a Billionaire
434M
–28%
1
8
CapCut: Photo & Video Editor
398M
–38%
4
9
Block Blast!
368M
+66%
7
10
Telegram
340M
–32%
3
Global mobile market leaders, 2025
16
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
17
Gaming Trends
Gaming growth is losing
momentum
Mobile games’ revenue growth slowed
to the mere +0.2% YoY versus last year’s
+3% , and the downloads growth is also
down. This points to rising saturation
and
tougher competition.
Key takeaways
18
Casino and RPG are declining
Casino and RPG declined due to weaker
downloads and reduced in-store
monetization, while Strategy became
the fastest-growing major genre.
Top 10 markets are
stagnating
Across downloads and revenue, the
chart top 10 shows limited growth.
Downloads are redistributing, while
Western gains are offset by declines in
key Asian markets.
LATAM monetizes, not scales
further
Latin America has reached saturation in
downloads, but revenue continues to
grow. This reflects improved
monetization efficiency rather than
audience expansion.
Retention growth is
becoming polarized
Top titles are largely flat (with minor
mid-term uplifts), while Casual and
Midcore gain somewhat overall along
with shrinking long-term retention.
Hypercasual shows strong growth.
LiveOps intensity is rising
LiveOps activity increased
significantly,
with more frequent and diverse event
formats. This indicates a stronger focus
on continuous engagement across full
user lifecycle.
D2C adoption grows
gradually
D2C revenue continues to grow, driven
mainly by top-grossing titles. While still
not universal, it signals a gradual shift
toward alternative monetization
channels.
AI
drives
ad creatives
With 56% of top 100 grossing games
using AI for ad production in 2025, AI is
now firmly mainstream in creative
advertising.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
18
Growth of the gaming
market slows down
Compared to last year, the mobile gaming
revenue increased by only +0.2%, unlike in 2024,
when growth was more substantial at +3%.
Downloads have been growing more
consistently, but the momentum is also
weakening: while 2024 saw a growth of +6.6%,
2025 only brought about +4.6%.
Overall, the gaming market is reaching its
saturation: the growth pockets that manifested
strongly in the previous years (for example, in
Latin America) stopped seeing rapid downloads
growth, and competition in existing markets
has
intensified to the point of limiting revenue
growth across the entire mobile gaming market.
19
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Downloads
Global trends in revenue and downloads (2023–2025)
4B
4.5B
5.5B
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Revenue
Downloads
5B
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
0%
–2%
–4%
2%
4%
6%
2023
2024
2025
Revenue
0%
1%
2%
3%
2023
2024
2025
Global YoY changes in revenue and downloads (2023–2025)
Dec’25
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Expert Take:
Gaming
revenue
slowdown
It may seem that the mobile market has entered a saturation phase, and to
some extent, this is true: growth is now driven by the quality of game
execution, while increasing the volume of LiveOps may have little impact
on retention or even harm it if handled poorly. However, the market cannot
be considered in decline: the drop in revenue from direct payments is
being offset by growth in alternative revenue streams and D2C.
For new developers, entry is still possible, but only with strong
differentiation, tight UA discipline, or a clear niche; generic games are
unlikely to break through. Steam and PC are becoming increasingly
attractive as a complementary or alternative path: they offer better
discoverability for innovative titles and a more forgiving environment for
small teams, especially when paired with a cross-platform or staged
launch strategy.
Ilya Eremeev
Managing Partner
20
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Casino and RPG are
declining
Among the largest segments, Casino and RPG
saw a significant decline.
While the drop in RPG is driven by lower
downloads, the decline in Casino may be partly
explained by a shift toward alternative revenue
sources such as webshops or D2C. Either way,
direct revenue from the App Store and Google
Play shows a clear downtrend.
Strategy delivered strong growth in both
revenue (+16%) and downloads (+15%): the
highest increase among the largest segments.
21
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Tag
Downloads 2024
Downloads 2025
%
Revenue 2024
Revenue 2025
%
Strategy
2.2B
2.6B
15.3%
$11.4B
$13.3B
16.1%
RPG
1.7B
1.6B
–9.1%
$13.2B
$11.0B
–16.6%
Puzzle
10.3B
11.0B
6.5%
$7.8B
$8.7B
11.1%
Casino
1.5B
1.7B
15.8%
$7.5B
$6.9B
–7.6%
Simulation
10.7B
11.0B
2.5%
$4.5B
$4.8B
6.2%
Shooter
2.8B
3.0B
7.8%
$2.9B
$3.3B
14.2%
Sports Games
2.1B
2.1B
1.9%
$1.8B
$1.7B
–3.9%
Action
7.2B
7.1B
–1.5%
$1.7B
$1.3B
–24.5%
Tabletop
1.9B
2.2B
14.1%
$869.1M
$933.5M
7.4%
Arcade
7.5B
7.8B
4.6%
$670.6M
$753.5M
12.4%
Geolocation
Games
57.3M
54.4M
–5.0%
$835.1M
$738.2M
–11.6%
Adventure
958.5M
1.0B
6.9%
$742.2M
$719.2M
–3.1%
Kids
4.7B
5.1B
7.1%
$497.6M
$552.6M
11.1%
Racing
3.5B
3.3B
–4.3%
$407.7M
$361.0M
–11.4%
Party Games
874.2M
943.5M
7.9%
$325.2M
$272.7M
–16.2%
Game Collection
399.8M
659.6M
65.0%
$36.1M
$46.8M
29.6%
Top Games
Study the growing markets in detail with our Market Segment Comparison tool!
Click here to learn more
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
�
�
1.1%
2.6%
–5.1%
8.0%
–2.9%
–4.0%
9.6%
11.2%
–0.4%
2.8%
YoY changes in downloads for the top 10 countries (202 4–2025)
Downloads redistributed
in the top 10 markets
The top 10 countries with the highest downloads
show almost no growth in their total shared
volume. Instead, downloads are being
redistributed within the group. Thus, while
Brazil’s
downloads declined by 5%, growth of a similar
magnitude was observed in Indonesia (+8%).
Despite overall volatility, downloads in the United
States and India increased slightly—by 2.6% and
1.1% respectively, confirming that these markets
remain stable.
$0B
Trends in downloads for the top 10 countries (202 4–2025)
22
$2B
$6B
2024
2025
$4B
$8B
$10B
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
India
USA
Brazil
Indonesia
Russian
Federation
Mexico
Vietnam
Pakistan
Turkey
Philippines
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
1.7%
–2.5%
–2.0%
–12.2%
5.1%
–9.0%
5.7%
0.8%
3.5%
5.8%
YoY changes in revenue for the top 10 countries (202 4–2025)
Top 10 markets by
revenue are stagnating
The top 10 revenue-earners are stagnating
overall, with moderate growth in several
Western countries and declines across key
Asian monetization markets (China and Japan
down around 2%, and South Korea down 12%).
Mature Western markets show steady, albeit
moderate, growth. While Asian markets are
seeing a slight decline in revenue, Western
markets, such as the United Kingdom, France,
and Germany, are growing and remain a reliable
revenue backbone.
$0B
$5B
$15B
2024
2025
$10B
Trends in revenue for the top 10 countries (202 4–2025)
23
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
USA
China
Japan
South
Korea
Germany
Taiwan
United
Kingdom
Canada
Australia
France
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
LATAM grows in revenue,
yet not in downloads
After a strong downloads growth in previous
years, Latin America is now facing market
saturation: downloads growth has largely
stalled across most countries, while revenue is
rising rapidly.
Against the broader slowdown in gaming
revenue growth, fast-developing markets such
as the UAE are showing positive revenue
momentum.
Asia remains volatile. South Korea, Taiwan, and
Hong Kong show a clear negative trend,
signaling market saturation.
24
The fastest-growing countries
Downloads
5%
0%
10%
Revenue
0%
10%
20%
30%
Downloads
0%
–4%
–2%
Revenue
–5%
0%
The fastest-declining countries
–10%
Ukraine
Azerbaijan
Romania
Kazakhstan
Czech
Republic
Argentina
Colombia
Russian
Federation
UAE
Turkey
–6%
Colombia
Ecuador
Hong Kong
Peru
Argentina
India
South Korea
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Peru
–15%
15%
20%
25%
–8%
–10%
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Retention growth is
becoming polarized
Against the backdrop of the slowing revenue
and downloads growth in the games segment,
retention is displaying a curious trend of its
own.
Compared to the previous year, retention in top
titles in 2025 remained largely unchanged, with
only a slight increase of around 2% in mid-term
retention.
It is important to note that retention trends vary
across different segments: some top Casual
and
Midcore games continue improving, while their
long-term retention overall seems to be on a
downturn; at the same time, Hypercasual
games
show strong retention growth.
25
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Global trends in retention for the top 200 grossing games (202 4–2025)
0
10
30
D1
D7
D14
2024
2025
20
D30
D60
D90
D180
40
D365
Global YoY changes in retention for the top 200 grossing games (202 4–2025)
0%
0.5%
1.5%
1.0%
D1
D7
D14
D30
D60
D90
D180
D365
2.0%
2.5%
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Learn more about LiveOps and
monetization trends in our
LiveOps Report
2025
LiveOps event density in
games is increasing
Rising competition in mobile games requires
developers to engage users more actively,
which is driving growth in LiveOps activity.
Compared to December 2024, the average
monthly number of LiveOps events per game in
December 2025 increased by 16%, from 73 to 85
events per title.
Growth is observed across all event duration
types, but the most notable increases were in
Hourly (+25%), Daily (+35%), and Medium-
length events (+29%).
This distribution suggests the focus is on user
engagement across the full lifecycle, not only on
retaining players in the short term.
26
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Trends in the average number of LiveOps events by length per game (2025)
0
20
60
Dec’24
40
80
YoY changes in the average number of LiveOps events by length per game (202 4–2025)
0%
10%
30%
20%
Hourly
Daily
Short
Medium
Long
40%
Jan’25
Feb’25
Mar’25
Apr’25
May’25
Jun’25
Jul’25
Aug’25
Sep’25
Oct’25
Dec’25
Nov’25
100
Hourly
Daily
Short
Medium
Long
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Expert Take:
The future of
LiveOps
The 35% jump in daily events tells us something important. Studios have
completely changed how they think about keeping players around. It’s
simple economics. Getting new players is expensive now. So instead, you
squeeze more value from the ones you already have. Daily events work
because they create habits. Players log in every day, they spend more,
and they stick around longer.
Some games are now running 100 events per month. That’s crazy. But it
works. The problem is that everyone else sees it and thinks they need to
do the same thing. Here’s the catch, though. You need serious systems to
pull this off. And you have to be careful. Too many events—and players
burn out. They feel overwhelmed and leave.
The smart studios in 2026 won’t be the ones spamming events. They ‘ll be
the ones who figure out the sweet spot. Give players enough to come
back every day, but not so much that it feels like a job.
Michael Khripin
Product Owner
27
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Jan’25
Oct’24
D2C revenue is growing,
albeit slowly
Compared to last year, D2C revenue in the US
increased by around 26% and is still primarily
used by top titles, while it likely remains
unprofitable for smaller projects.
The strongest growth among the top 100
grossing apps was recorded at 38%.
Against the backdrop of revenue declines in
some segments (for example, Casino), this
trend may be an important signal of the large
apps’ gradual shift toward alternative payment
systems.
Top 100 YoY growth*:
38%
All YoY growth*:
26%
28
*Figures for the USA only. D2C revenue data may be inaccurate; however, it is refined over time. The most accurate data is available in the game information within AppMagic tools.
Trends in D2C revenue, USA (202 4–2025)
80M
100M
140M
120M
Jan’24
Apr’24
Jul’24
Oct’25
Apr’25
Jul’25
Dec’25
160M
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
YooKassa leads growth
in payment SDKs
29
The data is based on SDK presence information in apps. Fast-growing SDK insights cover only SDKs that were present in more than 100 apps as of December 2025.
On average, leading payment SDKs showed
global growth of 10%–40%.
YooKassa
recorded the strongest growth at
around 39%. As a primarily Russia-focused
payment service, it has become a key
alternative after Visa and Mastercard’s exit,
enabling both apps and games to monetize
Russian audiences in both domestic and foreign
markets.
Despite the strong growth shown by specific
payment SDKs, the overall number of apps using
them is growing slowly, up only 5% year over
year.
Trends in the fastest-growing payment SDKs (202 4–2025)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
YooKassa
35%
40%
Card.io
Cashfree
Huawei AppGallery
Xsolla
PayPal Braintree
Pay
Razoray
PhonePe Intent
Paytm
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Trends in payment SDK installs (202 4–2025)
0K
50K
150K
100K
200K
250K
Jan’25
Oct’24
Jan’24
Apr’24
Jul’24
Oct’25
Apr’25
Jul’25
Dec’25
+5% YoY
Explore competitor monetization with
AppMagic and its
Direct-to-Consumer
(D2C) Revenue metric
Expert Take:
D2C in 2026
Alternative payment systems will continue to grow in 2026, but the
winners won’t be those treating DTC as a side experiment.
Our data shows DTC has crossed an inflection point: when publishers
adopt a shared DTC architecture—pairing app-to-web Payment Links
with web stores run like LiveOps products—DTC becomes scalable,
repeatable, and materially profitable not just for top titles.
For all mobile games publishers, the question isn’t whether to build DTC,
but whether they can afford not to, as proven infrastructure lowers the
barrier and the performance gap between adopters and laggards keeps
widening.
Gil Tov-Ly
CMO
30
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
The rise of AI-driven
ad creatives
In 2025, the rapid advancement of AI had a truly
significant impact on creative advertising.
A clear industry trend has emerged toward
broader adoption of AI in creative production,
ranging from AI-assisted workflows to fully
AI-generated ad creatives.
Among the top 100 grossing mobile games, 56%
were observed to have clearly used AI in the
design and production of their advertising
assets.
31
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Discover the ad strategies behind the top-grossing games with our Ad Intelligence tool!
Click here to learn more
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
With AI
No AI
Use of AI in ad creatives: top 100 grossing mobile games, 2025
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Expert Take:
The future of AI
in creatives
2025 proved AI is not just about speed; it drives winners. But will 2026
result in an inflection point?
As AI becomes the industry baseline, we must guard against creative
monotony and visual fatigue that may have adverse impacts on
performance.
The winners will find the perfect balance, leveraging human mutators to
inject fresh, mold-breaking concepts, while leveraging AI as the engine
to
iterate and optimize at scale.
Olivia Barnett
COO
32
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | GAMING TRENDS
Top Downloads
Downloads
YoY
1
Block Blast!
368M
+66%
1
2
Roblox
295M
+37%
1
3
Free Fire MAX
287M
–2%
2
4
Subway Surfers
191M
+1%
5
Pizza Ready!
166M
–7%
6
Ludo King®
151M
–10%
7
Vita Mahjong
126M
+179%
123
8
My Talking Tom 2: Pet Game
122M
–1%
1
9
Hole.io
121M
+48%
24
10
PUBG MOBILE
116M
+3%
2
Top Grossing
Revenue
YoY
1
Honor of Kings
$1.68B
–3%
2
Last War:Survival
$1.57B
+40%
2
3
Roblox
$1.46B
+30%
2
4
Whiteout Survival
$1.40B
+50%
4
5
Royal Match
$1.37B
–1%
2
6
MONOPOLY GO!
$1.36B
–5%
4
7
PUBG MOBILE
$1.12B
+2%
1
8
Candy Crush Saga
$1.01B
+3%
1
9
Pokémon TCG Pocket
$677M
+141%
16
10
Coin Master
$651M
–7%
Global game market leaders, 2025
33
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Coin Master
Royal Match
Gossip Harbor®
Casual games are easy to play, with simple rules, short play sessions,
and minimal complexity, making them accessible and enjoyable
for a wide audience.
Trends in Casual games
Both classification and associated data are based on AppMagic’s taxonomy.
34
Audience is growing, revenue
is stalling
Downloads growth accelerated from
+6.4% (2024) to +8.0% (2025), but IAP
revenue plateaued at around $21B.
Audience growth is not converting into
revenue fast enough.
Key takeaways
35
Revenue is declining in top
genres
Two of the three largest genres, Casino
and Simulation, were set back: Puzzle
was the only one to grow (+7.6%).
Downloads growth alone no longer
reliably drives revenue.
Long-term retention is
declining
Short-term retention is relatively
stable, but mid- and long-term
retention is falling. The decline speeds
up from D14–D30 and peaks by D365
(roughly down from 8% to 13% YoY).
Match-3 is in the lead,
but stalling
Match-3 revenue is essentially flat at
~$4.8B, indicating a mature, saturated
segment. Growth is shifting to
emerging formats, with Sort Puzzle up
+116% YoY.
Merge is the key driver of
Puzzle’s growth
Merge is the strongest growth engine
for Puzzles, taking its revenue share
from 14% in 2024 to 20% in 2025. It is
pulling earnings away from Match-3,
Match-2 Blast, and Match 3D.
Merge growth, higher
concentration
Despite rapid growth, Merge revenue is
highly concentrated: ~80% comes from
the top 10 titles.
Gossip Harbor
alone
generated $550M in 2025, or 33% of the
segment’s total revenue.
Merge monetizes primarily
via LiveOps
Unlike many Puzzle formats dominated
by store offers, top Merge games
monetize mainly through LiveOps, with
recurring specials priced between $1
and $25.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
35
Downloads
Global trends in revenue and downloads (2023–2025)
1B
3B
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Revenue
Downloads
2B
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
0%
2%
4%
6%
2023
2024
2025
Revenue
0%
5%
10%
2023
2024
2025
Global YoY changes in revenue and downloads (2023–2025)
Dec’25
8%
Audience grows, revenue
stalls
Downloads growth is accelerating: from +6.4%
in 2024 to +8.0% in 2025.
IAP revenue has plateaued. Unlike downloads,
revenue growth has been slowing year over
year, and the segment’s absolute revenue is
effectively flat at around $21B.
Increasing player numbers are not translating
into revenue growth. Despite the expanding
reach, the market is not monetizing newly
acquired users fast enough.
36
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
Two out of three top
genres are declining
Puzzle was the only major genre to grow its
revenue (+7.6%), while Casino and Simulation
figures declined.
Downloads growth does not guarantee revenue
growth. Casino and Simulation’s earnings
shrunk despite their solid gains in downloads
(+15% and +5%, respectively).
Strategy, Game Collection, and Geolocation
Games showed strong growth in both
downloads and revenue, mostly driven by a
single title in each genre and amplified by the
low-base effect.
Casual-core genres (e.g., Puzzle and Kids)
remain the healthiest, with stable growth in
both downloads and revenue.
37
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Top Games
Tag
Downloads 2024
Downloads 2025
%
Revenue 2024
Revenue 2025
%
Puzzle
7.0B
7.7B
9.9%
$7.6B
$8.2B
7.6%
Casino
1.5B
1.7B
15.7%
$7.5B
$6.9B
–7.6%
Simulation
4.7B
4.9B
5.3%
$2.0B
$1.9B
–4.8%
Tabletop
1.9B
2.2B
14.1%
$870.4M
$933.0M
7.2%
Kids
4.7B
5.1B
7.1%
$498.3M
$553.7M
11.1%
Adventure
767.9M
831.0M
8.2%
$574.5M
$542.3M
–5.6%
Arcade
1.5B
1.7B
13.6%
$458.8M
$457.8M
–0.2%
RPG
276.5M
251.2M
–9.2%
$522.6M
$424.1M
–18.8%
Party Games
849.5M
917.8M
8.0%
$325.0M
$272.5M
–16.2%
Sports Games
867.2M
845.8M
–2.5%
$282.1M
$257.5M
–8.7%
Strategy
131.7M
207.8M
57.8%
$70.1M
$103.9M
48.2%
Action
3.1B
3.3B
5.6%
$86.1M
$81.3M
–5.5%
Racing
1.9B
1.9B
2.5%
$50.7M
$55.0M
8.6%
Shooter
126.8M
94.3M
–25.7
%
$3.9M
$2.7M
–30.7%
Game
Collection
214K
754K
253.1%
$21K
$94K
355.8%
Geolocation
Games
96K
156K
62.2%
$8K
$34K
346.7%
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
Study the growing markets in detail with our Market Segment Comparison tool!
Click here to learn more
Casual long-term
retention is declining
While short-term retention remains relatively
stable, mid- and long-term retention has been
on an expressed downtrend. The decline
accelerates from D14–D30 (–3.5% to –5.4%) and
reaches its peak by D365 (–8% to –13%).
In 2025, the main focus of LiveOps expansion
was on short-term retention, driven by short
hourly or daily events. Most likely, these
measures were not sufficient to support
long-term user retention in Midcore titles.
38
Global trends in retention for the top 200 grossing Casual games (202 4–2025)
0%
10%
20%
30%
Global YoY changes in retention for the top 200 grossing Casual games (202 4–2025)
–10%
–5%
0%
40%
2024
2025
D1
D7
D14
D30
D60
D90
D180
D365
D1
D7
D14
D30
D60
D90
D180
D365
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Explore more LiveOps and monetization
trends with our
LiveOps & Updates Calendar
Match-3 is in the lead,
albeit stalling
The largest Puzzle subgenre, Match-3, has
effectively plateaued: compared to last year,
revenue shows only minor fluctuations within a
mere 0.1%, remaining roughly flat overall at
around $4.8B.
Certain subgenres, such as Sort Puzzle, show
explosive growth—up +116% year over year.
Merge is actively pulling users and revenue from
the classic Match-3, relying on deeper meta and
stronger retention.
39
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
Global trends in revenue for the top Puzzle subgenres (202 4–2025)
$0B
$1B
$2B
$3B
Global YoY changes in revenue for the top Puzzle subgenres (202 4–2025)
0%
50%
100%
$4B
2024
2025
Match-3
Merge
Match-2
Blast
Match 3D
Word
Puzzle
Sort
Puzzle
Chain
Puzzle
Match-3: Tile
$5B
Bubble
Shooter
Physics
Puzzle
Match-3
Merge
Match-2
Blast
Match 3D
Word
Puzzle
Sort
Puzzle
Chain
Puzzle
Match-3: Tile
Bubble
Shooter
Physics
Puzzle
Revenue growth is
shifting to new formats
Merge delivered the strongest growth among
major Puzzle subgenres, partially pulling
audience from other large segments, such as
Match-3, Match-2 Blast, and Match 3D. Its share
of total market revenue increased from 14% in
2024 to 20% in 2025.
Despite explosive growth in Block Puzzle, Logic
Puzzle, and Sort Puzzle, their revenue share
remains relatively small.
At the same time, certain subgenres, such as
Maze, Match-3: Tile, and Find the Difference,
saw their revenues shrink, dropping up to 40%.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
Change in revenue share by genre (202 4–2025)
0%
100%
200%
Block Puzzle
Logic Puzzle
Sort Puzzle
40%
30%
20%
10%
The fastest-growing subgenres
0%
The fastest-declining subgenres
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
2025
2024
Match-3
Merge
Match-2 Blast
Match 3D
Word Puzzle
Other
300%
400%
Merge
Sudoku
Find The
Difference
Match-3: Tile
Maze
Bubble
Shooter
Draw Line
Puzzle
40
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Merge is still growing
as it gets more competitive
Despite strong YoY growth in the Merge
segment, most of its revenue is highly
concentrated among the top 10 titles. In 2025,
the oligopoly index, defined as the top-10 share
of the segment’s total revenue, reached nearly
80%, while the rest of the market shared the
remaining 20%.
In 2025, the leading Merge-2 title,
Gossip
Harbor
, generated $550M, accounting for 33%
of the genre’s total revenue, and this share
continues to grow.
Global trends in revenue (2023–2025)
$0M
$50M
$100M
$150M
Global changes in the oligopoly index (2023–2025)
0%
20%
60%
40%
2023
2024
2025
80%
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
Dec’25
41
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
Revenue in Merge games is spread across all offer types
Revenue of top-grossing games, 2025
Revenue distribution of the top-grossing offers
Unlike many Puzzle subgenres, where most revenue typically comes from store offers (hard currency and bundles), top Merge games generate revenue primarily
from LiveOps-related offers. Their top 3 offers are often in the form of recurring special deals priced between $1 and $25.
Gossip Harbor
Travel Town
Seaside Escape
42
Figures are based on AppMagic’s data for the App Store (USA). Names of offer items are displayed as provided by the developer.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Mega Amazing Offer 1036 – $17.99
Mega Amazing Offer 1046 – $24.99
Mega Amazing Offer 1016 – $7.99
Other
A Bit of Gems – $1.99
Energy Package III – $5.99
Luxury VIP Ticket – $7.99
Other
$100M
$0M
$400M
$200M
$300M
Gossip
Harbor
Travel Town
Seaside Escape
Special Bundle – $5.99
Event Pack – $9.99
Seafood Bundle – $3.99
Other
$500M
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN CASUAL GAMES
Last War:Survival
Honor of Kings
Roblox
Midcore games combine difficulty and fun, offering more complex game
mechanics, longer play sessions, and a moderate level of strategy
and skill required to progress.
Trends in Midcore games
Both classification and associated data are based on AppMagic’s taxonomy.
43
Midcore users up, revenue
flat
Downloads recovered after the 2023
drop and kept growing, but momentum
slowed down. Revenue remains
essentially unchanged, with the market
hovering around $33–34B.
Key takeaways
44
Post-2023 rebound is fading
After a strong 2024 recovery, 2025
growth continued at a slower pace. This
suggests Midcore is moving from
rebound to maturity.
Strategy drives Midcore
growth
In 2025, Strategy grew strongly in both
downloads (+18.2%) and revenue
(+15.9%), reinforcing its leadership. It
remains the main growth engine within
the Midcore segment.
Shooter and Simulation are
improving
Both genres delivered solid gains in
downloads (+10% and +8%) and
revenue (around +14% to +15%). This
points to stronger monetization
performance versus last year.
RPG suffers the biggest
decline
RPG saw the sharpest drop, with
downloads down 9.0% and revenue
down 16.5%. The genre is losing both
audience and monetization
momentum.
Long-term retention is
weakening
Weaker retention range in Midcore
begins at D90 and peaks at D365
(–12%). Short-term retention remains
relatively stable.
4X fuels Strategy expansion
4X is the primary growth engine within
Strategy, supported by deep meta and
long LTV. In 2025, it grew +31% in
downloads and +21% in revenue YoY.
4X monetization is
high-ticket
In top 4X titles, $99 offers contribute
around 30% of total revenue, typically
via currency bundles or core packs. The
next strongest tier is $44–$49,
reinforcing a premium-heavy offer mix.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
44
Midcore gains users,
revenue stalls
Midcore downloads recovered after the 2023
downturn. While the segment declined in 2023
(–6.7%), it rebounded nicely in 2024 (+11.2%).
Growth has since continued, but at a slower
pace.
Revenue has plateaued. After falling in 2023
(–6.3%), it picked back up somewhat in 2024,
but in 2025, it showed no meaningful growth.
In absolute terms, the market is essentially flat
at around $33–34B.
45
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Downloads
Global trends in revenue and downloads (2023–2025)
0B
1B
3B
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Revenue
Downloads
2B
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
0%
-5%
5%
10%
2023
2024
2025
Revenue
-6%
-4%
0%
2%
2023
2024
2025
Global YoY changes in revenue and downloads (2023–2025)
Dec’25
-2%
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
Strategy is growing,
RPG is declining
In 2025, the Strategy market grew strongly, with
downloads up +18.2% and revenue up +15.9%.
The genre is strengthening its leadership and
remains the main growth driver within Midcore.
Growth is shifting toward the Strategy, Shooter,
and Simulation genres. Shooter and Simulation
delivered solid gains in both downloads (+8% to
+10%) and revenue (around +14% to +15%),
pointing to improved monetization.
RPG saw the sharpest decline, with downloads
down 9.0% and revenue down 16.5%.
46
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Top Games
Tag
Downloads 2024
Downloads 2025
%
Revenue 2024
Revenue 2025
%
Strategy
1.8B
2.1B
18.2%
$11B
$13B
15.9%
RPG
1.4B
1.3B
–9.0%
$13B
$11B
–16.5%
Shooter
2.2B
2.4B
9.9%
$3B
$3B
14.3%
Simulation
4.0B
4.3B
7.6%
$3B
$3B
14.6%
Sports Games
1.0B
1.1B
5.7%
$1B
$1B
–2.9%
Action
2.2B
2.2B
–1.4%
$2B
$1B
–25.8%
Geolocation
Games
57.2M
54.2M
–5.2%
$835M
$738M
–11.6%
Racing
1.1B
956.8M
–10.1%
$352M
$301M
–14.4%
Adventure
163.3M
176.0M
7.8%
$168M
$177M
5.3%
Arcade
238K
324K
36.1%
$1K
$67K
6596.7%
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
Top 5 highest-grossing titles in 2025
$0.0B
$0.5B
$1.5B
$1.0B
Honor of Kings
Last War:Survival
PUBG MOBILE
Roblox
Whiteout Survival
Midcore retention is
declining
Similar to the Casual trend, Midcore shows a
drop in long-term retention, with the steepest
declines occurring from D90 to D365.
The largest drop is at D365, down 12%.
Short-term retention remains relatively stable.
The decline in long-term retention was one of
the reasons why, despite the downloads
growth,
Midcore titles still saw a drop in revenue
compared to last year.
The current trend suggests that, even as the
number of in-game events increases, it is
becoming harder to retain users.
47
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
Global trends in retention for the top 200 grossing Midcore games (202 4–2025)
2024
2025
D1
D7
D14
D30
D60
D90
D180
D365
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Global YoY changes in retention for the top 200 grossing Midcore games (202 4–2025)
–10%
–5%
0%
D1
D7
D14
D30
D60
D90
D180
D365
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
4X Strategy is the main
market driver
4X continues to strengthen its dominance and
remains the primary growth engine within
Strategy, supported by deep meta and long LTV.
In 2025, it grew +21% in revenue and +31% in
downloads compared to the previous year.
MOBA showed a negative revenue trend. The
genre is retaining its audience, but faces
pressure on ARPU and payer spend. Revenue
declined by 8% in 2025.
Tactics is a 2025 breakout. One of the
fastest-growing Strategy subgenres, its
revenue went up +35% and downloads were up
+41% in 2025.
48
Data includes information on app downloads and IAP revenue worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. Revenue from webshops and other alternative monetization sources is not included.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
Global trends in revenue for the top Strategy subgenres (202 4–2025)
$0B
$2B
$4B
Global YoY changes in revenue for the top Strategy subgenres (202 4–2025)
0%
20%
40%
$6B
2024
2025
4X Strategy
MOBA
Card Battler
Tactics
RTS
$8B
Strategy: Other
Turn-Based Strategy
4X Strategy
MOBA
Card Battler
Tactics
RTS
Strategy: Other
Turn-Based Strategy
49
Competition in 4X
Strategy is intensifying
Despite strong YoY revenue growth, most of the
gains are split between the top 10 titles, and this
concentration continues to rise. The oligopoly
index, defined as the top 10’s share of the
genre’s total revenue, increased from 47% in
2023 to 64% in 2025.
At the same time, 2025 showed that category
leaders can change. Newer titles such as
Last Z:
Survival Shooter
(released in 2024) and
Kingshot
(released in 2025) have secured
positions among the top performers.
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
Global trends in revenue (2023–2025)
$400M
$500M
$600M
$700M
Global changes in the oligopoly index (2023–2025)
0%
20%
60%
40%
2023
2024
2025
Jan’23
Jul’23
Jan’24
Jul’24
Jan’25
Jul’25
Dec’25
49
The analysis is based on AppMagic’s data.
$99 offers are the backbone of 4X Strategy revenue
Revenue of top-grossing apps, 2025
Revenue distribution of the top-grossing offers
In top titles, $99 offers (most often currency bundles or core packs) account for a significant share of the games’ total revenue, coming in at around 30%. The next
largest contributor are the offers priced at $44–$49.
Last
War:Survival
Whiteout
Survival
Kingshot
Mobile Market Landscape 2026 | TRENDS IN MIDCORE GAMES
50
Figures are based on AppMagic’s data for the App Store (USA). Names of offer items are displayed as provided by the developer.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Standard pack 16 – $
