Mobile games: state of the market H1, 2023

Jul, 2023 Mobile games: state of the market

H1, 2023

The purpose of this study is to analyse the application in gaming category
in H1 2023.

All data presented in this report has been collected from Apptica
platform.

“Games” category is defined by a store’s tag.

The basis of this analysis is made up of data from the Apptica’s Store, Ad
and Market Intelligence sections.

We collect data only from App Store and Google Play, we do not cover
other alternative stores.

To obtain accurate results, we have analysed data on 37 countries
collected from January 01 to June 30, 2023.

We have not used additional information from other analytical services or
resources without mentioning them.

Revenue figures are based on IAP figures, we do not cover other revenue
sources.
Methodology

Downloads | Top-15 Countries -0,3%+0,96%
India (4,32B) remains the largest market for downloads, accumulating 15,29%. Brazil (2,99B) takes the second place
surpassing the US (2.57B). Thailand (357,4M) left the ranking with a drastic drop (-8,6%).

China (1.3B) gains a larger share (+0,96%) leaving behind Mexico (-0,5% | 1.19B). Egypt (+2,6% | 1.06B) and Argentina (+2,8% |
1.19B) join the list replacing Saudi Arabia (-0,3% | 447.8M) and Thailand .
+2,6%+2,8%+0,9%+0,3%+0,8%-0,55%3*% – comparison with 1H, 2022

*% – comparison with 1H, 2022+0,8%-1,1%+0,5%-1,2%+2%-2,6%
The United States ($5,71B) continues to gain market share (+4% compared to the first half of 2022) along with
Japan (+1,2% | $4,17B), China (+2%| $3.23B). South Korea experiences the biggest decline (-2,6% | $356.3M).
While the Russian Federation leaves the Top-15 countries (-0,49% | $183M), South Africa (-0,7% | $163.3M),
Vietnam (+0,35% | $324.3M) and Australia (+0,17% | $294.2M) join the list.
+4%+1,2%Revenue | Top-15 Countries4

Downloads & Revenue by PlatformDownloadsRevenue
The platform divergency brings no surprise. The most downloads are secured by Google Play (88,6%), whereas the biggest
share of revenue is generated by AppStore (56,3%). 5

Subcategories in gaming | Downloads
Almost all genres demonstrate a decline in downloads
compared to 1H 2022. Within top-5 genres Casual gain
the first position in terms of share (+0,62%) with total
downloads going down from 4.24B to 4.14B.
The same pattern applies to Action (drop from
4.29B to 3.9B) that loses its share by 0,18%,
Simulation (-50M), Arcade (-24M). Puzzles shows
a positive trend with +90M downloads and
+0,57% of share. Casino and Card are also among
the categories with upward dynamic (+121M and
+87M)1H 20231H 20226

Subcategories in gaming | Revenue1H 20231H 2022
RPG demonstrates a gradual decline in the
past two years, with revenue falling from
$5.9B in the first half of 2022 to $4.4B in the
first half of 2023 (-3,2% of total share).
However, RPG still ranks as the largest genre.
All other genres demonstrate a negative
revenue trend as well.
7

Downloads | Shares of subcategories
Casual takes the largest share in the most of countries, except for India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, China,
Mexico, Argentina, Pakistan, Vietnam with Action, Australia with Puzzles (16%).

Puzzles category in Japan has a strong position alongside Casual (17,07%). Simulation is more popular in
China compared to other countries in the list (15,6%). The largest shares of Casual are taken by Portugal,
Ireland and New Zealand (around 18%). 8

Revenue | Shares of subcategories
RPG takes a lion share in Japan (33%), Hong Kong (41.6%), South Korea (47,6%), Taiwan (35,4%), Philippines
(36,7%), Singapore (34,4%).

Action has a strong position in China (20,5%), Turkey (21,8%), Pakistan (22,6%), Mexico (21%). Large shares of
Strategy are taken by Vietnam (24,9%), Iran (23,3%), UAE (24,8%), Kuwait (21,4%), Qatar (23,7%). 9

Top apps | DownloadsDownloadsiOSFree Fire MAX68,6 M6.Ludo King84,3 M5.Subway Surfers116,5 M1.MONOPOLY GO!19,1 M5.Total downloads of all apps: 95,4B. Gaming covers 29,6%10 AndroidDownloads My Talking Tom Friends59,1 M 8. Roblox86,8 M4. Candy Crush Saga106,3 M2. Free Fire: 6th Anniversary88 M3. FIFA Soccer54,6M9. My Talking Tom 259,4 M7. Block Blast Adventure Master53,7 M10. Parking Jam 3D11,9 M10. Discord – Chat, Talk&Hangout19,5 M4. Gardenscapes18,8 M6. Block Blast Adventure Mater12,9 M8. Subway Surfers17,5 M7. Roblox19,5 M3. 蛋仔派对
32,2 M1. Royal Match20,2 M2. Attack Hole – Black Hole Games12,4 M9.

Top apps | Revenue Revenue (USD)iOSウマ娘 プリティーダービー89 M8.Candy Crush Saga220 M2.Pokémon GO113 M6.原神209 M3.Total Revenue of all apps: $42B. Gaming covers 51%11 AndroidRevenue (USD) Genshin Impact119 M5. Coin Master228 M1. Township85 M9. Puzzles&Survival: Z Express85 M10. Royal Match134 M4. Roblox167 M3. Gardenscapes103 M7. Coin Master168 M6. Gardenscapes154 M8. Candy Crush Saga156 M7. モンスターストライク133 M10. Royal Match168 M5. 三国志·战略版134 M9. 和平精英344 M2. 王者荣耀766 M1. Roblox194 M4.

Overview of Advertisers | All categories Total number of advertisers: >75K
Android

>48K
iOS

>22KNumber of Advertisers

1st Half 2022
Total number of advertisers: >70K12 Android

>47К
iOS

>28KNumber of Advertisers
1st Half 2023

Distribution of ad creatives: platforms + format

1st half
2023
1st half
2023 Android – 70,5%Total number of creatives for the 1st half 2023: 15,8M Video – 65%Interactive – 2%Image 33%
–
Gaming:

8,9M (56%)

72% 25% 3%

68,6%

31,4%
Number of creatives in gaming categories:
Video – ; Image – ; Interactive –
Android:
iOS:
13Overall iOS 29,5%
–

Games
Tools
ProductivityLifestyleShopping FinanceEducation Health&FitnessSocialFood&Drink0100%50,7%10%7%5,8%5,5%-1,1%+8%+1,6%-1,4%-1.5%-0,4%
share of advertisers

1st half | 2023 Games
Tools
ProductivityLifestyleShopping FinanceEducation Health&FitnessSocialFood&Drink
37K30K5,9K
+3%5K
4,2K4,9K
4K+23%
7,3K
-39%+22%
5,1K4,9K
-20%-23%-10%1st half | 20231st half | 2022number of advertisers Number of advertisers per category 14

Key Takeaways
Downloads: India (4,32B) remains the largest market for downloads, accumulating 15,29%. Brazil (2,99B) takes
the second place surpassing the US (2.57B). Thailand (357,4M) left the ranking with a drastic drop (-8,6%
compared to the first half of 2022). China (1.3B) gains a larger share (+0,96%) leaving behind Mexico (-0,5% | 1.19B).
Egypt (+2,6% | 1.06B) and Argentina (+2,8% | 1.19B) join the list replacing Saudi Arabia (-0,3% | 447.8M) and
Thailand .
15
Revenue: The United States ($5,71B) continues to gain market share (+4% compared to the first half of 2022)
along with Japan (+1,2% | $4,17B), China (+2%| $3.23B). South Korea experiences the biggest decline (-2,6% |
$356.3M). While the Russian Federation leaves the Top-15 countries (-0,49% | $183M), South Africa (-0,7% |
$163.3M), Vietnam (+0,35% | $324.3M) and Australia (+0,17% | $294.2M) join the list.

The platform divergency brings no surprise. The most downloads are secured by Google Play (88,6%), whereas the
biggest share of revenue is generated by App Store (56,3%).
Almost all genres demonstrate a decline in downloads compared to 1H 2022. Within top-5 genres casual gains the
first position in terms of share (+0,62%) with total downloads going down from 4.24B to 4.14B. The same pattern
applies to Action (drop from 4.29B to 3.9B) that loses its share by 0,18%, Simulation (-50M), Arcade (-24M). Puzzle
shows a positive trend with +90M downloads and +0,57% of share. Casino and card are also among the categories
with upward dynamic (+121M and +87M). Gaming covers 29,6% of total downloads and 51% of total revenue.

RPG demonstrates a gradual decline in the past two years, with revenue falling from $5.9B in the first half of 2022
to $4.4B in the first half of 2023 (-3,2% of total share). However, RPG still ranks as the largest genre. All other genres
demonstrate a negative revenue trend as well.
16
Downloads: Casual takes the largest share in the most of countries, except for India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia,
China, Mexico, Argentina, Pakistan, Vietnam with Action; Australia with Puzzles (16%). Puzzles category in Japan
(17.07%) has a strong position alongside Casual (17,42%). Simulation is more popular in China compared to other
countries in the list (15,6%). The largest shares of Casual are taken by Portugal, Ireland and New Zealand (around
18%).
Revenue: RPG takes a lion share in Japan (33%), Hong Kong (41.6%), South Korea (47,6%), Taiwan (35,4%), Philippines
(36,7%), Singapore (34,4%). Action has a strong position in China (20,5%), Turkey (21,8%), Pakistan (22,6%), Mexico
(21%). Large shares of Strategy are taken by Vietnam (24,9%), Iran (23,3%), UAE (24,8%), Kuwait (21,4%), Qatar (23,7%).
Overall number of advertisers demonstrates a slight growth in iOS (+6K) and a drop in Android (-1K). Advertisers in
gaming cover 50,7% of all advertisers that is by 8% more than in 1H 2022 (30K in 1H, 2022 vs 37K 1H, 2023, growth of
22%).

In total, gaming apps generated 8.9M creatives that equals to 56% of the total number of all creatives. 68,6% of the
creatives are running on Android and 31,4% – on iOS.
Video format takes the biggest share among all categories (65%), followed by images (33%) and interactive (2%). In
general, the trend of video format expansion remains in 2023. In mobile games, advertisers are even more keen on
using videos (72%). Key Takeaways

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