The Great Mobile Reversal: Why Buyers Pay Billions for What VCs Abandoned

FEATURE BY GDEV 1
The Great Mobile
Reversal: Why Buyers
Pay Billions for What
VCs Abandoned
# 12 FEATURE BY

FEATURE BY GDEV 2
$5B INVESTED ACROSS 350+ MOBILE GAMING STUDIOS FROM 2020 TO H1 2025
LATE -STAGE
Series B+ and growth rounds
EARLY -STAGE
Seed and Series A rounds
302
#OF DEALS
$1.4B
DEAL VALUE
CORPORATE
Investments by strategic players or CVCs
I
II
III
33
# OF DEALS
$2 .9B
DEAL VALUE
100
#OF DEALS
$0. 7B
DEAL VALUE
METHODOLOGY
• Clear focus on developing
and/or publishing mobile
games
• Received VC, CVC and/or
corporate investments between
2020 and H1 2025
435
#OF DEALS
$5B
DEAL VALUE
TOTAL DEAL ACTIVITY
2020 -H1 2025
NOTABLE DEALS ACTIVE INVESTORS
Since 2020, mobile has led gaming M&A —61% of total deal value (excl. ATVI) and 98% of H1’25 volume —driven by strategic and PE -ba cked deals.
Post -2021, VC activity cooled as the market shifted from growth -at-all-costs to a focus on profitability and sustainable unit ec onomics

FEATURE BY GDEV 3
0,1 0,1 0,2 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1
0,3 0,1 0,2 0,1
0,7
1.4
0,6
0,3
0,4
0,2
0,1
$0,9B
$2,2B
$1,0B
$0,5B
$0,3B
$0,2B
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Pre-seed & Seed Series A Late-stage Corporate
NUMBER OF ROUNDS CLOSED BY MOBILE GAMING STUDIOS CAPITAL RAISED BY MOBILE GAMING STUDIOS ($B)
The pandemic -driven surge in mobile game engagement fueled unprecedented investor enthusiasm, resulting in 137 deals in 2021 and $2.2B in
total funding —more than doubling 2020’s figures and marking the all -time peak in mobile gaming investments since 2020
29
54
39 46 36 27
13
21
13 4 15
5
5
15
5 6 23
47 *
10 10 7
3
70
137
67 66 60
35
–
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Pre-seed & Seed Series A Late-stage Corporate
Note: (*) includes 3 0Tencent -led deals with Chinese studios

FEATURE BY GDEV 4
NUMBER OF ROUNDS SPLIT BY MOBILE GENRES * TOTAL CAPITAL DEPLOYED BY MOBILE GENRES *($B)
Midcore deals plunged from 49 in 2021 to just 8 by H1’25, hit by high CPIs and high competition. Casual studios dominated —captur ing 65% of all
deals —driven by faster iteration, broad audience reach, and adaptable monetization strategies
31
49
21 25
20
8
39
88
46
41 40
27
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Mid-core Casual
0,8
0,5
0,2 0,2 0,1
0,1
1.7
0.8
0,3
0,2
0,1
$0,9B
$2,2B
$1,0B
$0,5B
$0,3B
$0,2B
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Mid-core Casual
Note: (*) genres reflect the primary types of games a company develops and/or publishes. Casual genre includes hybrid -and hypercasual genres

FEATURE BY GDEV 5
NUMBER OF ROUNDS SPLIT BY GEO TOTAL CAPITAL DEPLOYED BY GEO ($B)
Turkey led casual gaming with 27% of all deals —powered by repeat founders and proven playbooks (Peak, Dream Games). Europe and A sia
dominated midcore, driving 66% of all deals in 4X, RPGs, and shooters —genres demanding deeper systems and advanced monetization
4
26 19 18 15 10
19
16
7 12 10
4
9
9 6 4
17
31
12 10 14
5
27
55 *
20 20 17
14
70
137
67 66 60
35
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Turkey USA UK Europe (excl. UK) Other
0,3 0,4
0,1 0,1
0,6
1.0
0,1 0,1
0,2
0,2
0,5
0,1
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,2
0,3
$0,9B
$2,2B
$1,0B
$0,5B
$0,3B
$0,2B
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Turkey USA UK Europe (excl. UK) Other
Note: (*) includes 3 0Tencent -led deals with Chinese studios

FEATURE BY GDEV 6
67 104 156 136 69 70
92
280 119
72 152
65
159
385
275
208 221
135
29
54
39
46
36
27
13
21
13
4
15
5
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
By H1’25, early -stage activity held steady at pre -seed & seed levels, but Series A and beyond became increasingly rare as struct ural challenges and
tougher performance benchmarks limited most studios’ ability to scale
Note: (*) median check sizes are based on deals with disclosed, non -zero values
MEDIAN CHECK SIZE OF EARLY -STAGE ROUNDS ($M) * MOBILE GAMING: EARLY -STAGE ROUNDS VALUE & NUMBER
1,8 1,4
3,0 2,3 2,2 2,3
3,9
7,5
8,5
11,0
10,0
13,1
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 H1 2025
Pre-seed & Seed Series A

FEATURE BY GDEV 7
LARGEST EARLY -STAGE INVESTMENTS ROUNDS IN MOBILE GAMING (2020 -H1 2025)
DATE TARGET HQ RAISED TYPE GAMES GENRE NOTABLE INVESTORS
Jan -22 $55m SEED CASUAL
Feb -21 $50m SERIES A CASUAL
Oct -21 $50m SERIES A CASUAL
Jan -23 $50m SERIES A + SEED CASUAL
Oct -24 $43m SERIES A MID -CORE
Jan -25 $30m SERIES A CASUAL
Dec -22 $30m SERIES A CASUAL
Dec -21 $30m SERIES A CASUAL
Jun -21 $30m SERIES A CASUAL
Jan -20 $26m SERIES A MID -CORE

FEATURE BY GDEV 8
DATE TARGET HQ RAISED TYPE GAMES GENRE NOTABLE INVESTORS
Oct -20 $340m SERIES E MID -CORE
Aug -21 $317m GROW TH CASUAL
Nov -21 $300m GROW TH CASUAL
Jan -22 $255m SERIES C CASUAL
Jul -21 $235m GROW TH MID -CORE
Mar -20 $200m GROW TH MID -CORE
Jun -21 $155m SERIES B CASUAL
Aug -20 $120m SERIES B MID -CORE
Feb -22 $116m SERIES B CASUAL
Oct -22 $100m SERIES B CASUAL
LARGEST LATE -STAGE INVESTMENTS ROUNDS IN MOBILE GAMING (2020 -H1 2025)

FEATURE BY GDEV 9
DATE TARGET HQ RAISED GAMES GENRE INVESTORS
Sep -21 $350m CASUAL
May -22 $60m CASUAL
May -24 $50m CASUAL
May -22 $39m MID -CORE
Nov -22 $25m CASUAL
Mar -22 $20m CASUAL
Sep -20 $18m CASUAL
Nov -21 $16m MID -CORE
Jan -25 $10m CASUAL
Nov -22 $6m CASUAL
LARGEST CORPORATE INVESTMENTS ROUNDS IN MOBILE GAMING (2020 -H1 2025) *
Note: (*) including VC deals with CVC participation

FEATURE BY GDEV 10
# INVESTOR DEALS TOTAL DEALS TOTAL
VALUE DEALS LED DEALS LED
VALUE SELECT INVESTMENTS
1 39 $69 m 26 $3 4m
2 25 $1 13m 12 $34 m
3 23 $135 m 18 $78 m
4 20 $42 m 18 $37 m
5 19 $34 m 14 $17m
6 18 $33m 12 $10m
7 14 $126 m 12 $120m
8 14 $395 m 10 $59 m
9 13 $11m 7 $4m
10 11 $21m 9 $17m
MOST ACTIVE VC INVESTORS IN MOBILE GAMING (2020 -H1 2025)

FEATURE BY GDEV 11
UPFRONT EV & NUMBER OF MOBILE GAMING M&A DEALS ($B) 1
As VCs pulled back, strategics doubled down —$7B in mobile M&A over 6 deals in 12 months. Since 2020, mobile claimed 61% of gamin g M&A
value (ex -ATVI), driven by studios with recurring revenue, live ops, and post -IDFA UA playbooks
$1,8B
$2,9B
$7,6B $6,8B
$13,6B
$1,2B
–
$5,7B
$0,1B $0,7B
$6,3B
7 6
9 10
7 6
–
4
1 1
5
0,0
5,0
10,0
15,0
20,0
H1-20 H2-20 H1-21 H2-21 H1-22 H2-22 H1-23 H2-23 H1-24 H2-24 H1-25
Closed deal value Announced deal value Number of deals
Note: (1) transactions at estimated upfront enterprise value above $60m and with a sale of a controlling stake; ( 2) including AppLovin announced deal; (3) AppLovin deal has been announced in Q1 -25 and officially closed on July 1st, 2025
3
2

FEATURE BY GDEV 12
DATE TARGET ACQUIRER UPFRONT EV MAX EARN -OUT GENRE
May -22 $12.7B – CASUAL
Jul -23 $4.9B – MID -CORE
Mar -21 $4.0B – MID -CORE
May -25 $3.5B – CASUAL
Oct -21 $2.2B – CASUAL
Apr -21 $2.1B – CASUAL
Jul -20 $1.8B – CASUAL
Sep -21 $1.4B – CASUAL
Jan -25 $1.2B – CASUAL
Dec -21 $1.0B – CASUAL
Jul -25 $0.8B – CASUAL
Nov -24 $0.7B $1.3B CASUAL
Sep -22 Alexander Chachava $0.6B – MID -CORE
Apr -21 $0.6B $0.1B CASUAL
Feb -25 $0.6B $0.2B MID -CORE
LARGEST ACQUISITIONS IN MOBILE GAMING (2020 -H1 2025)
GAMING APPS
Note: (*) AppLovin deal has been announced in Q1 -25 and officially closed on July 1st, 2025
*