Sensor Tower lately launched its newest report on the state of cellular gaming initially of 2025, which exhibits the developments which might be poised to information the market this 12 months and the way it’s modified over 2024. The findings of the report present that cellular gaming had optimistic year-over-year development in in-app buy (IAP) income for the primary time since 2021. Nevertheless, it additionally exhibits that downloads are down 6%, indicating maybe that players are spending extra time persistently in current cellular recreation ecosystems, a change from earlier market dynamics.
The report covers the assorted genres of video games that noticed success in 2024 and in addition covers the shifts within the rising markets. The latter, it says, are answerable for among the greatest will increase in engagement available in the market. One other main takeaway exhibits that fewer new video games are succeeding in the marketplace and players appear to overwhelmingly preferring core titles. There have been over 200 new video games within the high 1,000 within the U.S. in 2020, however solely about 100 in 2024.
Jonathan Briskman, Sensor Tower’s Principal Market Insights Supervisor, informed GamesBeat in an interview, “Looking at some of the successes in the past year or two, the most important question developers need to ask themselves is how they are going to acquire a playerbase sufficient to support their game. Pokémon TCG Pocket tapped into one of the biggest IPs in the world with gameplay that triggers nostalgia for almost anyone under the age of 40 (and many above!) … . Players often have a game or games they’re spending time in already, and new entrants need a very strong argument to convince these players to spend time on their game instead.”
Shifts in monetization for 2025’s cellular video games
Sensor Tower’s report exhibits the variations between the genres with the best variety of downloads and people with the best IAP income. Whereas simulation and puzzle titles present the best share of 2024’s downloads, it’s the technique style that dominates in international shopper spend. In truth, year-over-year spending for IAP income for technique video games grew by 16% in 2024, and it accounted for 21% of all IAP income.
Briskman attributes this to main technique builders refining their programs to make it each welcoming and simple for brand spanking new gamers to grasp whereas additionally pushing inventive advert methods to longtime gamers. A latest research from Cell Premier League prompt that gamers can have a robust response to in-game adverts, which might have a destructive impact on the sport’s general participant goodwill.
Briskman added, “One trend is the continuing rise of hybridcasual games. These games use cheaper assets, so they are cheaper to make. They use easy to market gameplay reminiscent of hypercasual but also progression systems that increase lifetime value. Also, they use a combination of in-app purchases and ad monetization, making them less vulnerable to market shifts that damage either monetization strategy.” He cited Habby’s Capybara Go and Final Battle: Survival as attention-grabbing case research.
General, Sensor Tower experiences that the cellular gaming market hit $80.9 billion in 2024 regardless of (or maybe due to) the shift in the direction of core video games. Along with technique titles, shooters resembling Free Fireplace confirmed probably the most international obtain development, whereas on line casino style video games resembling Monopoly Go! confirmed probably the most IAP income development.
