Mobile gaming apps spent an estimated $29 billion worldwide on app-install advertising in 2023, according to AppsFlyer’s 2024 State of Gaming App Marketing. The report’s U.S. iOS and Android figures add up to $12.1 billion—about 42% of the global estimate. The total excludes spending in China and measures paid user acquisition, not game revenue or every kind of marketing.
How much did gaming apps spend to acquire users in 2023?
AppsFlyer estimated global mobile gaming app-install ad spend at $29 billion in 2023. In this context, user acquisition means paid advertising intended to bring in new users, measured as app installs. It is not a tally of games’ sales, in-app purchases, or all promotional activity.
The geographic scope matters: AppsFlyer excluded spend in China. It did include spending by Chinese companies outside China, so the figure should not be read as a worldwide total that includes the Chinese market.
How much went to the U.S.?
AppsFlyer reported $6.6 billion in U.S. iOS app-install ad spend and $5.5 billion in U.S. Android spend for 2023. Together, those platform totals equal $12.1 billion, or approximately 42% of the report’s $29 billion global estimate.
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| Market or platform | 2023 app-install ad spend | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Global | $29 billion | AppsFlyer estimate; China spend excluded |
| United States, iOS | $6.6 billion | AppsFlyer platform-specific figure |
| United States, Android | $5.5 billion | AppsFlyer platform-specific figure |
| United States, combined | $12.1 billion (about 42% of the global estimate) | Sum of the reported U.S. iOS and Android figures |
How AppsFlyer estimated the total
AppsFlyer calculated spend by multiplying non-organic installs by cost per install, then adjusting the estimate using data.ai market-share data. “Non-organic” installs are attributed to marketing rather than occurring organically, so the calculation connects paid acquisition volume with the reported cost of acquiring an install.
The report’s underlying aggregate included 21.2 billion non-organic installs from about 15,000 gaming apps between January 2023 and June 2024. Apps included in the sample met a minimum threshold of 3,000 non-organic installs per month. Those are the report’s coverage parameters; they do not mean the sample represents every game or independently verify the resulting market estimate.
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The $29 billion figure is AppsFlyer’s report-specific estimate, and the available evidence establishes what the company reported and how it described its method—not an independent audit of the total. It concerns 2023 spend; the source does not provide a comparable 2025 or 2026 total.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the report says about game monetization
AppsFlyer also reported that the share of games using hybrid monetization rose from 36% to 43% over the period it measured. Hybrid monetization combines in-app advertising with in-app purchases. This is a finding from the report’s measurement period, not a current 2026 benchmark, and it describes revenue strategy rather than acquisition spend.
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