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Mobile-game revenue increased in 2025 even as downloads weakened, but the size of that increase depends on which market tracker you consult. Sensor Tower estimates $82 billion in mobile-game revenue, up 1%; Newzoo estimates $113.3 billion in mobile revenues, up 10.7%. These are separate estimates with definitions and coverage that have not been fully harmonized, so they should not be combined into one market-growth figure.
How can revenue rise when downloads slow?
Downloads count installs, not the value generated by each player. A market can therefore earn more while attracting fewer new installs if existing players spend more, remain active longer, or generate more revenue through in-game purchases and other channels.
Sensor Tower describes this as a mature-market shift: scaling downloads is harder, so developers are placing more emphasis on retention, engagement, and monetization of existing audiences. Its CEO, Oliver Yeh, said the opportunity has shifted toward retention, monetization, and innovation, including webstores and intellectual-property partnerships. That is the strategic interpretation offered by Sensor Tower, not proof that every game or publisher is growing through the same approach.
What the 2025 market estimates say
| Publisher | 2025 figure | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor Tower | $82 billion in mobile-game revenue, up 1% | Sensor Tower’s estimate in its 2026 State of Gaming release; its report says download growth slowed. |
| Newzoo | $113.3 billion in mobile revenues, up 10.7% | Newzoo’s separate 2025 estimate; it also reports that downloads declined. |
The gap is too large to treat as a rounding difference. The available reports do not provide a fully harmonized methodology that would allow a definitive reconciliation, so neither figure should be presented as a direct correction of the other. AppMagic offers one useful example of why scope matters: its 2025 figures cover App Store and Google Play downloads and in-app purchase revenue, excluding webshops and other alternative monetization. That narrower description cannot by itself explain the Sensor Tower–Newzoo gap, but it shows why store and revenue definitions need to be checked before comparing totals.
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For context, Sensor Tower estimated global mobile-game in-app purchase revenue at $82 billion in 2024, up 4%, while downloads fell 7% to 49 billion. It also reported 3.5 trillion hours spent in mobile games, up 8%, and sessions up 12%. Those 2024 measures illustrate how spending and engagement can move differently from installs; they are not a substitute for either publisher’s 2025 estimate.
Why acquiring new players is under pressure
Newzoo cites Adjust data showing that global cost per install rose 30% to $0.56 in 2025. Newzoo also points to a higher paid-to-organic install ratio. The cost figure is Adjust’s measurement as cited by Newzoo, not an original Newzoo measurement. Rising acquisition costs can make growth through sheer volume of new installs less attractive, strengthening the incentive to keep current players engaged and spending.
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Genre results are not moving together
Market-wide totals conceal substantial differences between genres and datasets. Sensor Tower says strategy was the only genre to gain in revenue, downloads, and time spent in 2025, with Last War: Survival and Whiteout Survival leading that trend. AppMagic reports strategy revenue up 16.1% and RPG revenue down 16.6% in its App Store and Google Play data. Those AppMagic figures describe its covered stores and in-app purchases, not every source of revenue across the mobile market.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the 2026 outlook does—and does not—say
Newzoo forecasts mobile revenues of $121.1 billion in 2026, up 6.8%, and expects a mobile audience of 3.10 billion players. These are forecasts, not observed full-year results. The outlook points to continued revenue growth despite declining downloads, but it does not establish that downloads will recover or that every genre will share in the growth.
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Best Value
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Rank #3
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- Support 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2 on mobile.
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