Mobile gamers spent $82 billion on in-app purchases in 2024

The mobile gaming industry witnessed a steady rise in in-app purchase (IAP) revenue in 2024, growing by 4% year-over-year, according to the latest State of Mobile Gaming 2025 report from Sensor Tower. Player engagement also saw a significant boost, with an 8% increase in total time spent on mobile games and a 12% rise in total gaming sessions. This upward trend emerged despite an overall decline in downloads, prompting developers to place greater emphasis on live operations and long-term engagement strategies for existing titles.

Throughout the year, mobile game downloads totaled 49 billion, marking a 7% drop compared to 2023. The decline was particularly pronounced in the casual gaming sector—ironically, the same category that recorded the highest IAP revenue growth. This shift underscores a changing player dynamic, where fewer but more committed players are driving revenue in mobile gaming.

When it comes to monetization strategies, the iOS App Store continues to reign supreme for IAP-driven titles, particularly within the Casual and Mid-core gaming segments. On the other hand, the Google Play Store maintains its dominance in ad-supported models, making it the go-to platform for Hypercasual and Hybridcasual titles. Despite these distinct advantages, top-performing games are those that establish a strong presence across both platforms, maximizing their market potential and revenue opportunities.

The report highlights that Western markets led the surge in IAP revenue, with North America experiencing a 9% increase and Europe growing by 14%. Secondary regions also saw significant gains, with Latin America up by 13%, the Middle East rising 18%, and Oceania increasing by 8%. Asia, however, was the only major region to report a decline, with a 3% drop in IAP revenue. Some of this downturn is attributed to the strong performance of the U.S. dollar against several Asian currencies, affecting revenue calculations in global markets.

Genre-wise, Simulation and Puzzle games emerged as the most downloaded categories in 2024, each securing 20% of the total downloads. While Simulation games experienced a slight increase (+0.4%), Puzzle games faced a minor dip (-3%). Arcade games retained their popularity despite a significant 12.5% decrease in downloads, maintaining a 19% share of the total. Meanwhile, Strategy games experienced an impressive 14.5% boost in downloads, standing out as one of the year’s fastest-growing categories. Notably, Strategy games also accounted for a substantial 21.4% of overall revenue, despite making up only 4% of total downloads, demonstrating their strong monetization potential.

In terms of consumer spending, Strategy games led the pack in 2024, generating $17.5 billion. RPGs followed closely behind with $16.8 billion in revenue. Puzzle and Casino games also performed strongly, amassing $12.2 billion and $11.7 billion, respectively. Action games recorded the most significant revenue growth (+46%), cementing their position as a key segment in mobile gaming. Despite a drop in downloads, Sports games still generated $2.7 billion, reinforcing the ongoing demand for competitive gaming experiences. These figures highlight the sustained financial strength of immersive and strategic genres, which continue to captivate players and drive monetization.

Among individual titles, MONOPOLY GO! emerged as the top-grossing mobile game of 2024. Scopely’s successful adaptation of the classic MONOPOLY brand, paired with engaging coin looter mechanics, helped it dominate the revenue charts. Honor of Kings secured the second spot, solidifying its status as the highest-grossing Mid-core game worldwide.

Several new entrants also made history by joining the billion-dollar club—games that surpassed $1 billion in consumer spending within a calendar year. Titles such as Last War, Whiteout Survival, Dungeon & Fighter, and Brawl Stars achieved this milestone, marking the highest number of new billion-dollar games since 2021. Their success indicates a strong market recovery and renewed consumer spending on mobile gaming.

While the mobile gaming sector flourished, the non-gaming app market struggled to replicate similar success. For the second consecutive year, no new non-gaming app crossed the $1 billion revenue threshold, with the last app to do so being Google One in 2022. However, streaming platforms Max and Tencent Video came close to breaking this barrier.

Overall, 16 apps reached the billion-dollar milestone in 2024, including five non-gaming apps and a record-high 11 games. The number of mobile games achieving the $100 million and $10 million revenue marks remained stable, while non-gaming apps saw steady growth in these tiers. This trend suggests that while mobile games continue to dominate high-revenue categories, other app segments are increasingly finding new monetization opportunities in the evolving digital landscape.