163 Mobile Gaming Statistics for 2023 That Will Blow Your Mind

It’s no secret that the mobile game market is booming. Over the last couple of years, we have seen mobile games break records and make billions in revenue.

More and more players are using mobile devices to play games. It’s convenient, simple, and fun. Plus, it allows gamers to play games wherever they are, which can’t be said for desktop or consoles.

Mobile gamer demographics have also been changing and evolving. What was true about gamers just a couple of years ago is vastly different now. The mobile game market is constantly changing.

Because of that, if you’re a game developer or advertiser, you need to know the mobile gaming industry inside out. That includes keeping up with the trends and having an in-depth knowledge of the mobile game market. It’s the only way to make informed decisions.

That’s why you need to check out our 163 mobile gaming statistics for 2023. You’ll learn all the essential information about the mobile gaming market, mobile gamers, monetization, advertising, and the most important mobile game KPIs.

Use these mobile gaming statistics to get ahead of the competition and win in 2023.

General Mobile Gaming Statistics for 2023

• In 2021, there were 3.9 billion smartphone users worldwide. (Newzoo)
• Mobile game consumer spend reached $116 billion in 2021 – 16 billion more than in 2020. (AppAnnie)
• Player spend is set to reach $138 billion by 2025. (SensorTower)

• China, the United States, and Japan were the top three markets in 2021 by mobile game revenues with $56 billion, $43 billion, and $20 billion in revenue, respectively. (AppAnnie)
• China, India, and the United States were the top three markets in 2021 in terms of downloads, with 98 billion, 26 billion, and 12 billion downloads, respectively. (AppAnnie)
• Players downloaded 82.98 billion mobile games in 2021. (AppAnnie)
• By 2025, 58% of the App Store’s revenue is projected to come from non-gaming apps and 42% from gaming apps. (SensorTower)
• 71% of Google Play’s revenue is estimated to come from mobile games by 2025. (SensorTower)
• User penetration is expected to hit 28.5% by 2025. (Statista)
• Google Play’s revenue continues to increase at a greater pace than iOS App Store’s revenue –6% to 13.2%. (GameAnalytics)

Top Mobile Game Genres by Revenue Share

According to Statista, these were the top mobile game genres in the United States in 2021 by iOS revenue share:

1. Puzzle (21.18%)
2. Casino (18.9%)
3. Strategy (17.17%)
4. RPG (14.23%)
5. Simulation (10.4%)
6. Shooter (5.56%)
7. Lifestyle (3.86%)
8. Sports (3.4%)
9. AR/Location Based (1.67%)
10. Driving (1.6%)
11.  Arcade (1.34%)
12. Card games (0.62%)
13. Hyper-casual (0.06%)

Top Mobile Game Subgenres of 2021 by Downloads

According to AppAnnie’s State of Mobile 2022, these subgenres got the most downloads in 2021:

1. Action (Hyper-casual) – 4.01 billion
2. Puzzle (Hyper-casual) – 3.78 billion
3. Simulation (Hyper-casual) – 3.15 billion
4. Kids (Other) – 2.57 billion
5. Driving (Simulation) – 1.63 billion
6. .io (Hyper-casual) – 1.41 billion
7. Runner (Action) – 1.20 billion
8. Creative Sandbox – 1.12 billion
9. Simulation Sports – 1.10 billion
10. Pet (Simulation) – 0.90 billion

Mobile Gaming Statistics: Top Mobile Games and Publishers

According to AppAnnie’s State of Mobile 2022 report, these are the top mobile games and game publishers by downloads and consumer spend.

Best Mobile Games of 2021 by Downloads

1. Free Fire
2. Subway Surfers
3. Roblox
4. Bridge Race
5. Candy Crush Saga
6. PUBG Mobile
7. Ludo King
8. Hair Challenge
9. Among Us!
10. Join Clash 3D

Top Mobile Games of 2021 by Consumer Spend

1. Roblox
2. Genshin Impact
3. Coin Master
4. Honour of Kings
5. Candy Crush Saga
6. PUBG Mobile
7. Pokémon Go
8. Uma Musume Pretty Derby
9. Game for Peace
10. Homescapes

Top Mobile Games of 2021 by Monthly Active Users

1. PUBG Mobile
2. Roblox
3. Candy Crush Saga
4. Free Fire
5. Among Us!
6. Ludo King
7. Minecraft Pocket Edition
8. Subway Surfers
9. Call of Duty: Mobile
10. Pokémon Go

Read more about the top mobile games of 2021 in this article.

Top Mobile Game Publishers of 2021 by Downloads

1. AppLovin
2. Voodoo
3. Azur Interactive Games
4. SayGames
5. ironSource
6. Crazy Labs
7. Zynga
8. Tencent
9. OneSoft
10. Jinke Culture – Outfit7

Top Mobile Game Publishers of 2021 by Consumer Spend

1. Tencent
2. NetEase
3. Activision Blizzard
4. Playrix
5. Zynga
6. Supercell
7. Playtika
8. Roblox
9. NetMarble
10. miHoYo

Mobile Gamer Statistics for 2023

Here are some interesting statistics about mobile gamers.

Mobile Gamer Demographics

• By 2023, there will be 3.7 billion mobile players worldwide. (Newzoo)
• 55% of mobile gamers are female, 45% are male. (Statista)
• More than 50% of mobile gamers are older than 34. (Mediakix)
• The average age of a mobile gamer is 36. (MoPub)
• People older than 45 make up almost a third of mobile gamers. (Mediakix)

Mobile Gamer Behavior

• Gen Z and Millennials spend more time gaming than on any other form of entertainment. (Newzoo)
• 85% of mobile gamers do not identify as gamers. (Mediakix)
• On average, mobile gaming sessions last 25% longer on average for women than for men. (MoPub)
• 43% of female gamers play more than five times a week. (MoPub)
• 38% of male gamers play more than five times a week. (MoPub)
• Users spend 90% of their smartphone usage on apps and games. (eMarketer)
• On average, gamers play two to five mobile games a month. (AppAnnie)
• Users spend three and a half hours using mobile devices every day, and 11% of that time is spent on mobile gaming. (eMarketer)
• On average, hyper-casual mobile gamers download ten times more games than other players. (VentureBeat)
• More than 50% of gamers play mobile games while in the bathroom. (Mediakix)

Percentage of Players by Platform

77% of Gen Z players, 73% of Millennials players, 54% of Gen X players, and 34% of Baby Boomer players play on mobile. (Newzoo)

Favorite Mobile Game Genres and Franchises by Generation

According to Newzzoo’s research, Gen Z players prefer battle royale, sandbox, and MOBA games. Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Among Us were their favorite franchises.

Millennials enjoy RPG, strategy, and adventure games, like Hearthstone, the most.

Gen Z players are mainly into puzzle, shooter, and sports games.

Baby Boomers are also into puzzles, as well as tabletop games and match games like Candy Crush Saga.

Share of Players’ Personas per Generations

According to Newzoo, 23% of Gen Z players and 20% of Millennials fall into the group of the so-called Bargain Buyers. This type of player enjoys high-quality free-to-play games.

38% of Gen X gamers and 66% of Baby Boomers identify with The Time Filler persona. These players play mobile games when they have some time to spare.

What Motivates Users to Play Mobile Games?

Here are the main reasons why users play mobile games:

• To relieve stress;
• Pass the time;
• To immerse themselves in another character or world;
• To feel accomplished for completing something challenging;
• Express something unique about themselves;
• To connect with people they already know;
• Be dazzled by something unique;
• To connect with a subject they’re passionate about outside gaming.

(Data source: Facebook Gaming)

What Influences Players to Return After 30 Days?

• Someone bringing up the game during an in-person conversation
• Hearing about new content or available updates
• Hearing about a reward for coming back
• Seeing the game mentioned on social media by friends/family
• Seeing news articles or blog posts about the game

(Data source: Facebook Gaming)

Metaverse Statistics for 2023

According to Newzoo, 50% of Gen Z, 37% of Millennials, and 28% of Gen X players are already hanging out in game worlds without actively playing the game. As we know, the metaverse integrates non-gaming experiences, such as virtual concerts and fashion shows, into games.

Furthermore, 70% of Gen Z players, 63% of Millennials, and 53% of Gen X players say they will hang out in virtual game worlds in the future without playing the game.

Above, you can see different activities each generation is interested in regarding the metaverse, as well as the most anticipated metaverse features.

Mobile Game Advertising in H1 2023

Data source: SocialPeta, a leading mobile ad intelligence platform. Subscribe to SocialPeta by clicking on this link.

• The number of mobile game advertisers in H1 2022 was 45.1 thousand, 2% less than in the same period in 2021.
• The total number of global mobile app advertisers was at an all-time low in January 2022 – 83 thousand, 19,5 thousand out of those were mobile game advertisers.
• There was a 27% year-over-year decline in mobile game creatives in H1 2022. There were only 15 million of them.
• When it comes to the percentage of game advertisers by genre in H1 2022, casual game advertisers (26.03%) rank number 1, followed by puzzle game advertisers (12.47%) and simulation game advertisers (9.64%).
• The top three game genres by the number of ad creatives were casual games (18.14%), puzzle games (13.67%), and role-playing games (12.14%).
• In H1 2022, there was a total number of 13,588 mobile game video ad creatives and they accounted for 86% of all ad creatives. That means video creatives are still the number one ad format for advertising mobile games.
• 70% of mobile game advertisers and 73% of ad creatives in H1 2022 were on Android, which is a consequence of Apple introducing new IDFA back in 2021.
• In H1 2022, mobile games had an average CPM of $19.31, up 18% MoM. Mobile games in the USA had the highest advertising cost ($27.54). Strategy games had the highest average CPM ($21.58)
• Female users’ CPM was 13.2% higher than that of male users. People aging 55-64 had the highest average CPM.
• CPC was $2.57 for H1 2022 and CTR was 1.48%. CPC was the highest in the United States ($4.22) and CTR was the highest in Singapore (1.59%). Strategy games had the highest CPC, while casual games had the highest CTR.
• Female users’ CPC was 12.4% higher than that of male users. People aging 35-44 had the highest average CPC.

Global Mobile Ad Spend

According to AppAnnie’s State of Mobile 2022 report, mobile is still driving digital ad spend globally. Furthermore, despite IDFA changes, billions of dollars flocked to mobile ads.

• In 2020, global mobile ad spend was $240 billion.
• In 2021, that number reached $295 billion.
• AppAnnie predicts global mobile ad spend will reach $350 billion in 2022.

Mobile Gaming Statistics: Monetization

• User impressions per DAU are doubling every year. (AppAnnie)
• In-app bidding is now the dominant form of managing ad monetization. It replaced traditional waterfalls – 70% adoption by the end of 2020. (AppAnnie)
• Mobile game influencers affect users’ purchasing decisions by 21% more than non-gamer influencers. (Newzoo)
• 74% of mobile gamers in the United States would watch a video advertisement if they got in-app content in return. (eMarketer)
• 82% of mobile gamers say they are more into free mobile games that include ads than paid games with no ads. (eMarketer)
• In-app purchases account for 95% of all user spend. (TechCrunch)
• Players of hyper-casual games watch two times more ads than players of other mobile game genres. (VentureBeat)
• Women are much more likely to make an in-app purchase than men. (Venturebeat)
• 5% of women players spend on in-app purchases, compared to 3.3% of men. (MoPub).
• More than 30% of female players will pay for a mobile game. (MediaKix)

Global eCPM Statistics for 2023

In this section, we bring you the top eCPM countries for iOS and Android for the three main ad formats – rewarded video, interstitial ads, and banner ads.

Rewarded Video

The top 5 eCPM countries for iOS are the United States ($14.16), Taiwan ($10.28), Japan ($9.92), Australia ($9.33), and South Korea ($8.23).

For Android, the top 5 are the United States ($11.45), Australia ($11.08), Japan ($10.50), South Korea ($9.89), and Taiwan ($6.96).

Interstitial Ads

Five countries with the highest eCPMs for interstitials on iOS are the US ($9.64), Japan ($6.86), Australia ($5.98), China ($5.98), and Canada ($4.95).

The top 5 countries for Android are the US ($10.11), Australia ($8.62), Canada ($7.41), Japan ($6.92), and New Zealand ($6.65).

Banner Ads

For banner ads on iOS, the top five eCPM countries are the United States ($0.38), Australia ($0.29), United Kingdom ($0.29), Switzerland ($0.28), and Canada ($0.27).

For banner ads on Android, those are the United States ($0.52), Canada ($0.34), Australia ($0.30), Denmark ($0.28), and Switzerland ($0.26).

Get more eCPM statistics here.

Mobile Gaming Statistics: KPIs by Genre You Need to Know in 2023

In this section, we bring you data on the most important metrics for each gaming category – user retention, playtime, average session length, session count, and installs ratio.

Data source: GameAnalytics Benchmarks+

The data is for the casual, classic, and mid-core genres. Here’s how GameAnalytics categorized them.

Casual genre: action, adventure, arcade, casual, and puzzle games.

Classic genre: board, card, casino, trivia, and word games.

Mid-core genre: multiplayer, role-playing, simulation, strategy, racing, sports games.

User Retention Statistics

Let’s start with the average user retention statistics for the past year.

Casual Genre

• Average day 1 user retention for the top 25% of games in the casual genre in 2021 was 30%. For median games, it was 21%, and for the bottom 25%, it was 12%.
• After day 7, the top 25% of games in the casual genre in 2021 retained an average of 7% of users. Median casual games retained 3%, and the bottom 25% retained 1.5% on average.
• Average day 28 retention for the top 25%, median 50%, and the bottom 25% of games in the casual genre in 2021 was 2%, 0.8%, and 0%, respectively.

Classic Genre

• Average day 1 user retention in 2021 for the top 25% of games in the classic genre was 31%. For median games, it was 23%, and for the bottom 25% of games, it was 13%.
• After day 7, the top 25% of games in the classic genre retained 12% of users on average. The median 50% of casual games retained 6%, and the bottom 25% retained just 2%.
• Average day 28 retention for the top 25%, median 50%, and the bottom 25% of games in the classic genre in 2021 was 5%, 2.5%, and 0.2%.

Mid-Core Genre

• Day 1 retention for the top 25% of mid-core games was 28% in 2021. For the median 50% of games, it was 19%, and for the bottom 25%, it was 12%.
• After one week, the top 25% of games in the mid-core genre retained 6% of users on average. The median 50% of games in this category retained 3%, and the bottom 25% retained 1.5%.
• Average day 28 retention for the top 25%, median 50%, and the bottom 25% games in 2020 was 2%, 0.7%, and 0.05%, respectively.

Average Playtime

Playtime is the total time a user spends playing a game (combining all sessions) per day. Here’s how much users played casual, classic, and mid-core games in 2021.

 Casual Games

• Top 25% of games – 28 minutes
• Median 50% of games – 15 minutes
• Bottom 25% of games – 8 minutes

Classic Games

• Top 25% of games – 47 minutes
• Median 50% of games – 30 minutes
• Bottom 25% of games – 17 minutes

Mid-Core Games

• Top 25% of games – 35 minutes
• Median 50% of games – 18 minutes
• Bottom 25% of games – 10 minutes

Average Session Length Statistics

Below is the average session length for games in the casual, classic, and mid-core genre in 2020. (Average session length looks at how long users play a game, from starting to finishing a session).

Casual Games

• Top 25% of games – 7 minutes
• Median 50% of games – 4 minutes
• Bottom 25% of games – 3 minutes

Classic Games

• Top 25% of games – 9.5 minutes
• Median 50% of games – 6 minutes
• Bottom 25% of games – 4 minutes

Mid-Core Games

• Top 25% of games – 9 minutes
• Median 50% of games – 5.5 minutes
• Bottom 25% of games – 3 minutes

Session Count Statistics

Session count is the average number of sessions played per user on a given day. Here are the averages for the previous year (2021).

Casual Games

• Top 25% of games – 4 average sessions per day
• Median 50% of games – 3 average sessions per day
• Bottom 25% of games – 2 average sessions per day

Classic Games

• Top 25% of games – 5 average sessions per day
• Median 50% of games – 4 average sessions per day
• Bottom 25% games – 2 average sessions per day

Mid-Core Games

• Top 25% of games – 4 average sessions per day
• Median 50% of games – 3 average sessions per day
• Bottom 25% of games – 2 average sessions per day

Installs Ratio

The installs ratio is the percentage of daily active users who launched the game for the first time. Here are the averages for 2021.

Casual Games

• Top 25% of games – 51%
• Median 50% of games – 30%
• Bottom 25% of games – 16%

Classic Games

• Top 25% of games – 28%
• Median 50% of games – 12%
• Bottom 25% of games – 5%

Mid-Core Games

• Top 25% of games – 54%
• Median 50% of games – 35%
• Bottom 25% of games – 19%

Final Thoughts on Mobile Gaming Statistics for 2023

Judging by these mobile gaming statistics, it is evident that the mobile game market will continue to grow in 2023 and years to come. Game developers and marketers need to take advantage of that and create strategies to win in this crowded market.

What’s particularly important to pay attention to are the ever-changing mobile gamer demographics. We can see that the idea of who a “gamer” is has shifted.

There’s a good reason to believe that even more women will get into mobile games, especially if the market continues catering to their interests. We also know female mobile gamers are more likely to purchase games and in-app content. That is another huge opportunity for game developers and marketers.

Furthermore, mobile gamers tend to skew older, especially when it comes to women, which is another thing both developers and marketers need to keep in mind.

IDFA changes have significantly impacted the mobile game market, which will continue to ripple through 2023 as well. We saw the rise of NFTs and blockchain gaming, both of which are promising exciting new ways to play and monetize mobile games. Additionally, the talk about the metaverse made everyone wonder how it will influence gaming.

In any case, it will be exciting to see how the mobile games market will change and evolve in the future – we’ll keep you posted. We update these mobile gaming statistics regularly.

Which mobile gaming statistics did you find the most surprising? Write to us in the comments below!