Mobile gaming represents 61% of the overall gaming market, which is set to hit $222-billion in 2022, according to the Gaming Spotlight 2022 report by data.ai (formerly App Annie) in partnership with International Data Corporation (IDC).
The report reveals that mobile gaming is set to surpass $136-billion in 2022 — growing 1,7-times faster than the gaming market overall. Globally, users downloaded 45% more mobile games per week in Q1 2021 from pre-pandemic levels, clocking in at over 1,1-billion games per week. In Q1 2022, consumers spent over $1,6-billion per week on mobile games on iOS and Google Play, up 30% from pre-pandemic levels.
Select findings from the study include:
* Asia Pacific saw the biggest growth in market share for global consumer spend: China led the growth in Q1 2022 while North America and Western Europe made up half of mobile game spend.
* Mobile is democratising gaming: The report shows that mobile genre preferences are more varied, with eight distinct subgenres being represented among the top 10 games.
* Core games still dominate for app store consumer spend: Core Games with realtime online features such as PvP (player-versus-player) or cross-platform play among the most popular genres across the gaming spectrum like PUBG Mobile.
* Appetite for Easy-to-Play Hypercasual & Simulation Games Surged in 2021: 4x March-Battle Strategy games emerged as the most monetisable genre while Open World RPG saw the biggest rise in consumer spend market share.
* Growing inclusivity: Nearly 50% of top mobile games by consumer spend in the US skew female while Gen X & Baby Boomers saw steady growth in mobile game spending.
* Game streaming increased engagement and monetisation: Gaming-focused platforms such as Twitch , Omlet Arcade, and BOOYAH Live saw accelerated growth in engagement by prioritizing community building features that encourage real-time connection and interactions between game streamers and audience.
“Mobile is democratising the space and is now the primary driver of growth for digital games consumption. We are seeing greater diversity across gaming genres allowing publishers to serve new gamers across generations and genders,” says Lexi Sydow, head of market insights at data.ai.
“From a mobile in-game advertising standpoint, our US gamer survey results from late last year suggested that studios and publishers should emphasise rewarded videos and playables, and that contextual data about gamers will grow more important over time as Apple, Google, other vendors, and regulatory bodies in several key countries prioritize customer data privacy and security,” says Lewis Ward, director of gaming and VR/AR at IDC.