Mobile Games Turn Into Boom-or-Bust Industry as Spending Rises
(Bloomberg) -- Mobile gamers ramped up their spending by 4% last year even as the number of downloads and new releases fell, highlighting the narrowing of the industry to a handful of huge titles that dominate users' time.
New hits took less time than ever to reach their first $1 million in revenue — 106 days — but competition from evergreen titles meant there were fewer of those standouts than before, according to Appfigures data. Only 399 new games achieved that threshold, and there were 43% fewer games released overall in 2024, the researchers said.
The games industry is struggling to develop a sustainable economic model, with many publishers and studios in recent times canceling projects and cutting staff after the pandemic-driven boom in entertainment faded. The surging cost to develop and promote new titles has dampened investment and pushed console makers Nintendo Co. and Microsoft Corp. to announce the first $80 retail games.
On mobile, Tencent Holdings Ltd. earned roughly four times as much as the second biggest publisher in 2024, Monopoly Go! creator Scopely Inc., with longtime favorites Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite in the top four highest global earners. The most profitable and downloaded games for the year were almost all long-lived mobile titles — less than $4 billion of the total $65.7 billion spending came from games actually released in 2024. Among those, eight came from Chinese developers, including Mihoyo Co.'s Zenless Zone Zero, and two from Japan.
Appfigures researchers said developers seeking a slice of the industry are fighting to retain existing players and recruit new ones. One strategy is to use cross-promotional work and other forms of entertainment.
'Collaborations between mobile games and major IP from TV and movies to comics and fashion are nothing new. But in online multiplayer and live service games they shine, boosting both player acquisition and spending,' according to the Appfigures report. 'Monetization through branded events has grown more sophisticated over time and is now a core strategy in top titles.'
American gamers were once again among the world's most valuable, as they spent an average of $6.43 per download, across iPhone and Android devices, more than four times the global average of $1.52 per download. Both figures increased by 11%, underscoring the underlying trend of increased spending.
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