Top 20 Key Mobile Game Statistics for 2023

With mobile gaming becoming more popular, mobile game statistics are getting more interesting and unbelievable.

Mobile games’ popularity comes from the fact that you can play them anywhere, and there are tons of them available. A lot of money is spent, things change every year, and many games are downloaded every day in the never-stopping mobile game industry.

So let’s look at the best statistics the mobile gaming market has to offer.

Our Pick of Top Ten Mobile Game Statistics

The global mobile game industry was worth $98 billion in 2020.
There are 477,877 mobile gaming apps are available for Android.
The App Store offered 957,390 games in 2020.
The US accounted for 28% of global mobile game spending in 2020.
Mobile gaming earned 57% of total video game profit.
The mobile game ad revenue for sports games declined by 26.7% in 2020.
Statistics show that 63% of mobile gamers are women.
32.7% of mobile gamers are millennials.
In 2020, 150.45 million people played mobile games in the US.
$2 million is the record for the money amount spent on game microtransactions by one person.

Mobile Game Industry Statistics and Market Overview

The mobile game industry is one of the largest industries in the world. It is the most significant branch of the video game industry.

Here are some surprising mobile game industry and market statistics that will help you understand what it’s all about.

1. The global mobile game industry was worth $98 billion in 2020.

(Research and Markets, Business of Esports)

This shows that the mobile gaming industry size in 2020 is significantly increasing.

Although many people started playing mobile games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers are still growing despite many people going back to work.

In the first half of 2021, the revenue grew by 17.9% compared to 2020. The mobile games market size is expected to be $272 billion by 2030.

2. Mobile gaming statistics for 2021 show that 477,877 mobile gaming apps are available for Android.

(Statista, AppBrain)

As of August 2021, there are 2,846,664 apps on Google’s Play Store. Out of those apps, about 477,877 are mobile games.

The number of mobile games in the Play Store was 427,056 by the end of 2020. Following the growing demand for mobile games, in 2021, Google added almost 50,000 new games, and more games will be added until the end of the year.

3. The Apple App Store offered 957,390 games, research of the mobile gaming industry in 2020 shows.

(Daily Blogging)

In July 2020, the Apple App Store had around 4.37 million apps. The number of apps changes every day, so it’s impossible to give the exact numbers.

Out of that number, 22% or 957,390 were games. So, it’s safe to say that they are the most popular app type in the store.

4. According to mobile gaming statistics, in 2020, 150.45 million people played mobile games in the US.

(Statista, Census)

This means that about 46% of US citizens played mobile games. This situates the US among the countries with leading mobile game player numbers.

The number of mobile games players in the US is expected to rise to 181.3 million by 2025.

5. The US accounted for 28% of global mobile game spending in 2020.

(GamesIndustry)

In 2020, the US mobile game market grew, and more Americans spent money on mobile games. This makes the US a global leader in spending, with almost a third of all mobile game spending.

It’s followed by the previous leader, Japan, which now has 22%. China is third, with 18% of the market revenue.

Top Mobile Gaming Revenue Statistics

Revenues in mobile gaming are some of the biggest you’ve ever seen. Read more to see what games have the highest profits, how much are two most famous stores earning, and more.

6. Mobile gaming was estimated to earn 57% of total video game profit, mobile gaming statistics for 2020 show.

(GamesIndustry)

Statistics show that the global gaming market was worth around $162.32 billion in 2020. More than half of that number was earned by mobile games, as estimated.

Since top–grossing game apps earned a few billion each in 2020, the number is not that surprising.

7. WIth $3 million earned daily, Roblox has the highest mobile game revenue per day of all iOS games.

(AppleInsider)

With this in mind, Roblox is officially the gaming platform offering top–grossing iOS games, and bringing the most money to Apple. This comes as no surprise since Roblox is one of the most lucrative games on the scene, earning $1.9 billion in 2021 alone.

Also, 70% of the money Roblox earns goes to the team behind Roblox, so they earn about $2 million. Apple takes 30% of the profits and earns $1 million from Roblox each day.

As mentioned, this makes it the leader of top–grossing iPhone games and gaming platforms.

8. As of 2021, PUBG leads the list of highest-grossing mobile games, with around $299 million earned monthly.

(SensorTower)

PUBG is officially the top–grossing game app as of July 2021. Although other games occasionally reach first place, PUBG was at the top of the top–grossing mobile games in 2020 and 2021.

It comes from one of the biggest mobile game companies— Tencent. Tencent also created Honor of Kings, another one of the top-grossing mobile games of all time.

9. The mobile game ad revenue for sports games declined by 26.7% in 2020.

(PocketGamer, VentureBeat)

This is the only decline in ad revenue — ad revenue for other games grows each year. Most of the other genres, like puzzles, racing games, and similar, didn’t have these problems. On the contrary, many of them had growth of over 70%.

Moreover, total mobile games advertising revenue grew by 8%.

Although sports games are among the top video games, they don’t do too well as mobile games. Stats about the mobile gaming market show that there are very few sports games on the lists of top mobile games of all time.

10. In the first half of 2021, Google Play earned $18.7 billion, mobile game revenue statistics reveal

(VentureBeat)

This is 24.7% more when compared to the same period in 2020, when Google Play earned around $14 billion.

While Apple’s App Store had 22.8% fewer downloads than last year, Google Play downloads increased by 3.9%. This increase helped the platform reach 23.7 million downloads.

Mobile Gaming Demographics

Although video games are usually associated with men and younger generations, mobile games are there to shake up the world of gaming.

Read on to find out who plays them the most.

11. 63% of mobile gamers are women, mobile gaming industry statistics show.

(Forbes, Entertainment Software Association)

While men still play more console and PC games than women, in the world of mobile gaming, only 37% of players are men.

Moreover, most women are playing hyper-casual games that you can stop playing at any moment.

However, this is not the only thing female gamers play. Women are playing more and more action and battle royale games. Mobile game statistics from 2019 even showed that 42.6% of PUBG US mobile players were female.

12. According to the mobile gaming industry overview for 2020, 32.7% of mobile gamers are millennials.

(Statista, Telemedia Online)

This means that millennials are officially the largest mobile gamer demographic.

Besides being the age group that most mobile gamers belong to, millennials aged 23–38 are the group that spends the most time gaming. More precisely, 72% of active mobile game players are millennials.

13. Stats on mobile gamer demographics from 2019 show that the average mobile gamer is 36.3 years old.

(MoPub)

This might come as a surprise, since most people associate gaming with younger people. The reality is that almost ⅓ of mobile gamers are older than 45.

This number changed a lot from 2014, when the average mobile gamer’s age was 27.7.

14. China has 682 million gamers and growing, as mobile game trends reveal.

(The China Guys, Worldometer)

This shows how big of a hype mobile gaming is in China. Their company Tencent produced two of the highest-grossing mobile games of all time.

Not only are they actively producing mobile games, but they are also playing them. Out of 1.45 billion people living in China, almost half are mobile gamers. This is the highest number of mobile gamers per country.

15. According to 2020 mobile gaming stats, millennials spent 55 minutes a day playing mobile games that year.

(AdColony)

These results come from the lockdown period, and it was the longest time spent playing mobile games of all age groups.

The number was significantly larger than before the COVID-19 pandemic, when they only played for 25 minutes. The research suggests that the additional 30 minutes are the time they would normally spend commuting to work.

Other Interesting Mobile Gaming Stats

Besides all the stats mentioned before, there are some more eye-opening statistics to help you understand mobile gaming more. So, let’s continue.

16. The record for the money amount spent on a mobile game by a single person is $2 million.

(The Daily Californian)

This record is held by one appliance-store owner from Houston who spent this amount of money on Modern War.

Spending money on mobile games is something most gamers do. Microtransactions require money, as does buying a game.

But, addictions are more and more common among mobile gamers, and many people cannot control themselves in terms of how much they spend.

17. Mobile game genres statistics show that hyper-casual games made for 30% of all downloaded games in 2020.

(LocalizeDirect, ironSource)

Hyper-casual games are all those games that are simple, free-to-play, engaging, and not time-defined.

Some puzzles, trivia, ASMR, and racing games belong to hyper-casual games if they are quick and straightforward.

They are not the most profitable mobile games, as they are mainly free to play, but are certainly the most downloaded.

18. Mobile game ads revenue research shows that 64% of free-game players are willing to watch an ad.

(Think with Google, Business of Apps)

These players are likely to watch the ad if they get something in return, such as a free life, additional skills, and similar.

Nowadays, this is normal — if you are playing a free version of a game, ads are a standard you have to get used to. After all, free mobile game revenue is earned through ads.

Studies also show that 82% of mobile gamers prefer free mobile games with ads to paid mobile games without ads.

19. According to mobile game download statistics, Among Us was the most downloaded game in 2020, with 264 million downloads.

(CNBC, Review Geek)

This game was the most successful game of the year, ahead of many more serious games, such as PUBG.

It’s a mind-engaging game, simple to understand, with attractive gameplay, easy to play with friends, and short — each game lasts about 10 minutes.

But, all this was not enough to make it successful. It owes its success in 2020 to Twitch streamers, who started playing the game and made it popular.

20. Esport mobile players earned more than $27 million playing Arena of Valor, as reported by esport mobile game statistics.

(Esport Earnings, Esport Earnings)

Esports, in general, is one of the fastest-growing sports. The market revenue for esport was $947.1 million in 2020.

Although almost everybody knows about the League of Legends World Championship, Call of Duty Championship, and similar esport championships and competitions, less is known about mobile gaming esports.

For example, most mobile esport players come from China and other Asian countries.

Conclusion

Mobile games are a category of video games not likely to stop growing.

They offer convenience as you only need a smartphone, and you can play them whenever and wherever you want. There are almost 1.5 million mobile games, and nothing can compete with that.

Now that you know everything about the industry and mobile game statistics, the only thing left to do is play.

FAQ

How many people played mobile games in 2020?

More than 2.5 billion people played mobile games in 2020. The statistics show that the number of players increased by 12% from 2019.

The US had one of the largest player numbers. 150.45 million Americans played mobile games in 2020.

The numbers are expected to keep rising, both in the US and globally.

Are mobile games still profitable in 2021?

Mobile games are definitely still profitable. 2020 and 2021 are the years when mobile games have earned the most profit and expanded the most.

In 2021, the top 10 mobile games individually earn around $100 million monthly, and together earn more than $1 billion each month.

However, if we look at top-grossing games on iOS or Android, we can see that making huge profits is almost exclusively reserved for big companies.

How much did mobile gaming make in 2020?

The mobile gaming revenue in 2020 was $98 billion. It made 57% of total video games profits.

What is the mobile gaming market size?

All signs lead to the conclusion that the mobile gaming market is the biggest game market. It was worth $98 billion in 2020, and that number is expected to keep rising.

It offers 1.5 million games and has more than 2.5 billion players worldwide.

What percent of gaming is mobile?

There is no specific number showing this percent, but it must be high, as the biggest mobile games have a few billion downloads. On the other hand, the most popular console — PlayStation, has 109 million active users.

What we know is that there are 3.24 billion video game players globally and that more than 2.5 billion people play mobile games.

Moreover, mobile gaming earns 57% of total video game profits.

Which country has the most mobile gamers?

China is the country with the most gamers. Over 682 million Chinese play mobile games. The Chinese players mostly play some of their most successful mobile games, such as PUBG and the Honor of Kings.