The mobile games industry exploded in 2020, with revenues and downloads reaching record levels amid the lockdown. As the number of people playing and spending on mobile games continues to grow, the entire sector is set to resume its impressive growth.
According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, mobile games are expected to generate $109.6bn in revenue in 2021, a 44% increase in two years.
400 Million People Started Playing Mobile Games Amid Pandemic
Even before the pandemic, mobile games have witnessed a surge in revenues and the number of users. In 2017, the entire market hit $57.7bn value, revealed the Statista survey. Over the next two years, revenues jumped by 31% to $75.9bn.
However, as millions of people turned to mobile games as their number-one at-home entertainment amid the lockdown, the entire sector boomed in 2020. Statistics show revenues surged by 25% year-over-year to $95.1bn, or 70% of total video games revenues last year.
The positive trend is set to continue in 2021, with revenues increasing by 15% year-over-year. By 2025, the mobile games industry is forecast to hit over $160bn value.
The Statista survey also revealed the number of people playing mobile games surged by more than 400 million amid the pandemic, growing from 1.37 billion in 2019 to almost 1.8 billion in 2021. By 2025, more than 2.2 billion people worldwide will be playing mobile games.
Chinese Mobile Games Revenues Spiked by 50% Since 2019
China has the largest mobile games industry globally, expected to hit more than 560 million users and $41.4bn in revenue in 2021. Statistics also show the Chinese market witnessed the most impressive growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with revenues surging by 50% since 2019.
The United States ranked as the second-largest mobile games market with $20.4bn in revenue as of this year, 34% more than before the pandemic. The number of people playing mobile games in the United States is set to rise to almost 156 million in 2021, a 14% jump in two years.
With $12.4bn in mobile games revenue or 25% more than in 2019, Japan represents the third-largest market globally. South Korea and India follow, with $4.5bn and $3.8bn in revenue, respectively.
