After a challenging 2022 which brought the first-ever user drop, the mobile gaming industry has significantly recovered with people spending more money on gaming apps than ever.
According to data presented by SafeBettingSites.com, mobile games are expected to generate $315bn in revenue this year, or six times more than online games, download games, and gaming networks combined.
Mobile Games to Make 86% of Total Gaming Revenue, 3% more than in 2019
The video games industry has seen impressive revenue growth in the past years, and mobile games have had a huge role in that. According to Statista data, four years ago, the entire gaming industry generated around $203bn in revenue, and 83% of that value or $169bn came from mobile games. Two years later, in 2022, mobile games raked in close to $275bn in revenue, while their revenue share jumped to an impressive 85%.
According to Statista, 2023 is set to witness another revenue share growth, with gaming apps bringing over $315bn on a global level, or 86% of total gaming revenues.
Moreover, statistics show mobile games remain the fastest-growing segment of the gaming industry. Statista expects mobile games revenue to jump by 15% year-over-year in 2023, far more than any other segment of the gaming industry.
Download games are expected to see a 10% annual growth, with revenues rising to almost $20bn this year. Revenue coming from gaming networks is forecast to grow by 13% to $3.65bn in 2023. On the other hand, online games will see the smallest growth of all market segments, with revenue growing by 9% YoY to $26.1bn globally.
More than 180 million New Users in 2023
As the largest and fastest-growing segment of the video games market, mobile games also have the biggest user count. In just two years, between 2019 and 2021, more than 450 million people worldwide started playing mobile games, with their total number rising to 1.83 billion. Although last year saw the first-ever user drop of 80 million, 2023 is set to bring a significant recovery.
Statista expects more than 180 million people to start playing mobile games this year, pushing the total user count to an impressive 1.93 billion worldwide.
By the end of 2024, the mobile games industry is expected to hit a new benchmark, with the number of users jumping to over 2 billion.
