data.ai (formerly App Annie), the first unified data ai company, today in partnership with IDC, released the Gaming Spotlight 2022 report. Powered by Game IQ, the report reveals that mobile gaming represents 61 percent of the overall gaming market which is set to hit $222 billion in 2022.
The report reveals that mobile gaming is set to surpass $136 billion in 2022 — growing 1.7x faster than the gaming market overall. Globally, users downloaded 45 percent 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 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
Select findings 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 democratizing gaming: The report shows that mobile, genre preferences are more varied, with
8 distinct subgenres being represented among the top 10 games - Core games still dominate for app store consumer spend: Core Games with real-time 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 monetizable genre while Open World RPG saw the biggest rise in consumer spend market share - Growing inclusivity: Nearly 50 percent of top mobile games by consumer spend in the United States skew female while Gen X & Baby Boomers saw steady growth in mobile game spending
- Game streaming increased engagement & monetization: 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 democratizing 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,” said Lexi Sydow, head of market insights, data.ai
“From a mobile in-game advertising standpoint, our US gamer survey results from late last year suggested that
studios and publishers should emphasize 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,” said Lewis Ward, director of gaming and VR/AR, IDC
Read the full gaming spotlight here.
