Sensor Tower Releases 2024 Mobile Game Market Report

Sensor Tower, a global mobile market data analytics company, has released its “2024 Mobile Game Landscape” report, which highlights trends in the mobile market in 2023, including key games and top publisher performance, how mobile game models, genres, and digital advertising and creative elements are influencing the structure of the mobile game market, and how existing brands and IPs are being leveraged to increase player engagement.

2023 was a challenging year for the mobile gaming market. Global downloads have declined year-over-year, with the App Store showing a 6% drop and Google Play experiencing a larger 11% decrease. Google Play game revenue saw a 6% decrease, while App Store revenue remained stable.

However, this macroeconomic decline is mainly driven by the performance of Android game businesses. A closer look at micro-trends reveals a more complex picture, with winners and losers emerging in certain genres, regions, publishers, live ops operations, and marketing practices.

Looking at download changes across the top 10 game genres by downloads, the puzzle genre saw a 6% decline year-over-year thanks to new games like “Block Blast!” and “Royal Match,” and the continued success of established titles such as “Candy Crush Saga” and “Gardenscapes.” The genre continues to perform well by focusing on retaining existing user bases through events and live ops.

Looking at revenue changes in the top 10 game genres by revenue, the casino genre saw a significant 18% year-over-year revenue growth, driven by the notable performance of Scopely’s “Monopoly Go!”

The puzzle category also saw a 10% year-over-year increase in revenue, fueled by the strong revenue contributions of established casual games such as “Candy Crush Saga” and “Gardenscapes,” which have successfully retained their existing player bases. Hybrid casual titles such as “Survivor.io” have also been effective in retaining players and driving revenue.

In the gaming model environment, the “casualization” trend is becoming increasingly evident. Casual players generally look for lighter, simpler games that offer quick entertainment and progression. Midcore players, on the other hand, crave deeper experiences. Historically, midcore players have invested more time and money in games than casual players, but their preferences make them harder to reach as potential customers.

In today's market, where digital advertisers are struggling to effectively reach their target audiences, the trend is shifting toward targeting casual gamers. This shift is reflected in the 9% decline in global revenue for midcore games. This is referred to as the “casualization trend,” which has led to the emergence of hybrid casual game models, which have experienced a remarkable 30% year-over-year revenue increase.

While global downloads have declined by 10% and revenue by 2% year-over-year, a closer look at regional performance reveals some interesting trends. The Asian market saw a 10% year-over-year decline in downloads and a 6% decline in revenue. Intensified competition has prompted more Asian developers and publishers to target Western audiences, indicating a strategic shift in their approach to global expansion.

The gacha-based monetization model remains dominant and culturally widespread, driving the success of midcore games, which account for 79% of game revenue in Asia. Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo continue to dominate the top publisher rankings. By country, China accounts for 39% of all Asian revenue, followed by Japan at 33% and South Korea at 12%.

Revenue growth in emerging markets like the Middle East and Latin America is also notable. Brazil emerged as the third largest country by downloads in 2023, behind the United States and India, and ranked 13th in terms of revenue. This indicates the growing importance of the Latin American gaming market. Latin American downloads surpassed even Europe as user acquisition strategies shifted toward regions with lower cost per install (CPI). Both downloads and revenue increased in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, reflecting a growing interest in the mobile gaming environment.

Analyzing the regional breakdown of revenue market share by game model distribution, Europe and North America show a stronger preference for casual games, while Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America demonstrate higher overall spending on midcore games. Midcore games like “Garena Free Fire” have experienced significant growth in these markets over the past few years, suggesting that Latin America and the Middle East offer growth opportunities for subgenres within midcore. Latin America has the highest revenue share for hybrid casual games, with Brazil accounting for a significant portion of this share.

The top mobile games by revenue in Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America demonstrate diversity. In Asia, “Honor of Kings” reigns supreme, while “Monopoly Go!” takes the lead in North America, “Coin Master” in Europe, “PUBG Mobile” in the Middle East, and “Garena Free Fire” in Latin America.

Looking at the top publishers by revenue growth in 2023, along with the top revenue-generating game for each publisher, Scopely’s “Monopoly Go!” stands out as the top performer. Dream Games’ “Royal Match” achieved significant growth through highly effective user acquisition campaigns. Notably, seven of the top 10 revenue-growing publishers in 2023 are based in Asia, giving a glimpse into potential future market leaders.

More details about the evolving mobile game market dynamics in 2023, the evolution of live ops practices, the emergence of new game genres, innovative IP collaborations, and more can be found in the “2024 Mobile Game Landscape” report. The full report can be downloaded from the Sensor Tower website.

About Sensor Tower

Founded in San Francisco in 2013, Sensor Tower has become a leading data analytics company trusted by global digital companies such as Twitter, Unity, Tencent, and HBO. Sensor Tower provides deep insights and leading customer support across all stages of the mobile business journey, from mobile startups to established companies and financial institutions, through its intelligence tools, including Store Intelligence to understand mobile market trends and Advertising Intelligence to optimize advertising strategies. Sensor Tower was named “Best Data/Analytics Tool” at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2022.

Website: https://sensortower.com/ko

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Sensor Tower
Korea Branch Marketing Team
Yena Yu