FTC drops the Microsoft Activision antitrust case and mobile games have returned to growth | Week in Views

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The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can’t let go of…

So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we’ve created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.

FTC drops antitrust case against Microsoft’s $69bn Activision deal

Despite Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closing in 2023, the FTC has continued to put pressure on the deal. However, they recently lost another court hearing, which seems to be the final blow in the battle. 

The FTC now appears to be dropping its case against Microsoft despite its long-standing stance that the deal could harm competition, and it also had concerns about the impact it could have on cloud gaming and subscriptions.

I think since the deal, the biggest issue was the layoffs that followed, however Microsoft claimed that had nothing to do with the actual closing of the deal and was something that was on the cards in advance of the acquisition happening, and so it essentially couldn’t be blamed on the merger. 

Another major concern surrounding the deal was, of course, the issue of Call of Duty coming to other platforms. Which for now, Microsoft has stuck to its word and has followed through on.

In the grand scheme of things, it hasn’t been long enough yet to determine the full extent and impact of this deal, but I think once it closed, the FTC was always going to be fighting a tough battle, so it seems right to back off.

So, does this mean after all of these years, we have finally heard the end of the legal side of the gaming industry’s biggest acquisition? 

Mobile games successfully “squeezing” more revenue per install as average player spending rises 11% despite 7% install fall

Mobile games have returned to growth! 

According to Appfigures Intelligence, mobile games revenue increased by nearly 4% in 2024 compared to 2023, up to an estimated $65.7 billion worldwide.

Notably, average consumer spending increased by 11% per install, up to $1.52, meanwhile installs themselves dropped by nearly 7%.

Naturally, this means developers were getting more bang for their buck, so to speak – or revenue per player. It may have been harder to acquire new players, but they were more willing to spend, or at least those who were spent more.

Across the top 1,000 highest-earning mobile games, RPGs reigned supreme as the most prevalent genre. They also carried midcore, alongside shooters and strategy games, helping the segment represent 50% of that top 1,000.

Casual games were the next most prevalent, followed by casino.

And, perhaps most interestingly, roughly half of those top games also featured a battle pass.