AppMagic: Games revenue growth stalls at 0.2% in 2025 as strategy emerges as the fastest-growing genre
- Direct-to-consumer monetisation gained momentum, led by top-grossing titles shifting revenue beyond app stores.
- Games accounted for a larger share of new releases in 2025, rising from 63% to 72% year on year.
- Apps overtook games in IAP revenue for the first time in September, generating $4.8bn compared with $4.5bn.
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Global games market growth slowed in 2025 as mobile revenue rose just 0.2% year on year, down from 3% the previous year.
That’s according to AppMagic’s Mobile Landscape report, which showed that download growth also slowed to 4.6%. Strategy emerged as the fastest-growing major genre, with revenue up 16% and downloads increasing 15%.
After several years of strong momentum, Latin America is showing signs of saturation as downloads have stalled or declined across key markets including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina.
Direct-to-consumer adoption is also increasing, with revenue growth driven by top-grossing titles and signalling a gradual shift toward alternative monetisation channels beyond app stores.
At the same time, AI has moved firmly into the mainstream of creative advertising, with 56% of the top 100 grossing games using AI in ad creation in 2025.
Global trends
Apps overtook games in IAP revenue for the first time in September, generating $4.8 billion in net revenue versus $4.5bn, led by strong growth from ChatGPT, TikTok and HBO Max.
Overall in 2025, non-gaming app downloads were up 11.9% Y/Y while revenue rose by 19.1%, led by rapid growth in generative AI apps.
Games increased their share of new releases from 63% in 2024 to 72% in 2025. Market saturation is accelerating in apps and games as while releases climbed 25% year-over-year to more than 1.4 million in 2025, only around 10% attracted meaningful user attention.
You can access the full report here.
