Hamburg, May 4, 2023 – The postpandemic era, looming recession, and privacy changes have made it difficult for marketers – especially mobile gamers – to find the right users in a turbulent time. However, the Mobile Games Index, a joint effort by adjoe and Statista sheds light on the current mobile gaming market outlook and the games that are driving the most engaging in-app experiences.

The report explores the impacts of all these challenges and reveals that the amount of time users spend playing games has decreased by an average of 21 percent across gaming genres over the past year. Casual games have been hit the hardest, with a decrease in daily app usage of 26 percent from the previous Index.

Another core finding shows that none of the six global gaming regions were able to outperform their 2021 results. In fact, average daily session durations consistently remained below 20 minutes. Compare this with 2021, when Oceania was the only region unable to break the 20-minute threshold.

Despite this drop, the games industry is still expected to grow and in some app categories with some impressive growth expectations. Among those posed for the highest growth is adventure games with an expected 68% growth in downloads and role-playing games expected to grow by 62% by 2027. Revenue is expected to follow this trend with a 60% growth for adventure games and 56% for role-playing by 2027. Another expected growth area is found in Asia, as a whole the region already accounts for the majority of mobile gaming revenue generated worldwide. Besides this, it’s also set to grow by over 50 percent by 2027.

The Mobile Games Index also reveals that some of mobile’s biggest players are sweeping the rankings, with top publishers Supercell, the maker of Clash of Clans, King, the creator of the Candy Crush saga, and other popular mobile players like Playrix, Funplus, and Outfit7 winning multiple awards based on their ability to captivate their audiences.

“Mobile game studios previously came out as one of the pandemic’s biggest winners. However, with changing platform rules from Apple and Android and players’ interests being diverted away from their postpandemic behaviors, it is clear that studios have had more challenging times reaching, retaining, and engaging their new users. Seeing legacy games like Candy Crush or Clash of Clans top the list shows the power of building a cult following and its impact on the users’ game play.” - Carly Ostasiewski, Director of Growth at adjoe.

The report is available for readers to review at https://adjoe.io/mobile-games-index/

About adjoe

adjoe is a leading mobile ad platform that is committed to challenging the industry status quo. By creating market-changing technologies and engaging ad formats – from unique in-app monetization solutions to our own ad mediation WAVE – we ensure app developers and publishers unlock new ways to exceed their UA and revenue goals. Backed by both applike group and Bertelsmann, the company has secured €100 million in funding to continue pushing the mobile adtech industry forward and help apps achieve their next revenue milestone.

About Statista

Statista’s mission is to enable its clients and customers to make the best decisions. The company’s Digital Market Insights presents the most recent figures on markets of the digital economy. Key figures are based on extensive analyses from 150+ countries, 60+ markets, and detailed forecasts up to 2027.