Adjoe has released its Mobile Gamers of Korea Report.

Made in collaboration with Statista and Airbridge, MGK 2025 explores the opportunities of South Korea’s mobile gaming market – the 4th largest in the world. 

South Korea is a hotbed of opportunity for mobile game developers, with a gaming ecosystem that generated $6.77 billion in revenue in 2024 alone. As the fourth largest mobile gaming market in the world, it stands behind only the United States, China, and Japan. 

As stated in the latest Mobile Gamers of Korea report, the market is growing at a pace that will bring in approximately 800,000 new mobile gamers to the UA pool every year, presenting an amazing potential for continuous incremental growth.

Crafted by adjoe, Statista, and Airbridge, the Mobile Gamers of Korea Report connects each party’s unique data points to create a 2025 playbook on how to thrive in this market. This well-rounded overview draws on adjoe's expertise as a leading European adtech company with deep insights into user behavior, Statista's global reputation for market predictions, and Airbridge's localized knowledge as a Korean mobile measurement partner.

Opportunities to Take into Account

The report shows that South Korea is not only a massive market but one that behaves uniquely. Here are its key opportunities:

• Monetization: While in-app-purchase-heavy RPGs dominate the revenue share, casual games see the highest download rates at 177 million – a huge player base that presents significant and yet untapped potential for ad monetization if approached with the right strategies. For instance, Korean players are increasingly more receptive to advertising that offers added value, e.g. rewarded ads.

• Player base: With the highest in APAC 95% smartphone penetration rate, almost half of the population is gaming – that's 24 million mobile gamers, spending double the world average time on mobile games. The top genres have players engaging for more than 40 minutes daily, indicating a highly sticky user base and enormous potential for meaningful brand engagement.

• Strategic Approach: The report also reveals how to benchmark against the top 100 games in Korea – take key commonalities like player retention stats and preferred gameplay styles to guide your own game development.

Not Without Drawbacks

The opportunities of the South Korean market come not without challenges. There are unique regulations and expectations, such as laws around disclosing probabilities for loot boxes, and the necessity of cultural localization. However, forewarned means forearmed. Brands willing to meet these requirements can gain significant ground, as this deeply engaged audience has already embraced mobile games as an intrinsic part of daily life.