According to the "2026 Game Market Report" released by Sensor Tower on March 16, global game downloads reached 52 billion in 2025, with the vast majority originating from mobile devices. Google Play contributed 42 billion downloads, reflecting the Android platform's extensive global reach and surpassing the App Store's download volume by more than four times. However, in terms of in-app purchase revenue, the App Store maintained a more prominent position, outperforming Google Play by approximately 75%. The remaining 2 billion downloads came from PC and console platforms. Unlike the mobile market, which is dominated by free-to-play titles, downloads on PC and console platforms are often directly linked to paid game purchases, meaning each download typically corresponds to higher revenue value. Among major PC and console platforms, Steam led in download volume, exceeding the second-ranked PlayStation by about 37%. Nevertheless, when considering overall scale, PlayStation and Xbox together accounted for 1.17 billion downloads, collectively surpassing PC platforms and indicating sustained strong market demand for console gaming.
The focus of mobile gaming growth is shifting from download volume to monetization capability. In 2025, revenue from the App Store and Google Play grew for the third consecutive year. While download numbers declined, user engagement time saw a slight increase, signaling an industry pivot from relying on new user acquisition to placing greater emphasis on maximizing lifetime customer value. Regionally, growth in in-app purchase revenue was primarily driven by the European market, while the United States remained relatively stable. As revenue is denominated in U.S. dollars, exchange rate fluctuations may have influenced comparisons between regions, such as certain markets in East Asia. User engagement trends varied across markets: after a decline in 2024, engagement time recovered in the U.S. and Japan but decreased in mainland China. Within Europe, the U.K. showed improvement, France remained largely flat, and Germany experienced a slight weakening. With install numbers continuing to fall, industry growth can no longer rely heavily on user acquisition as in the past, prompting teams to focus more on user retention and re-engagement strategies.
Steam achieved record highs across multiple metrics on PC platforms. Steam set historical records in several key areas for PC gaming, including paid game revenue, download volume, and the number of new title releases. Superficially, revenue growth appeared concentrated among AA and AAA publishers, particularly within the action and shooter genres. The release of "Black Myth: Wukong" complicated this trend. Developed by Game Science, the title is classified under an independent publisher in our framework, yet its production scale and commercial performance reached blockbuster levels. It contributed significant revenue in 2024, substantially elevating the overall revenue for independent publishers that year. Year-over-year comparisons became more nuanced as a result. On the surface, independent publisher revenue growth seemed to slow in 2025; however, when excluding the impact of "Black Myth: Wukong," independent publisher revenue actually continued to show year-on-year growth.
YouTube's share of ad spending is shifting from PC and console platforms to mobile. Mobile game advertising budgets remain heavily allocated to mobile ad networks such as AppLovin and AdMob. In contrast, PC and console game advertising is more concentrated on social media and video platforms, with YouTube holding the largest share of ad spend. YouTube's proportion of mobile game ad expenditure increased year-over-year, aligning with a broader industry trend where more developers are shifting focus from pursuing download volume to enhancing monetization efficiency, strengthening user retention, and more precisely targeting high-value users. Conversely, YouTube's share in PC and console game ad spending declined, although it remained the largest channel by ad spend in that segment. Meanwhile, Instagram significantly increased its share in PC and console game advertising, further indicating that short-form video ad formats are highly compatible with the promotional needs of these games. They are well-suited for showcasing trailer-style creative content and help efficiently reach and re-market high-intent players.
Strategy games emerge as the growth engine for the mobile market. In 2025, strategy games drove the most significant revenue growth across major global markets. This trend was primarily fueled by a wave of 4X strategy games launched by Eastern publishers, with "Last War: Survival" and "Whiteout Survival" performing exceptionally well. Puzzle games also demonstrated strong growth, particularly in the European market. "Royal Match" topped the revenue charts, while "Gossip Harbor" contributed the largest revenue increase. Shooter games experienced growth in Asian markets, mainly driven by new releases, with "Delta Force" delivering a standout performance. In terms of download volume, strategy games were the only category to achieve growth across three major markets: Asia, North America, and Europe, further highlighting their strong momentum in key metrics. In contrast, other genres generally saw download declines in primary markets, with lifestyle, simulation, and puzzle games experiencing the most significant drops.
"Battlefield 6" becomes the top-selling title on PC and console platforms in a highly competitive shooter market. In 2025, "Battlefield 6" performed in a league of its own. With the exception of "EA SPORTS FC 25" and "EA SPORTS FC 26," its sales were nearly double those of other major game releases. The year was also marked by intense competition in the shooter genre, with several major publishers launching new titles that directly challenged long-standing market leaders. Besides "Battlefield 6," "Marvel Rivals," published by NetEase, secured the third position in annual downloads by a narrow margin. Tencent's cross-platform title "Delta Force" ranked third in downloads within the shooter category. Simultaneously, Valve's "Deadlock" and the rapidly popular mid-size team project "ARC Raiders" entered the fray, leading to a concentrated wave of new shooter releases. Despite this, based on the average monthly active user numbers on PC and console platforms in 2025, the top shooter games remained "Fortnite," "Counter-Strike 2," "Call of Duty," and "PUBG," with "Battlefield 6" ranking fifth. For these new entrants, truly disrupting the established hierarchy will require time.
Games focused on cooperative team experiences, amplified by content creators, are forming a steadily expanding wave. Referring back to an earlier chart reveals that while "Battlefield 6" occupied a nearly solitary top tier, another echelon existed on the chart's left side, dominated by two breakout indie hits: "R.E.P.O." and "PEAK." These titles exemplify the cooperative chaos gameplay that swept through player social circles in 2025—intense, unpredictable multiplayer experiences centered around playing with friends. This game design is inherently suitable for being clipped and disseminated by content creators. The combination of humor, high-stakes failure moments, and scenarios with a thrilling atmosphere provides creators with a constant stream of compelling footage, easily shared as short videos on social media or used in collaborations with other creators to attract more viewers to their channels. This dissemination mechanism also grants these indie games substantial visibility, enabling them to reach a broader player base quickly. Coupled with typically low price points, often $10 or less, the barrier to entry is further reduced, making it easier for viewers of the content to convert into actual players.
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