eCommerce: In-App Games Purchases

In-App Gaming Trends: Key Insights

• Gaming's Digital Transformation: Gaming trends have progressed from board and console games to mobile apps, with gaming apps leading the app market revenue.

• Monetization Through In-App Purchases: Unlike traditional video games which primarily earn from game sales, mobile gaming apps largely depend on in-app purchases using the freemium model.

• Puzzle Games Lead in Revenue: Casual games, being the most popular mobile games worldwide, see puzzle games like Royal Match and Candy Crush Saga leading in terms of in-app purchase revenues.

As gaming has evolved with the digital era, transitioning from tabletop to video and console games, and now to mobile gaming apps, we see a significant shift: More and more people play games on the go. According to Pocket Gamer, the games market is the largest market segment in the total apps market, generating the highest revenue compared with other app categories.

Game Apps Generate the Largest Share of Total App Revenue

According to the data from Pocket Gamer, out of the total revenue of US$67.5 billion generated by apps in the first half of 2023, gaming apps contributed a significant share with US$40.9 billion. This corresponds to a revenue of US$26.6 billion generated by non-gaming apps. The in-app gaming share corresponds to 60% of the total market revenue. And the gaming apps market has a quite unique way to produce revenue.

In-App Games: A Lucrative Money-Making Strategy

Unlike traditional video gaming, where the majority of revenue comes from game sales, gaming apps predominantly rely on in-app purchases, following the freemium app business model. The basic game is often free, but the players can purchase additional features inside the app to enhance their gaming experience.

AppMagic has identified the most successful gaming apps in terms of total in-app revenue:

Honor of Kings leads with almost US$1.5 billion in the ranking, surpassing PUGB Mobile at number 2 with US$1.1 billion. Next in line is the casual game Candy Crush Saga with US$956.9 million. In fourth place comes Genshin Impact with US$944 million in in-app purchases followed by Roblox with US$869 million.

It's remarkable that half of the top 10 consists of casual games, such as Royal Match in sixth place (US$835 million), directly behind Coin Master (US$728.7 million) and Monopoly Go in ninth place (US$645 million). Ahead of Monopoly Go, another in-app game that does not fall into the casual games category made it to eighth position: Honkai: Star Rail (US$659 million). Finally, Gardenscapes completes the ranking with US$606 million in in-app revenues.

Casual Games: The Time-Killer on the Go

For a better understanding of the in-app gaming segment, it is important to be aware of what casual games actually are. Their intuitive user interface makes them easy and quick to understand. Game sessions often only last a few minutes - so you don't have to spend hours on end to experience an adventure. At the same time, they are also a good way to pass the time on the go and integrate seamlessly into people's routines.

Let’s now move on to the top 10 casual games by in-app purchase for 2023:

Most Popular Casual Games Are Puzzle Games

Candy Crush Saga the by Maltese gaming development company King is listed as number 1 among mobile casual games globally with US$956.9 million in in-app revenues. Meanwhile, Royal Match, developed by the Turkish company Dream Game, secured the second rank with a gross revenue of US$835.2 million.

In third place comes Coin Master (US$728.7 million), followed by Monopoly Go (US$645 million). Ranks 5 to 10 trail further behind, with Homescapes (US$446.3 million) in 5th spot producing only about 46% of Candy Crush Saga’s in-app revenue and Township (US$358.5 million) in rank 6 about 37%.

Generally, puzzle games prove to be quite lucrative – within the casual gaming apps segment, several puzzle games secure spots among the top 10: Six out of the top 10 casual games by revenue are from the puzzle subcategory. Among the six puzzle games in this ranking are the two leaders in the casual gaming app space, Candy Crush Saga and Royal Match leads.