Sensor Tower, the leading provider of market intelligence and insights for mobile apps, has just released its 2021 report on how much people have been spending on mobile apps. When it comes to 2021 mobile game spending, that metric has continued to grow to $89.6 million.
Sensor Tower's report covers all types of mobile apps, but the second half of the report turns its focus to mobile games. While mobile gaming's revenue has increased by 12.6% from last year, its overall share of consumer spending is decreasing. In 2019, mobile gaming represented 74.1% of all app-based spending, and that percentage dropped more than 2% in 2020 to 71.7%. This year, Sensor Tower projects that its share will drop about 6.7% from 2019's figure. Mobile gaming's loss in its market share can be traced to the growth of non-game categories, such as Entertainment, getting a big boost from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, mobile games are still the leaders in mobile marketplace spending, representing 61.5% of iOS revenue and 78% of Google Play's revenue.
As for which games made the most, that primarily depends on which gaming store you look at. Overall, PUBG Mobile takes first place with Honor of Kings in second, but those positions are swapped when you look at who made the most on the app store. Over on Google Play, Coin Master managed to make the most and Garena Free Fire claims second. Genshin Impact manages to claim the bronze in overall revenue, app store revenue, and Google Play revenue. After 2020's big boost to the mobile market, the 2021 mobile game market ecosystem has calmed down somewhat, although some of the trends that emerged are still developing. Sensor Impact plans to continue monitoring the mobile app ecosystem and plans to release more in early January, including additional insights into 2021's top apps, games, and publishers.
