As a popular gaming option, it has been impossible to ignore the growth displayed by smartphone gaming recently. Favored console products like Call of Duty can now be accessed on a miniature handheld device, while the new and improved smartphones we all typically own can handle other intriguing gaming titles. It’s actually mightily impressive.
While smartphone gaming’s overall rise has been well documented, it actually declined by 6.7% in 2022. Despite many within the gaming world feeling that their initial negative predictions around this emerging gaming type have suddenly been proven right, gaming on a portable handheld device is still booming.
In fact, a number of notable statistics highlight the importance of this continually evolving gaming opportunity for people. These statistics, and more, suggest just why smartphone gaming isn’t vanishing anytime soon.
Biggest Games According to Downloads
The variety of games people can dip in and out of with ease on a smartphone device is quite remarkable. This alone provides people with a diverse gaming opportunity, with everything from popular puzzle games like Monument Valley 2 to beautifully-designed games with bursts of purple like NetEnt’s Wilderland being explored by gamers everywhere.
While these aforementioned products are emerging at the moment, some seriously impressive download figures have been recorded in recent times. In 2022, games like Subway Surfers topped the download charts with a staggering 278 million downloads. Likewise, Stumble Guys achieved 223 million downloads.
Other releases with notably large downloads include the likes of Roblox with 185 million downloads, the much-loved Candy Crush Saga with 165 million, and Ludo King with 164 million downloads to its name.
The Top Mobile Markets Are China, US, and India
Probably unsurprisingly, given the populations of these nations, the biggest mobile markets in terms of downloads are China, the US, and India. While gamers from these nations have a huge selection of gaming escapades to get through, smartphone gaming still stands out. As enhancements continue to grip this emerging area of gaming, more and more people from these mobile gaming hotbeds will continue to discover mobile gaming, too.
Honor of Kings Earned $1.6 Billion
Also known as Arena of Valor, the success of Honor of Kings highlights the huge revenues being earned by mobile gaming companies. In 2022, the smash-hit multiplayer online battle arena product earned a staggering $1.6 billion, making it the top mobile game of the year at the time.
Genshin Impact was lagging closely behind with revenues of $1.2 billion, while the well-liked PUBG Mobile managed to pull in £1.1 billion. These revenues all helped to significantly contribute towards global games market revenues of $184 billion in 2022.
Statista Predicts the Market Will Grow to $419 Billion by 2027
As predicted by Statista, the mobile games market is expected to grow further and record revenues of $419 billion by 2027. With new and improved games continually entering the market, coupled with the rising costs of gaming on other platforms, smartphone gaming’s appeal isn’t going to fade. In fact, as enhancements continue to come to the fore, smartphone gaming’s overall package is only going to keep on improving.
The Most Popular Types of Smartphone Games
As highlighted by SensorTower in 2022, there are certainly some mobile gaming genres that are more popular than others according to gross revenue.
While casino games pull in $8 billion and shooters managed to earn $4.6 billion, the leading options were puzzle products at $9.1 billion, strategy releases at $16.3 billion, and then RPG options at a staggering $20.2 billion. These gaming genres, plus a huge selection of others, are evidently being explored in more detail than others.