How Big Is the Mobile Gaming Industry in the US?
By Space Coast Daily // November 17, 2019
Today, 77% of Americans own a smartphone. Mobile devices have become more accessible and advanced than ever before, so it is no wonder that many Americans and people around the world are playing more mobile video games all the time.
The mobile gaming industry is reaping the rewards from the rise of mobile technology.
Anyone can now fit as many video games as he or she wants to play inside their pocket and take them anywhere.
With other advancements like faster processing speeds, unlimited data plans, and higher-quality graphics of games, mobile gaming has become more engaging and popular than was once ever thought possible.
So, precisely how big is the mobile gaming industry in the US? Read on to find out the latest statistics and projections.
How much revenue does the US mobile gaming industry create?
The latest statistics show the 2016 revenue from mobile games in the US was more than $3.3 billion, which was up from $2.03 billion in 2013.
During the last reported period, from 2014 to 2016, the average mobile gaming expenditure per user in the US amounted to $77.6.
How much revenue do different game genres create?
From RPGs and retro classics to online casino games like slots and table games, today’s gamers have an almost endless choice of game types and genres to play.
A study from July 2016 showed strategy games were the highest-grossing genre of mobile games in the US. In that one month alone, strategy games created $194 million in the US.
The next most popular mobile game genres were role-playing and adventure. But the most popular mobile game in 2016 was the augmented reality game Pokémon GO.
The game is projected to generate $75 million in the US in 2020. The next most popular games were Fortnite and Candy Crush.
How many mobile gamers are there in the US?
The latest statistics from 2016 show there were approximately 202.8 million people in the US playing games on mobile devices, which is more than the country’s population.
Projections for 2019 showed the number of mobile gamers in the US was expected to rise to 209.5 million, which would mean a year-on-year growth rate of 3%. The number of mobile-game players in the US is expected to reach an incredible 213 million by 2020.
When do gamers in the US play mobile games the most?
According to statistics from a 2016 study, the vast majority of mobile gamers played games during leisure time.
But 18% of US gamers admitted to playing during work. 30% even said they played games at work while sitting on the toilet. The study found 29% of US gamers spent between three and five hours each week playing games on their phones.
How big is the global mobile gaming industry
It is not only the US that is seeing a rise in the number of people playing mobile games and an increase in the revenue created. From 2012 to 2021, the worldwide mobile games market is expected to reach a 30% growth rate.
Seeing as mobile gaming was the smallest gaming sector in 2012, that means the industry has seen an incredible shift in the short span of a decade. Mobile gaming is expected to become a $100 billion global industry by 2021.
It is not only teenagers that play video games anymore. The growth of the global mobile games market means there is a new emerging class of gamers.
Latest figures show mobile games are increasingly becoming played by women, and that older people are playing mobile games more frequently than kids.
In 2019, the number of worldwide mobile gamers hit 2.2 billion. That is almost 30% of the global population!
