Here’s How Players Interacted With Mobile Games in 2023
data.ai released its comprehensive report for 2024.
To kick off the new year, mobile analytics company data.ai (formerly App Annie) released its State of Mobile 2024 report, analyzing app usage and spending across both gaming and non-gaming mobile applications.
The report showed there were 257 billion new app downloads across iOS, Google Play, and third-party Android stores in China in 2023, which is a 1% year-over-year increase. This equates to more than 489,000 apps downloaded per minute in 2023.
App Store spending across iOS, Google Play, and third-party Android stores in China reached $171 billion last year, for a 3% year-over-year increase. In other words, more than $325,000 was spent each minute in 2023.
Not only were users downloading and spending more in 2023, but they were also using apps for more time each day, with the daily time spent per user on Android phones reaching five hours in 2023, up 6% year-over-year. The total number of hours spent on Android phones reached 5.1 trillion in 2023, which was an increase of 6% year-over-year.
When looking at gaming applications specifically, consumer spending in mobile gaming apps decreased 2% last year to $107.3 billion, with overall downloads also decreasing to 88 billion.
“Hypercasual” puzzle, action, and simulation games (a wide group of titles that includes games such as Thief Puzzle, Attack Hole, and My Perfect Hotel), drove the largest share of downloads in 2023, followed by “Simulation” driving and creative games (another large genre that includes titles like Indian Bikes Driving 3D and Roblox).
In 2023, the top five “new” games (those released in 2023), by U.S. downloads., were:
Gacha Life 2
Monopoly Go
Mighty DOOM
Street Fighter: Duel
Meanwhile, the top five games released prior to 2023, by U.S. downloads last year, were:
Roblox
Royal Match
Block Blast
Magic Tiles 3
In terms of consumer spending in gaming apps, data.ai’s report found “Role-Playing” MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) and Team Battle games led other genres in terms of consumer spending last year. This large genre includes titles like Lineage M and Honkai: Star Rail. Role-playing games were followed by “Strategy / 4X March-Battle” games, a genre that includes games like Evony.
In 2023, the top five “new” games (those released in 2023), by consumer spending in the U.S., were:
Monopoly Go
Whiteout Survival
Honkai: Star Rail
Call of Dragons
Street Fighter: Duel
The top five games released prior to 2023 by consumer spending in the U.S. last year were:
Royal Match
Roblox
Coin Master
Finally, looking at how long people spent in mobile gaming apps last year, data.ai found creative “Simulation” games (this genre includes titles like Roblox) accounted for the most time spent in gaming apps worldwide in 2023, followed by “Shooting / Battle Royale” games, a genre that includes titles like Free Fire.
For an even deeper look into mobile gaming statistics and trends from 2023, check out data.ai’s full report.