Moloco Releases Mobile Game App Trend Report

Artificial Intelligence (AI) advertising company Moloco released a report on the 18th covering key survey results on mobile game app purchase trends.
'2025 Mobile Game Status: In-App Purchase Trends of Major Apps' report presents key insights and strategic implications, including strategies of the top 100 game advertisers, as the mobile game industry evolves and enters a new growth phase, aiming to lead growth.
According to this survey, tier 1 game markets such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada still account for 35% of global revenue and are identified as markets that major publishers continue to focus on based on stable profits. However, the report analyzed that this growth is slowing, indicating market saturation is underway, and global expansion is a practical growth opportunity.
The report analyzed that iOS-based U.S. gaming users are now a market that Korean game publishers can no longer ignore. Based on the top 100 game publishers, U.S. mobile game users account for 47% of global game revenue. Among them, U.S. iOS users alone already generate 29% of global revenue, which is an 11% increase compared to 2023. Particularly in the U.S., the 'top 5%' of users who spend more than $100 within 7 days of installation were generating about 20% of the revenue in the global Android and iOS sectors.
As iOS users lead revenue and paying user growth in the game market, competition to secure high-value users is also intensifying. According to the survey, advertisers showed a tendency to pay premium bid prices to secure core users. While the average winning bid across the industry remained relatively stable, the top 1% of iOS winning bids surged by 140% over the past year. Regarding this phenomenon, the report emphasized that securing high-value users is not simply solved by raising bid prices, and a sophisticated strategy considering audience segmentation, paying user retention, and market diversification is needed for long-term profitability.
The report also analyzed that the casual In-App Purchase (IAP) experience is emerging as a key driver of global revenue growth. This survey found that games effectively combining casual gameplay that attracts a wide range of users with advanced IAP systems achieved a 6% revenue increase compared to the previous year. This suggests that opportunities are opening up for Korean publishers to provide more sophisticated gameplay to global users in a familiar way.
Additionally, the report highlights differentiated paid customer acquisition strategies of the top 5 game advertisers. They are diversifying their User Acquisition (UA) budgets more towards countries outside the U.S., showing active spending expansion especially in other European and Middle Eastern markets. They are also focusing on securing high-value users by investing more than 19% of their total budget in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) optimization campaigns and spending more than three times the average on re-engagement campaigns that induce 'app opens'. Furthermore, by actively utilizing interactive ad formats such as playables, they are increasing user engagement and conversion rates. These strategies were based on a full-funnel strategy encompassing both new user acquisition and existing user re-engagement.
Jae-Gyun Ahn, head of Moloco's Korea branch, said, "Through this survey, we were able to see how major game advertisers are responding to changes and new approaches to reaching and retaining mobile game users. We also confirmed that in-game promotions and live events are emerging as key strategies," adding, "The game industry is shifting its focus from short-term user acquisition numbers to long-term user value, which requires a more strategic UA and engagement approach. In the future, advertisers who optimize campaigns around high-value users rather than scale will lead sustainable revenue growth."

solidkjy@fnnews.com Koo Ja-yun Reporter