APAC leads in mobile gaming growth: What marketers need to know

The mobile game industry continues to surge, with the Asia Pacific (APAC) region scoring the highest shares of organic gaming app installs at 48%. 

Countries such as Singapore (38%), Indonesia (35%), Japan (35%) and Philippines (33%) were noted as the largest contributors to the region. 

This is according to measurement and analytics company Adjust's gaming app insights report, a resource for studios developers and mobile marketers. 

Don't miss: Study: Marketers investing big on in-app ads but still missing out on mobile gaming market 

Where's the money?

In-app revenue for gaming apps experienced a notable 6% year-on-year (YoY) increase in 2023. The rise was most sharply seen in December, when in-app revenue climbed 17% above the annual average and 21% YoY, said the report. 

Adjust anticipates that these figures will continue climbing throughout 2024. This is especially since January 2024 has already seen a 13% YoY increase. 

In 2023, the median ad revenue per mille (ARPM) for mobile games was US$3.10. A subvertical analysis reveals that adventure games had the highest APRM at US$7.71, surpassing sports (US$7.15) and simulation (US$7.05). 

Word (US$1.14), puzzle (US$1.36) and board games (US$2.05) had the lowest ARPMs. Hyper casual games, known for high ad engagement, came in at US$2.49, but were once again eclipsed by hybrid casual with a significantly larger $3.34.

The U.S. had the highest ARPM of all countries analysed (US$6.75), just below the North American median of US$6.97. Latin America, Brazil and Mexico were significantly lower at US$1.40, $1.52, and US$1.56 respectively.

Within the APAC region, South Korea had the highest ARPM (US$5.26), followed by Japan at US$4.77, and Singapore at US$3.68.

How are gamers gaming? 

Of all gaming app installs in 2023, action represented the highest portion at 18%, followed by hyper casual and puzzle (both 14%), casual (9%), and simulation (7%).

Looking at sessions, action accounted for even more of the pie at 27%, followed by sports and puzzle (both 12%), board (7%), casual (6%), and hyper casual and RPG (both 5%).

For individual countries, sessions and install growth for gaming apps were charted across the board. The highest YoY installs growth was seen in Singapore at 9%, followed by the Philippines with 6%, and Mexico with 5%. In terms of sessions, South Korea saw a 2% boost, but most other markets went backwards, with Singapore falling a sizable 37% as compared to 2022.

In addition, many gaming subverticals saw strong growth in 2023. Racing games grew by 61% while simulation games grew by 53%. Arcade games saw a 38% growth. 

Compared to other regions, APAC had the longest gaming app session lengths. Indonesia had the longest sessions as an individual country at 48 minutes, followed by the Philippines at 46 minutes. 

Singapore joins other regions with 35 minutes spent per gaming session. 

Interestingly, 88% of Singapore marketers advertise in-app, the highest in the region. These were the results of PubMatic’s latest study on the trends in in-app advertising among agencies in Singapore, South Korea and Japan in January 2024. 

As mobile phones find themselves in the hands of more and more consumers in the APAC region with longer periods of screen time, 70% of APAC marketers find themselves incorporating in-app ads in their marketing strategy.

The study also revealed that in-app advertisements are paying off for brands with 79% of marketers seeing improved brand awareness, while 66% of marketers see an increased returns-on-investment. While performance-focused buyers are more likely to likely to advertise in-app than brand buyers, at 77% and 60% respectively, the benefits of in-app advertising depend on the maturity of the mobile advertising market.

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