Mobile gaming remains a financial powerhouse, and in 2025, Apple led the charge.
According to the latest State of Gaming 2026 report from Sensor Tower, the App Store generated $52.5 billion in gaming revenue last year. That figure narrowly increased year over year and surpassed the combined gaming revenue of Google Play and Steam.
Revenue up, downloads down
While revenue edged up slightly, download trends told a different story.
- App Store: $52.5B revenue, up 0.6% YoY
- Google Play: $30B revenue
- Steam: $11.7B revenue, up 13% YoY
Combined, Google Play and Steam still fell short of Apple’s total.
However, total downloads declined across both major mobile platforms:
- App Store: 7.8 billion downloads, down 5.7%
- Google Play: 42.4 billion downloads, down 7.3%
- Steam: 857 million downloads, up 6%
The takeaway is clear: fewer installs, but stronger monetization per user on iOS.
New game releases surge
Despite slowing download growth, game releases increased:
- App Store: 55,300 new titles, up 11.4%
- Google Play: 150,000 new titles, up 45.9%
- Steam: ~20,000 new releases, up 8.4%
Google Play dominated in sheer volume, but Apple maintained higher revenue efficiency per title.
RELATED: App Downloads Fell in 2025, but Subscriptions Drove Record App Revenue
Roblox dominates 2025
One platform towered above the rest: Roblox.
Sensor Tower reports that Roblox averaged nearly 450 million monthly active users in 2025, including close to 100 million on iOS alone.
In the United States:
- Roblox ranked as the top app for both male and female users aged 18–54
- Clash Royale followed for male gamers
- Block Blast! ranked second for female gamers
- NYT Games led among users aged 55+
The bigger trend: monetization over installs
The broader mobile market is stabilizing. According to Sensor Tower, consumers spent more on apps than games overall in 2025 for the first time. Yet mobile gaming still accounted for hundreds of billions of hours globally.
For Apple, the numbers reinforce a long-standing pattern: fewer downloads than Android, but stronger revenue per user.
The App Store may not lead in volume, but it continues to dominate where it matters most financially.
