Mobile gaming has seen immense growth over the past few years, breaking records and generating billions in revenue. With mobile devices enabling gamers to play anytime, anywhere, it's no surprise the market continues to boom.
To understand this success, we dive into the critical stats and demographics defining mobile gaming in 2024.
Highlights
● There will be over 3 billion mobile gamers globally in 2024
● 65% of mobile gamers play while doing other activities like commuting
● Households earning over $100k per year comprise 42% of US mobile gamers
● Women make up 57% of all US mobile gamers
● 90% of gamer moms play mobile games at least weekly
● 67% of under-13s have made in-app purchases without parental permission
● The average mobile gamer age is 38.7 years old
● 93% of Gen Z plays mobile games daily
● The 25-44 age range represents 58% of all mobile gamers
● 60% of Baby Boomers play mobile games despite not identifying as "gamers"
Overall Mobile Gaming Market
The mobile gaming market continues its meteoric rise. Key drivers include improved smartphone capabilities enabling rich gameplay, growing access to high-speed networks like 5G, and game publishers optimizing for mobile. The simplicity and convenience of mobile also opens gaming to demographics historically less likely to own expensive PC/console setups.
3+ Billion Gamers and Counting
Over 3 billion people will play mobile games in 2024, up from 2.6 billion in 2021 and 2.2 billion in 2019. Mobile gaming's slice of the overall gaming market gets bigger each year. Asia leads with 1.4 billion mobile gamers, followed by Europe and North America.
Diving deeper into regional preferences:
● Asia prefers multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs).
● Europe leans toward puzzles, card, word, and music/party games.
● North America favors arcade, action-adventure, shooters, simulations, and strategy.
Mobile Usage Contexts Expand
Today's mobile games integrate seamlessly into people's lifestyles. 65% of gamers play on their phones while multi-tasking:
● 50% play while using the bathroom
● 45% play while waiting in line
● 38% play while watching TV
● 33% play while in bed before sleeping
Quick, hyper-casual games rule the roost, optimized for shorter play sessions. Multiplayer and multiplayer online battle arena games also thrive thanks to mobile's always-on connectivity.
Demographic Breakdown
The range of mobile gamers expands each year as smartphones become more ubiquitous. Once a stereotypically young, male activity, women now dominate mobile gaming. And middle-aged users are picking up gaming habits quicker than teenagers.
High Earning Households Well Represented
Over 40% of mobile gamers in the US live in high income households:
|
Household Income |
% of Mobile Gamers |
|
Under $50k |
35% |
|
$50k-$100k |
23% |
|
Over $100k |
42% |
Those with higher education levels also tend to play mobile games more frequently.
Women Lead Men in Engagement
57% of US mobile gamers are women compared to just 43% for men. Looking at usage habits:
● 50% of women play mobile games 5+ days per week versus just 41% of men
● 84% of all mobile puzzle game players are women
● Over 90% of gamer moms play mobile games weekly
Genres like puzzles, educational games, and word games tend to skew female while action, racing, and sports games skew male. However, multiplayer battle and battle royale games like Fortnite and Call of Duty Mobile boast nearly equal male/female ratios.
Under-13s Drive In-App Purchases
The under-13 demographic holds massive opportunity, especially for publishers monetizing via in-app purchases (IAPs) rather than ads:
● 67% of under-13s have made IAPs without parental approval
● On average, parents allot $15 monthly budgets for their kids' mobile IAPs
● But 29% of parents allow monthly IAP budgets over $50
This shows that with the proper parental controls, publishers can design positive monetization strategies aimed at children.
Youngest Gamers Not the Most Engaged
While publishers rightfully see long term potential in child gamers, they are not currently the industry's most engaged segment. The average mobile gamer age is 38.7, up from 36.3 in 2019 and 27.7 in 2014.
Looking at usage across age demographics:
|
Age Range |
Daily Usage |
|
13-17 years |
72% |
|
18-24 years |
66% |
|
25-34 years |
77% |
|
35-44 years |
82% |
|
45-54 years |
74% |
|
55-64 years |
68% |
|
65+ years |
60% |
And when looking at weekly usage rates:
● 82% for 25-34
● 78% for 35-44
● 76% for 18-24
● 76% for 45-54
● 72% for 55-64
● 69% for 65+
● 67% for 13-17
Thus, those in the 25-44 age range make up the most engaged mobile gamers. However, seniors over 55 still have remarkably high play rates, despite rarely self-identifying as gamers.
Gen Z Leads Future Growth
Zoomers will fuel much of the industry's future expansion. Already, 93% of Gen Z plays mobile games daily across a variety of platforms like:
● Action-adventure/RPGs
● Puzzles/match-3s
● Endless runners
● Sports games
● Strategy/simulations
● Sandbox games like Minecraft
● Multiplayer competitive games
Gen Z also consumes significant gaming content on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Tapping both play and viewing behaviors across Gen Z's preferred genres and titles will unlock major opportunities.
Conclusion
The mobile gaming industry thrives thanks to increased smartphone penetration and advancements making mobile performance nearly on par with PCs and consoles. Crucially, mobile tear downs barriers of high cost and platform complexity that once limited gaming's reach.
The market also continues to broaden demographically. Women now make up the majority of mobile gamers. The average user age creeps upwards as smartphones become commonplace among older generations. Still, these groups rarely consider themselves gamers, highlighting market education opportunities. And while the youngest gamers offer strong revenue via IAPs, those in the 25-44 age range remain the most engaged.
As publishers analyze play patterns across gender, income, and age, they can make strategic decisions like:
● Optimizing game design and progression mechanics to match preferences
● Tailoring monetization strategies by demographic
● Creating targeted marketing campaigns that dispel outdated stereotypes
● Developing retention techniques for notoriously fickle Gen Z
● Maintaining strong parental controls to encourage child engagement while limiting excessive spending
With the industry poised to hit over $200 billion annually by 2030, understanding nuances across mobile gaming's increasingly diverse landscape will separate the big winners from the rest of the pack.
