Global growth, local play: Mobile gaming behavior & trends across the US, UK, Korea, and Japan

Mobile gaming has never been more competitive. User acquisition is costlier and more complex, and cheap scale is no longer a reliable path to growth, putting publishers under pressure to find new ways to acquire players and maximize lifetime value. 

However, as mobile gaming continues to grow as the leading digital habit worldwide, it’s becoming clear that localization goes far beyond the content within your game, and success requires tailoring strategies to each market. While Meta and Google remain central to UA, other platforms are increasingly critical for delivering high-value players for specific genres and markets. The same holds true for engagement and monetization, as the tactics that resonate in one market may miss the mark in another.

The United States, United Kingdom, Korea, and Japan illustrate this dynamic clearly. Together, they represent four of the most valuable markets in the world, with the US, Korea and Japan consistently ranking as the top three for IAP, and the UK showing steady growth in both spend and engagement. 

To help mobile game publishers achieve global growth through local thinking, Mistplay has launched the Mobile Gaming Across Markets Report, which explores these dynamics in depth through insights derived from thousands of players across the US, UK, Korea, and Japan. For publishers seeking to launch, test, or expand globally, these findings offer a practical playbook to shape UA, retention, and monetization strategies to capture growth in the world’s most competitive gaming markets.

[Download the report]

3 findings from our mobile gaming industry report

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1. Daily play is the norm, but game loyalty varies

Frequency of play is a cornerstone metric of mobile gaming behavior and can tell you a lot about the culture of mobile gaming in a certain market. And while our mobile gaming industry report shows that players everywhere reach for their phones to play multiple times a day (80%+), the loyalty they show varies sharply by market. 

In the Western markets, a majority of US (63%) and UK (62%) gamers play over 4 titles per week, indicating that breadth takes precedence and gamers have a more “exploratory” habit when it comes to their game portfolio. 

On the flipside, a majority of Korean (67%) and Japanese (52%) players play in only 1-3 per week, indicating that loyalty runs deep as players devote their time to just a handful of titles. 

💡 What this means for publishers: This variance in game loyalty shows that while loyalty may be hard won in Korea and Japan, it might be more powerful. Whereas in the US and UK markets, capturing a download might be easier than maintaining ongoing engagement and retention, as player attention can easily fatigue and have players moving onto another title in their game library. 

“Just because loyalty runs deep, don’t make the mistake of thinking that means you can be lazy. Loyalty has to be earnt, before it can be kept. Gamers in the East may be more loyal, but you need to understand their motivators and continue to work with them, whilst knowing that you will need to do something altogether different in other regions to achieve the same results.” – John Wright, CEO, Turborilla 

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👀 Related reading: Mobile gaming loyalty in 2025: Genres driving monetization, engagement, and LTV

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2. Bonuses hook players in the West, stories and events in the East

Once in the game, the levers that are most effective to build, maintain, and even re-kindle engagement differ drastically between the markets. 

In the West, the appeal of daily bonuses (60%) and relaxation (55%) aligns with broader entertainment habits that favor casual, drop-in engagement, with mobile games slotting into moments of downtime, and steady rewards reinforcing routine play. 

In Japan, the draw of narratives (47%) and exclusive items (31%), and time-limited events for Koreans (32%), reflects cultures that prize immersion, mastery, and participation in deeper experiences – and successful player engagement relies on playing into these differences. 

What draws in active players to return to a game day after day can similarly entice them to return to a title they previously abandoned. For example, while daily login rewards are effective for active player engagement in the US and UK (~61%), they’re also a handy tool for re-engaging churned players (~45%) – much more so than for their Korean (31%) and Japanese (28%) counterparts. 

💡 What this means for publishers: To succeed globally, publishers must design retention hooks that reflect these cultural preferences. In the West, publishers should lean into consistency and simple progression systems that reward regular check-ins. In the East, use levers such as events and content as an opportunity to draw players in through the promise of deeper immersion with the title. 

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👀 Related reading: The impact of social and community factors for gamers in South Korea 

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3. Spending culture peaks in Japan

Japanese players represent a valuable spender base in mobile gaming, with both the highest share of paying users and the greatest spend per purchase. A significant portion make multiple purchases a month (38%), and a third (33%) regularly spend more than the equivalent of $10 per IAP – far outpacing Western markets where fewer than 1 in 10 spend at that level. 

While accelerating game progression is a universal motivator to spend (48%), the specifics of spending look different across each market – and Japan is no exception. While Western players are value-driven, responding to bundles and limited-time offers that stretch their dollar, players in Japan are more motivated by exclusivity – whether that’s new characters to unlock, gacha systems for collection, or branded IP content.

“Japan is a "content powerhouse", supported by a highly active consumer base. More than half of the population engages daily with games, manga, and anime, and many fans continue to support a single work for over 10 years. This deep and long-lasting affection for, and willingness to spend on, not only games but also manga and anime significantly increases the value of Japanese mobile game players. ‍

‍Because so many people love games, manga, and anime, storylines and characters are given high priority in mobile games. Therefore, in-app purchases are not only about gaining an advantage in gameplay but also about collecting beloved characters as “digital goods.” This multiplicity of motivations to spend further enhances the value of Japanese mobile game players.” 

– Sato Matoi, Motto (CEO)

💡 What this means for publishers: To capture Japan’s outsized spending power, publishers should prioritize premium, collectible, and story-driven content that feels worthy of higher investment. In particular, IP and brand collaborations can be a fruitful area to explore to capitalize on the culture’s deep loyalty to specific brands and media franchises. 

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👀 Related reading: Where worlds collide: The LTV-driving power of brand and IP collaborations in mobile gaming

Dive into more global mobile gaming trends in the Mobile Gaming Across Markets Report

As mobile gaming continues to expand globally, it’s clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for sustainable growth. Each market – whether it’s the US, UK, Korea, or Japan – has its own ecosystem of player motivations and preferences deeply rooted in culture and digital habits. Understanding these nuances is what separates publishers who simply launch games from those who build lasting global franchises. 

To get a deeper understanding of these four key mobile gaming markets and the trends that drive them, download Mistplay’s full Mobile Gaming Across Markets Report below. 

[Download the report]

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