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June 19, 2025
Top mobile gaming trends of 2025
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SubscribeAfter a difficult few years, the mobile gaming industry has begun to bounce back and is continuing to see steady growth, with IAP revenue, play time, and number of sessions1 all up in 2024. With a number of trends growing in popularity as publishers continue to navigate challenges in the industry, new approaches are forming to help foster innovation, drive player engagement, and boost revenue.
In 2024, we made predictions as to how the year would shape up for mobile gaming, with many trends continuing into 2025. Now, with the year in full swing, it’s becoming clear which approaches will take center stage in shaping the future of the industry.
Check out seven of the top mobile gaming industry trends that are shaking things up and redefining how publishers approach their business strategies.
Alternative app stores and Direct-to-consumer (DTC) webshops are growing in popularity due to recent changes in regulations loosening the grip held by app store titans like Apple and Google. Considering the steep 30% platform fees2 taken by both tech giants for hosting apps on their platforms, it’s no surprise that publishers are jumping at the opportunity to take control of their monetization efforts by creating alternative channels to house their apps, IAP offers, and player rewards.
In an attempt to circumnavigate the steep regulations and high fees of traditional app stores, many alternative channels have become popular in recent years. Leading the charge is Epic Games, which runs its own app store on both Android (worldwide) and iOS (European Union) – hosting the company’s many popular titles such as Fortnite and Fall Guys. With around 67M monthly active users3 and over 4000 apps on their own platform, Epic has also published their games on a number of other alternative app stores, all in the hopes of promoting this avenue for publishers and reducing reliance on the Apple and Google duopoly.
Who are the major players contributing to the alternative app store space?
👀 Related reading: Beyond the monopoly: How mobile game publishers are expanding into alternative app stores and distribution channels
Similarly, the rise in popularity of DTC webshops has largely been in response to the strict regulations held by traditional app stores. A recent Epic Games v. Apple5 ruling, which led to new legislation barring Apple from collecting fees on purchases made through third-party web stores, has been a major win in promoting DTC shops as a viable option for mobile gaming monetization. With publishers now having the freedom to direct traffic to their own marketplaces without fear of retaliation, we can expect that this approach will continue to grow in popularity.
Here are some numbers behind the rise of DTC webshops:
👀Related reading: The race to web: How direct-to-consumer web shops are transforming mobile game monetization
Following the trend that began in 2021 and has continued well into 2025, hybrid-casual games have taken the top spot in terms of popularity and mobile gaming market share. Toppling the once dominant hyper-casual genre, hybrid-casual games continue to reap the benefits of a recovering mobile gaming market, with longer playtimes, higher download numbers, and strong IAP spend thanks to unique monetization approaches.
By combining the simplistic gameplay design of hyper-casual games and the progression and monetization systems of midcore titles, the hybrid-casual model continues to have mass appeal to mobile gamers worldwide and is not showing any signs of slowing down. In fact, downloads of hybrid-casual titles grew 3.4% YoY8 in 2024, and had massive IAP spend growth of 37% YoY.
Despite the slightly longer development times compared to hyper-casual games, the hybrid model does far better in terms of player retention thanks to more complex game systems, IAP offers, and continuous LiveOps support. With this approach, publishers are able to benefit from the simplicity of easy-to-play games while still making use of engaging progression mechanics.
Here’s why hybrid-casual has remained on top in recent years:
Artificial intelligence (AI) has continued to be leveraged in all facets of mobile gaming – from ad creative and design to post-launch analytics. With AI platforms like ChatGPT, Tableau Pulse, and Google’s recent Veo 3 taking the industry by storm, developers and publishers alike have a number of powerful tools at their disposal.
One of the core strengths that AI presents to the mobile gaming industry is its ability to take personalization to the next level. With personalization being such an important factor in the user experience, AI approaches have allowed for the creation of deeper player connections through features like custom difficulty scaling, exclusive in-game offers, and continuous game balancing.
At Mistplay, machine learning AI is used to custom-tailor user journeys, by adapting to player behavior in order to personalize user experiences. As Duncan Wang, Manager of Data Analytics and Experimentation, puts it:
“We use contextual bandit algorithms to create an interactive learning system that assigns the right task to the right user at the right time. Our algorithms present a combination of install, play, and spend tasks to users, which continuously learn from user responses to prior tasks. By automating the decisioning behind the type of task and amount of reward to offer, we can both increase task engagement while crafting a personalized experience for each user within the app.”
Although AI presents many exciting opportunities for the industry, it is not without its critics.
Controversy recently broke out over Duolingo’s new “AI-first” approach, in which they expressed a desire to replace human contractors with AI for a number of tasks, including for the creation of new lessons and learning materials. The backlash was immediate, with many pushing back against the overuse of AI tools over human workers – causing Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn to walk back on his initial statements and attempt to provide clarification.
This whole ordeal is emblematic of many people’s negative opinions towards AI in the workplace and growing fears that it will replace skilled employees within certain fields. Although it can be an incredibly effective tool, it’s crucial that companies strike a careful balance so that AI serves to complement human work, not replace it.
Just how popular is AI in mobile gaming? Check out the figures below:
👀Related reading: The AI awakening: How artificial intelligence is revolutionizing mobile gaming
Using IP brand collaborations has been a long-standing video game trend, with both mobile and console games alike forging partnerships with well-established IPs. These collaborations allow for publishers to reach wider audiences, introduce additional game mechanics, and create new opportunities for in-app spend – making for a worthwhile and profitable strategy.
Scopely’s powerhouse game Monopoly GO! is a shining example of brand collaborations done right. The app, which is based on the already popular Hasbro board game franchise, has collaborated with IPs such as Marvel and Star Wars to bring beloved characters and gameplay elements into the core Monopoly gameloop. This has helped the title smash mobile gaming records, with Monopoly GO! surpassing $5B in gross bookings14 as of 2025 – reaching this milestone faster than any other mobile game has before.
These collaborations with popular franchises are becoming more and more commonplace15 in the industry, with around 71% of IP integrations being in mobile games, as opposed to only 41% in console gaming. Not only do they impact downloads, with 20+% of gamers being more likely to download a game if it has IP branding, but it also encourages IAP spend, with 54% of users making in-app purchases after engaging with an in-game collaboration.
Thinking of integrating a partnered IP campaign in your mobile game? Consider the following success cases16:
Topwar + Pacific Rim
Dragonheir + Dungeons & Dragons
Miniworld + Transformers and My Little Pony
👀 Related reading: Where worlds collide: The LTV-driving power of brand and IP collaborations in mobile gaming
2025 has seen the continued trend of new regions making their mark in the global gaming economy. One major standout on the development front is Turkey, which has grown to become the second-largest mobile gaming market in EMEA17 after the UK. With a rich pool of talented developers, a number of profitable studios, and continuous rounds of global investments, Turkey has become a frontrunner in the mobile gaming landscape.
Here are some key Turkish mobile gaming statistics:
In APAC, Vietnam has been growing steadily as a promising market for publishers, with mobile gaming expected to hit $453.94M in revenue in 202519. Thanks to a young population, increase in high-speed internet availability, and growing smartphone usage, the Vietnamese mobile gaming market is projected to have an annual growth rate of 11.48% between 2025-203019. With such factors fuelling growth in the country, Vietnam is definitely a region to keep on your radar in 2025 and beyond.
What has led to this mobile gaming boom in Vietnam?
With rising user acquisition costs21 posing a threat to the mobile gaming industry, marketers need to find new cost-effective ways to manage CPIs and keep a competitive edge. One strategy that is growing in popularity this year is web2app, which offers publishers greater versatility beyond traditional acquisition channels.
Web2app acquisition strategies work by directing traffic to an online landing page, with prompts to redirect the user to an app store. These web pages can vary in complexity, from simple landing pages to more complex onboarding procedures. As of December 2024, UA spend on web2app acquisition strategies skyrocketed to 34% of overall spend – representing a 54% increase since the beginning of that year.
This new approach has a number of benefits, namely:
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“Web to app is an underutilized channel for most mobile marketers. Web to app, especially video action campaigns on YouTube, allow brands to reach their high-value audiences in a really native, exciting format. We know >60% of internet users in the U.S. access YouTube daily and therefore I know web campaigns on YouTube are a way to find my highest-value user base. Web to app is a great channel to drive both volume and quality for nearly every brand.”
– Noa Gutterman, Vice President of User Acquisition at Mistplay
Cloud gaming is ushering in a new era of high-quality gaming experiences across platforms, with players now being able to access AAA titles wherever they are. This is achieved by hosting games through remote servers and streaming it back to a user’s device, letting them play their favorite games on platforms that would otherwise not be supported.
This method of content delivery allows for more technologically and graphically advanced games to be played on mobile devices, broadening the reach of publishers and expanding the appeal of mobile gaming to players who prefer traditional consoles. In fact, smartphones currently contribute the highest market share for cloud gaming at 37.7%24, presenting an exciting opportunity for mobile game developers, who now have a chance to overcome the tighter hardware limitations of mobile devices in order to create games that rival AAA studios – expanding their influence and fostering innovation in the industry.
Platforms like Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia’s GEForce NOW are at the forefront of this cloud gaming wave, offering players the opportunity to stream their favorite titles through a tiered subscription service, with higher tiers offering better perks like longer play time caps, better streaming resolution, and more free games to play. With such major players leading the charge, this streaming method has been growing in popularity and is currently valued23 at $9.32B – and is projected to hit $159.24B by 2032.
Here are some stats about cloud gaming in 2025:
*Data collected from a Mistplay survey of mobile gamers in January 2025
Big things are happening in the world of mobile gaming this year. From all new strategies changing the way publishers handle acquisition, retention, and monetization, to tried and true approaches that continue to push growth in 2025, it’s clear to see that the industry is recovering from a difficult few years and is headed towards a brighter future.
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