According to Sensor Tower's State of Gaming 2026 report, mobile revenue stayed consistent throughout 2025, whereas PC gaming celebrated "another record year"
Sensor Tower's latest State of Gaming 2026 report has been published, indicating stagnant growth in mobile gaming revenue, contrasted with significant increases in PC and console gaming sectors. Notably, Steam achieved a milestone with a record number of game sales.
Throughout 2025, game downloads reached 52 billion across mobile, PC, and console platforms. However, despite a rate of 95,000 mobile game downloads per minute and increased YouTube mobile ad expenditure by PC and console game makers, mobile game revenue grew by a mere 1%, amounting to $82 billion.
According to Sensor Tower, these trends underscore the importance of strategies like live operations, events, and intellectual property collaborations to retain and monetize a stable player base in a mature market.
Revenue for PC and console gaming marked a 13% rise, with both downloads and new releases increasing by 7% and 8.4%, respectively, spurred by significant year-over-year growth from AA (29%) and AAA publishers (25%).
The year's best-selling PC/console game was Battlefield 6, followed by EA Sports FC 25 and EA Sports FC 26. Although these two titles collectively sold more units than Battlefield 6. Skate led the free-to-play category in downloads, closely followed by Marvel Rivals, Delta Force, and Deadlock.
Top indie games, R.E.P.O. and Peak, highlighted a surge in chaotic co-op and creator-focused gameplay in 2025.
Data trends have shown that younger players predominantly engage in PC gaming, while hypercasual mobile games attract more female players.
Key trends identified in the report include:
- Mobile gaming's emphasis on monetization: With decreasing download numbers but stable revenue, maximizing revenue per download is vital. Engaging and retaining existing players through monetization is essential.
- PC gaming reaches new heights: Steam recorded unmatched sales in games sold, premium revenue, and new releases, largely due to AAA and AA publishers.
- YouTube's advertising landscape shifts: While YouTube continues to lead as the top channel for PC/Console advertising, there has been a notable shift with more mobile-focused ad spend.
- Strategy genre gains ground in mobile gaming: The 4X Strategy genre managed to significantly increase in revenue, downloads, and engagement, led by top grossing games 'Last War: Survival' and 'Whiteout Survival' for 2025.
"The year 2025 affirmed the strength of the PC and console gaming environment, bolstered by popular indie successes, high-quality AA titles, and dependable AAA releases, epitomized by Battlefield 6," stated Oliver Yeh, CEO and co-founder of Sensor Tower.
Yeh further commented on the mobile gaming market entering a mature stage, where the key opportunities now lie with developers focusing on retention and monetization through innovative strategies like IP partnerships and webstores, supporting sustainable growth.
For a detailed analysis, visit Sensor Tower to access the complete State of Gaming 2026 report.