Downloads of casual mobile games have increased, yet revenue remains unchanged

According to an updated study from AppMagic, a mobile market analytics platform, casual game installations have increased this year, yet revenue growth has remained stagnant.

The Casual LiveOps Report H1 2025, released on July 30, reveals a 6% annual growth in global casual game downloads, rising from 28.4 billion during 2023/2024 to 30.2 billion in 2024/2025. The report indicates that this surge is "primarily attributed to the winter months."

Although global earnings from these games have seen an annual increase as well, it is minimal. Revenues grew by 3.6%, moving from $22.9 billion in 2023/2024 to $23.8 billion in 2024/2025.

When analyzing the data for the first half of the year, download growth was 5% compared to the same timeframe last year, but revenue has shown little change, with less than a 1% fluctuation since early this year.

The report from AppMagic also notes a "remarkable shift in the revenue patterns among major countries" during the first half of 2025.

While the United States and China lead globally in revenue figures, they experienced a decrease in their half-year earnings: a 7.06% drop in the United States and a 7.31% decline in China. Conversely, Japan's revenue for the same period rose by 21.8%.

Shifts were also observed in download statistics. Indonesia has taken Brazil's spot among the top three countries by downloads in early 2025, witnessing a 21% rise compared to the first half of 2024. Brazil's numbers have dropped by 20%.

Further insights from the report highlight that puzzle, casino, and simulation games continue to be the leading revenue generators within the casual mobile gaming sector, with puzzle games experiencing a 13.2% increase in earnings from the first half of 2024 to the same period in 2025.

In 2025, 70% of major casual games incorporate a race mechanic, and 25% of the top titles, as tracked by AppMagic, have included collaborations with other intellectual properties.

On the contrary, fishing mechanics seem to be losing traction and "are no longer featured in new leading games."