Every Wednesday we break down the latest data, research and financial results into digestible chunks.
Read on for the numbers you need to know about without the fluff.
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AppsFlyer in talks to be acquired for around $4bn, says report
AppsFlyer is close to being acquired for an estimated $3.5-4.5bn, according to a report from Israeli tech news outlet Ctech.
The website’s sources suggest Goldman Sachs is engaged in the sale, and a private equity firm is in “advanced negotiations” to buy the app marketing outfit.
As Ctech notes in its report, sources told Bloomberg in June 2024 that AppsFlyer was looking at raising $300m through an IPO.
Lands of Jail and Vita Mahjong lead the H1 2025 ad charts
Eworld’s prison management simulation game Lands of Jail was the most advertised iOS title during H1 2025, according to marketing data firm SocialPeta.
It came in ahead of fellow simulation title Mafia City from Yotta Games, and RPG Draconia Saga Global from Zlongame. Matchingham Games’ puzzle title Braindom and Learnings’ colouring game Zen Color rounded off the top five.
The top 10 also included Last War Survival, Monopoly Go, Archero 2, Wuthering Waves and Block Blast.
On Android, Vita Studio’s Vita Mahjong was the most advertised title during H1 2025.
It was followed by three titles from Learnings: Jigsawscapes, Paint by Numbers Colouring Game, and Zen Color. Lands of Jail completed the top five.
Tile Explorer came in at number 6, ahead of Dark War Survival, Block Blast, The Grand Mafia and Zen Word.
According to SocialPeta, there were an average of 78.1k monthly active mobile game advertisers in H1 2025, which was up 17.2% YoY.
On average, these included 6,900 new mobile game advertisers per month, accounting for 8.8% of the total.
During H1, over 81% of monthly advertisers used new creatives on average (+18.2% YoY). And the share of monthly new creatives reached 57.2% (+5.7% YoY).
Mobile game IAP revenue hit $19.8bn in Q2 2025
Mobile game IAP revenue from the App Store and Google Play in Q2 2025 was up 0.7% YoY to $19.8bn.
That’s according to data from Sensor Tower, which published the estimate in its Q2 digital market index report.
IAP revenue from iOS games grew 0.16% YoY to $12.51bn, while revenue from Android titles was up 1.7% to $7.28bn.
Game downloads in Q2 fell 6.8% YoY to 12.8bn, with Google Play accounting for 86% of the total.
Google Play game downloads declined 7.7% YoY to 10.95bn, while App Store game downloads dropped 1.6% to 1.85bn.
Strategy was the top genre in terms of IAP revenue in Q2, generating $4.75bn, which was up 23% YoY.
That was enough to surpass the RPG genre, which saw revenue decline 12% YoY to $3.62bn.
When it came to downloads in Q2, three genres dominated, accounting for approximately 60% of the total.
Simulation games led the way with 2.58bn downloads (-6% YoY), ahead of arcade titles with 2.53bn downloads (-3% YoY) and puzzle games with 2.52bn downloads (-1% YoY).
Last War Survival generated the most IAP revenue in Q2, ahead of Royal Match, Whiteout Survival, Monopoly Go and Honor of Kings.
Block Blast led Q2 downloads, followed by Garena Free Fire, Roblox, Subway Surfers and Ludo King.
44% of ‘top-grossing games’ have DTC stores, says research
The number of leading mobile games with their own online stores has almost quadrupled over a period of five years.
That’s according to research released by consulting firm Bain & Company, which used Sensor Tower data to identify the top 50 mobile games by revenue each year since 2019.
In 2019, the percentage of the top 50 games with a DTC store stood at 12%. This was up to 13% in 2020, 24% in 2021, 25% in 2022, 33% in 2023, and 44% in 2024.
In May, Bain conducted a video game consumption survey which covered 5,243 people across six countries (the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, the UK, and the UAE).
It found that various factors motivated players to purchase games and content from DTC stores rather than through traditional app stores.
39% of those surveyed cited flexible payment options as a reason for buying through DTC stores, followed by cheapest/best value (36%) and no platform fees (34%).
29% said they had more trust in DTC stores, 27% said DTC stores were recommended by the gaming community, and 26% said they wanted to support game developers.
Square Enix sales and profit decline in Q1
Square Enix has posted a drop in sales and profit for its Q1 ended on June 30. Company-wide sales fell 15.2% YoY to ¥59.275bn ($403.1m), while operating income fell 16.8% to ¥9.018bn ($61.3m).
Sales for its digital entertainment division were down 25% YoY to ¥32.9bn ($223.7m), while operating income dropped by 16.5% to ¥8.1bn ($51.8m).
Within this division, Square’s mobile and PC browser sub-segment saw net sales fall 24.3% YoY to ¥14.3bn ($97.2m), but operating income grew 9.9% to ¥3.3bn ($22.4m).
“Profits [were] up on improved profitability with diversification of payment methods despite weakness in existing titles,” the Final Fantasy publisher said.
Nexon’s mobile revenue was down 47.6% in Q2
South Korean publisher Nexon saw Q2 revenue decline by 3% YoY to ¥118.9bn ($807m). The company’s net income also fell 57.9% YoY to ¥16.8bn ($114m).
Compared with the blockbuster launch of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile a year earlier, mobile revenue in Q2 was down 47.6% YoY to ¥34.37bn ($234m).
“The collective Q2 revenue of Nexon’s three major franchises — Dungeon & Fighter, MapleStory, and FC — were down 13% year over year, due to the anticipated decline of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile, which launched in Q2 2024,” Nexon said.
Appcharge raises $58m
Mobile gaming DTC platform Appcharge has raised $58m in a Series B funding round led by IVP. Playrix also participated in the round, alongside existing investors including Creandum, Play Ventures, Glilot Capital Partners, Smilegate Investment, Moneta Ventures, Bitkraft Ventures and Corundum.
Embracer Q2 sales down 63% following Easybrain divestment
Embracer’s mobile segment saw net sales for Q2 fall 63% YoY to SEK 520m ($54.4m), mainly due to the divestment of Easybrain.
Adjusted EBIT for the three months ended June 30 declined 89% YoY to SEK 55m ($5.8m), generating an 11% margin.
The top five revenue generating titles in the quarter were Glow Fashion Idol, Coffee Mania, Bus Frenzy – Traffic Jam, Alien Invasion, and Party In My Dorm.
Total installs in Q2 fell 34% year-over-year to 152m, daily active users declined 59% to 11m, and monthly active users dropped 41% to 123m.
East Side Games Q2 revenue down 6%
Canadian firm East Side Games has reported revenue of CAD 19.2m ($13.9m) for Q2, which was down 6% YoY.
Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended on June 30 was down 38% YoY to CAD 1.55m ($1.09m), representing an 8% margin.
It also posted a loss of CAD 1.2m ($869k), compared to a profit of CAD 76,983 ($55,733) in Q2 last year.
Across East Side’s games portfolio, DAU came in at 202,530, with ARPDAU of CAD $1.04 ($0.75).
East Side said RuPaul’s Drag Race: Match Queen has become its highest-grossing title since its worldwide launch on June 17.
It also recently soft launched Squishmallows Match ahead of its global release in September.
Mobile game players number 2.945bn globally, says Newzoo
83.1% of the global gaming population plays on mobile, according to research from Newzoo.
The data firm estimates that there were 3.542bn game players worldwide over the past six months, which was up 3.5% YoY.
Of this total, 2.945bn play games on mobile, 930m play on PC, and 653m play on console.
Asia-Pacific is the largest market, housing 1.868bn players (+3.2% YoY), representing 53% of total players.
North America is home to 249m players (+1.8% YoY), Europe to 462m (+1.7% YoY), Latin America to 368m (+3.6% YoY), and Middle East & Africa to 595m (+6.6% YoY).
Newzoo estimates that revenue generated from game software and subscription services globally in 2025 will hit $188.9bn (+3.4% YoY).
The Asia-Pacific market is forecast to reach $87.7bn (+2.3% YoY), representing 46% of the worldwide total.
That figure will almost be matched by the combined revenue generated in North America ($52.7bn) and Europe ($33.1bn), with growth in these markets up 4.2% YoY and 3.6% YoY respectively.
The greatest growth is expected to come from the Middle East & Africa, which is expected to generate $7.1bn (+7.5% YoY), and Latin America with $8.3bn (+6.4% YoY).
