India Leads World in Mobile Gaming Downloads as App Market Surges

• Mobile App installs rose 11% globally with AI-driven marketing fueling engagement.
• Gaming apps dominate with a Growth Score of 45.8, with India topping at 52.2.
• Southeast Asia (SEA) and Latin America (LATAM) show formidable numbers, leading growth.

Mobile app installations worldwide rose 11% in 2025, propelled by artificial intelligence-driven marketing and stronger retention strategies, according to data from mobile analytics firm Adjust.

The growth marks a resurgence for the global app economy, with user sessions climbing 10% in the first half of the year. Gaming apps led the expansion, achieving what Adjust calls a Growth Score of 45.8, a proprietary metric combining installation volume, cost efficiency and user engagement.

India emerged as the fastest-growing market globally with a Growth Score of 49, driven largely by its gaming sector, which notched a 52.2 score. The South Asian nation now counts more than 650 million mobile gamers, and user acquisition costs averaged just $0.03 in the first half of 2025, a fraction of what marketers pay in developed economies.

Other Southeast Asian markets posted strong results. Indonesia registered a Growth Score of 43.1, while the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan scored 33.3, 33.9 and 30.9, respectively, underscoring the region's high engagement rates and cost-effective growth potential.

Gaming Apps Drive Mobile Download Growth in 2025

Gaming apps dominated the sector rankings, with publications and utilities trailing at 30.8 and 27, respectively. Hyper-casual and hybrid-casual game formats proved particularly popular with users, according to Adjust's Mobile App Growth Report.

The Growth Score, introduced by Adjust to help marketers navigate an increasingly complex landscape, weighs factors beyond raw installation numbers. "The challenge for marketers today isn't a lack of data; it's knowing which signals matter most," said Tiahn Wetzler, Adjust's director of content and insights. The metric aims to identify where acquisition spending generates long-term value by balancing install volume with cost per install, session frequency and retention rates.

Europe posted a regional Growth Score of 32.4, reflecting its status as a mature market with stable downloads and strong monetization, albeit hampered by higher user acquisition costs. Smaller Nordic countries outperformed larger economies: Finland and Denmark scored 29.1, edging past France at 26.6 and the U.K. at 26.3, suggesting more efficient conversion of paid installs into active users.

Latin America ranked fourth globally with a Growth Score of 30.5, led by Argentina at 34.9. The region's appeal lies in cost-effective user acquisition, allowing developers to achieve higher install volumes with modest advertising budgets while maintaining solid retention, particularly for gaming and lifestyle apps.