Xsolla
Xsolla Predicts Mobile Game Spending To Reach $126 Billion in 2025
Highlights
- Xsolla’s Q2 report explores the Epic/Apple ruling, monetization shifts, and mobile market growth, projecting $126 billion in global revenue.
- Apple’s US court loss lets developers link to external payments, opening D2C models and letting studios keep up to 95% of revenue.
- Simulation, puzzle, RPG, and strategy games define 2025’s favorites, but fewer new titles are reaching the million-dollar mark despite rising spending.
American Fintech company Xsolla’s latest State of Play mobile market report for Q2 2025 revealed some key changes in the global mobile gaming industry this year. Apple/Epic now dominates publisher strategy in both the US and abroad. Developers can use in-game buttons and messaging to steer players to a web shop, keeping as much as 95% of spend instead of losing 30% to platform fees. Executives at Xsolla and Clever Plays call this a chance for bigger margins and richer, direct player relationships, especially as China, the EU, and Japan further loosen restrictions on exclusive app store payments.
Mobile Gaming Saw a 4% Uptick in Digital Revenue in Q2 2025
The Xsolla report predicts that te global mobile game revenue will hit $126 billion in 2025, with top genres being RPGs, puzzle, simulation, and strategy. Hybrid monetization is the rule, not the exception. Over 70% of studios blend in-app purchases, ads, and subscriptions for a more reliable business mix, but the competition is fierce: just 1.9% of new games make $1M or more in their lifetime.
Xsolla / Udonis
Chinese spending limits, Japanese app reforms, and D2C adoption in the EU all challenge studios to rethink their playbooks. Customer acquisition is the greatest hurdle for studios going direct, with 75% citing it as the biggest struggle, but for those that succeed, direct links and shops can boost conversion up to 40%. Developers in India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia were singled out as most likely to benefit from the fresh wave of global spending, though the APAC region still leads in session length.
Xsolla concluded that the mobile gaming landscape is growing, but it is survival of the fittest. With regulatory shifts, Apple/Epic, and D2C breaking down old rules, success in 2025 means knowing the market, acting on data, and keeping the player at the heart of every decision
Author
Abhimannu Das is a web journalist at Outlook India with a focus on Indian pop culture, gaming, and esports. He has over 10 years of journalistic experience and over 3,500 articles that include industry deep dives, interviews, and SEO content. He has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems, including Valorant, Overwatch, and Apex Legends.
Abhimannu Das is a web journalist at Outlook India with a focus on Indian pop culture, gaming, and esports. He has over 10 years of journalistic experience and over 3,500 articles that include industry deep dives, interviews, and SEO content. He has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems, including Valorant, Overwatch, and Apex Legends.
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