Mobile Gaming Revenue Estimated to Reach $41 Billon by 2017

Mobile gaming has seen incredible growth recently, but estimates released from Newzoo last month suggests that might have only been the beginning.

The research claims that mobile game revenues will rise 42 percent year over year to reach $25 billion by the end of this year. If the trend continues (and the data says that it will), this means that as early as next year, the mobile gaming will bypass the traditional gaming console to become the biggest gaming segment by revenue.

Though a smaller percentage of that revenue comes from tablets, those numbers will steadily increase as well. In 2013, $4.8 billion came from tablets worldwide and $12.8 billion from smartphones. By the end of this year, $7.6 billion will come from tablets and $17.3 billion from smartphones. By 2015, $10 billion will come from tablets and $20.3 billion from smartphones. Looking even further into the future, by 2017, $15 billion will come from tablets and $25.8 billion will come from smartphones.

The research also broke down the average spending per month of US mobile gamers by segment:

Gender

• Male - $5.63
• Female - $3.49

Age

• 18-24 - $3.73
• 25-34 - $4.35
• 35-44 - $6.07
• 45+ - $4.79

Platform

• iOS - $5.26
• Android - $3.36
• Both – $7.28

Average time spent playing per week

• Less than an hour - $0.66
• 1-4 hours - $2.55
• 5-10 hours - $4.90
• 10+ hours - $15.15

Out of the respondents, 46 percent were more likely to mobile game on Android phones and tablets, but the average monthly spending was higher for those who use iOS devices, 40 percent of mobile gamers.

Sources:

• “Mobile Gaming Revenues Won't Quit Growing.” 2014. EMarketer.com
• “Mobile Games Trend Report.” 2014. NewZoo.com
• “Mobile games revenue will double by 2017 as growth spreads worldwide (exclusive).” 2014. VentureBeat.com