Adjust Releases 2026 Gaming App Insights Report: Mobile Gaming Enters Era of Precision Operation, Retention and User Value Emerge as Core Competitiveness

Adjust, a global leading app measurement and analytics platform, has officially launched its 2026 Gaming App Insights Report. Based on massive data from thousands of games worldwide across 2024–2025, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the mobile gaming market landscape, user behavior, advertising costs, and industry trends. It clearly states that mobile gaming has shifted away from volume-focused expansion and entered an era of refined operation centered on user retention and high-value user cultivation, with AI, D2C, cross-platform strategies and other factors emerging as key growth drivers.

According to the report, the global mobile gaming market maintained steady growth in 2025, with mobile devices accounting for 55% of the gaming industry’s total revenue. The number of global players neared 3 billion, in-app purchase (IAP) revenue reached USD 81.8 billion, marking three consecutive years of growth, and total global gaming hours hit 444.6 billion. The industry’s core focus has undergone a fundamental shift: from prioritizing high download volumes and rapid short-term monetization to improving user retention, unlocking high lifetime value (LTV), and accelerating the adoption of diversified monetization models.

In terms of user and traffic performance, global gaming sessions rose 1% year-on-year, with notable divergence across genres. Strategy game sessions surged by 57%, followed by casual and hyper-casual games at 37% and 31% respectively. Hyper-casual games remained the top category by installs, accounting for 29.1%, while their session share rose to 15.3% alongside significantly improved user retention. Action and puzzle games, despite modest install shares, delivered strong session contributions and achieved remarkable results in long-term operation. The global Day 1 (D1) retention rate for games stood stable at 27%, with home and action genres seeing particularly strong retention growth. The ratio of paid to organic installs emerged as a key industry metric, with the global median jumping from 2.07 to 3.33, a 61% increase. Casino, slots, and casual games saw explosive growth in paid install shares, while Asia-Pacific and North America became the fastest-growing regions for paid user acquisition investment.

On the cost and media buying front, customer acquisition costs rose across the board. The global CPI increased 30% year-on-year to USD 0.56, with CPC and CPM rising 33% and 20% respectively. Slots, idle RPG, and strategy games led CPI growth, while North America, Europe, and Singapore recorded the highest customer acquisition costs. Installs per Mille (IPM) remained stable overall, with racing, casino, and word games leading in conversion efficiency. AI-generated creatives and precise targeting became critical levers for improving conversions. Meanwhile, game publishers continued to streamline their channel strategies: the average number of partner channels per game fell from 6 to 5.3, as the industry focused on high-value channels to optimize return on investment.

In terms of privacy compliance, App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in rates continued to climb. In Q1 2026, the global ATT opt-in rate for iOS games reached 39%, with sports and action games outperforming other genres. India and Latin America saw notable increases, and Indonesia ranked first globally with a 60% opt-in rate. The report notes that developers’ ongoing optimization of authorization prompts has effectively boosted user consent, laying a foundation for precise marketing and data measurement.

Combining market data and industry dynamics, Adjust outlined six core trends shaping mobile gaming in 2026: publishers accelerating D2C channel deployment to take control of user operations; deep integration of AI generation in creative testing, localization and other processes to sharply reduce costs and boost efficiency; widespread adoption of reward-driven mechanisms to simultaneously improve retention and monetization; rising acquisition costs pushing publishers toward targeted advertising; refined daily operation becoming essential for lifting user engagement and LTV; and cross-platform integration across mobile, PC and console to extend IP lifecycles.

Tiahn Wetzler, CMO at Adjust, commented: “The mobile gaming industry has entered a mature phase where growth logic has shifted from scale expansion to precision operation. Publishers are increasingly focused on retaining high-value users, optimizing creatives and channel portfolios, and building complete conversion funnels from ad reach to in-app experience. Accurately identifying core sources of long-term user value, connecting user acquisition, engagement and monetization data for efficient decision-making has become a core competitiveness for gaming companies.”

The report also breaks down key indicators—including marketing funnel performance, user engagement, retention and customer acquisition costs—by game genre and regional market, providing authoritative benchmarks and strategic guidance for mobile gaming marketers worldwide.

About Adjust

Adjust, a company of AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP), is a globally trusted app measurement and growth platform that enables thousands of apps to measure and scale across mobile, CTV and other platforms. Whether for fast-growing digital brands or traditional enterprises expanding into the app ecosystem, Adjust supports the full app marketing journey. Its powerful measurement and analytics suite equips marketers with essential tools to drive sustainable business growth.