Report: European mobile gaming revenue grew 16.7% in 2021 (Sensor Tower)
As the revenue increased, the number of downloads decreased. Craig Chapple, Sensor Tower analyst, looks at the data.
Mobile analytics provider Sensor Tower has released a new report examining the European mobile market through 2021, and data shows a 16.7% increase in gaming revenue compared to 2020. Last year, Mobile games generated around $ 11.2 billion in Europe, representing around 12.7% of the total global mobile games market.
Oddly enough, mobile game downloads actually fell 4.8% year-over-year in Europe, a trend that Sensor Tower mobile analytics strategist Craig Chapple said reflects gamers spending habits. amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While 2021 was still marked by the ongoing pandemic and varying levels of social restrictions across Europe due to new virus variants, the mobile gaming industry has always been able to take advantage of this growth,” Chapple said. at GameDaily. “Although downloads have declined, consumers are still spending more, suggesting both a larger, more engaged audience and more gamers willing to pay for the games they love.”
The drop in downloads breaks with the steady growth observed over the past two years. In 2020, mobile game downloads in Europe grew 19% year-over-year, and in 2019 that figure was 10.5%.
“Although the industry was unable to grow any further from the number of installs in 2020, it is important to note that mobile games still racked up around 1.6 billion more installs in Europe in 2021 than ‘in 2019, “noted Chapple.
And while player spending has increased, those gains still fall short of the growth the market saw in 2020. Of course, this year was an outlier thanks to the pandemic, which resulted in increased engagement. in the mobile sector.
Looking at the graphics of Sensor Tower, the top performing mobile game in Europe last year was PUBG Mobile; the battle royale powerhouse generated $ 404.2 million in spending for gamers, a massive 58.3% increase from 2020.
“It’s a remarkable achievement that the title, one of the world’s greatest mobile games, continues to grow across the globe,” said Chapple.
Following PUBG Mobile on the graph is Master of coins, Roblox, Survival state, and Brawl stars. Overall, the chart offers few surprises as most of the stocks are moving pillars that dominate the industry.
“One of the things that I found most surprising is that while the top-grossing mobile games don’t often see a huge amount of movement in the leaderboards, the top 10 earning titles of 2021 were exactly the top 10 earning titles of 2021. same as in 2020, just in a different order, “observed Chapple.” This is a testament to the power of strong live operations and long-term entertainment and player engagement. “
In total, Europe has seen many of the same trends as the rest of the world when it comes to the impact of COVID-19 and its variants on the mobile gaming industry. It’s unclear whether these gains are only temporary, but the more the pandemic spreads, the more these trends normalize. Expect Sensor Tower to release more insightful data throughout 2022.
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