Mobile gaming has grown hugely in popularity over the last decade, perhaps even more so than the most optimistic prediction 10 years ago. Nearly all forms of technology witness a slump at some stage but is mobile gaming still on the rise in 2025?

Mobile Gaming Statistics by Year

One of the simplest ways to assess the rise of mobile gaming in recent years is to look at the global mobile gaming revenue figures. If we start in 2020, mobile gaming revenue was $77.2 billion and that grew to $93.2 billion in 2021, meaning a jump of over $15 billion. In 2022 global mobile revenue was $96.2 billion and that increased to $101.3 billion the following year. Those numbers show a slow down in growth but the figure continued to grow. In 2024, the revenue for mobile gaming globally was $111.4 billion, growth of over $10 billion but what about 2025? The estimate is that global revenue from mobile gaming in 2025 will be over $125 billion. If that proves to be the case at the end of the year, it will result in a $14 billion revenue increase for mobile gaming globally and could be the largest jump in revenue since 2021.

So, the stats tell us that mobile gaming is still on the rise in 2025 but what are the factors behind the continued success of the mobile gaming industry?

Adoption of 5G

One of the key reasons why mobile gaming is still on the rise in 2025 is the wider adoption of 5G. Latency is such a crucial factor when playing mobile games as the bulk of the top games are only playable online. As more online casinos develop dedicated apps for their platform and offer mobile optimized websites, maintaining a fast and smooth internet connection is vital. When playing online games, maintaining a fast and stable connection is crucial, especially in competitive or high-stakes scenarios. The introduction of 5G has led to an 18% increase in average mobile gameplay sessions.The introduction of 5G has led to an 18% increase in average mobile gameplay sessions. This is thanks to reduced latency and the fact improved, consistent internet speeds around the world means multiplayer games are more accessible on mobile devices.

Updates and Merchandise

Mobile games are no longer set and forget. That means rather than creating a game, adding it to the Google and Apple Stores, and moving on to the next game, developers are creating updates for mobile games to keep people playing. Genshin Impact is a fine example and this mobile game has generated over $2 billion in revenue despite the fact the game was released back in 2020. So what is it about Genshin Impact that sees players return to the mobile game five years later? The developer has continued to update the game and, at the time of writing, the most recent update was July 17, 2025. In addition to the updates, the creator has released merchandise and that adds to the continued interest in the game and the money it generates.

So, the stats show mobile gaming is still on the rise in 2025, with the adoption of 5G and regular updates to popular mobile games two of the major reasons for the continued growth.