Moloco: 2,500 of 190,000 2025 mobile games surpassed 500,000 downloads
Key takeaways
- 190,000 mobile games released in 2025; 2,500 passed 500,000 downloads
- Moloco analyzed 55 launches generating $1.5B+ IAP from 20M+ payers
- IAP revenue per install (US) rose 126% from 2021–2025
- Whale-Driven ARPPU up 250% year one; top 5% paid players drove 81% by month 10
Moloco reports that out of 190,000 mobile games released in 2025, only 2,500 exceeded 500,000 downloads in their first year — the company based its analysis on 55 new game launches that together generated more than $1.5 billion in IAP revenue from over 20 million payers. The dataset also shows the average time to reach $20 million in IAP and subscription revenue fell 21% between 2022 and 2025.
IAP revenue per install among US users rose 126% between 2021 and 2025, Moloco found. The report separates titles into Whale-Driven and Volume-Driven monetisation patterns: Whale-Driven games saw average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) climb 250% from month one to the end of the first year, while Volume-Driven titles recorded a 25% ARPPU lift over the same period. By month 10, the top 5% of payers accounted for 81% of revenue in Whale-Driven games and 54% in Volume-Driven games.
Moloco highlights user-acquisition and creative strategy differences in breakout launches. Of seven breakout titles in the sample, 94% of launch-month UA spend used ROAS objectives versus 65% for other launches. Breakouts ran an average of 93 distinct creatives compared with 37 for other launches, and 47% of their creatives were introduced during months seven to 11 versus 27% for the rest. Only 15% of eventual whales in Whale-Driven titles made their first purchase during the launch month, calling attention to later-stage monetisation and sustained UA.
Why it matters
Takeaway: big early download counts were rare in 2025, but the fastest money came from a smaller group of high-performing launches that leaned heavily on paid acquisition, many creative variants, and monetisation that built up across the first year — a combination that turned a top 5% of payers into most of the revenue for Whale-Driven games.
Original source
PocketGamer.biz
