Spending on mobile games in the App Store grew significantly over the past quarter, despite the coronavirus pandemic, a new report by Sensor Tower claims. Across the App Store and Google Play, global spending grew 27% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020 to hit $19.3 billion.
Of the total revenue, the App Store made up $11.6 billion to Google Play’s $7.7 billion. That’s even though the App Store only making up a tiny 2.7 billion of the overall 15.1 billion app downloads in the quarter. As ever, the App Store is where the lion’s share of profits is to be made!
Mobile games in the App Store
The report notes that, when it comes to the first six months of the year:
“The U.S. ranked No. 1 for game revenue in H1 2020, generating more than $10 billion during the period. User spending increased 24.4 percent from $4.5 billion in Q1 to $5.6 billion in Q2. Japan ranked No. 2, with players spending more than $8 billion in the first half of the year. Revenue climbed 13.2 percent from $3.8 billion in Q1 to $4.3 billion in Q2. China ranked No. 3, meanwhile, generating $6.7 billion in 1H20 from the App Store alone.”
This was across both the App Store and Google Play app stores. The top game for the quarter was MMO Roblox, which raked in a massive $302.8 for the quarter. Somewhat surprisingly (for those who may not be aware of its enduring appeal), Pokémon GO was also a massive winner. It earned $254 million during the quarter. That’s despite the fact that many people were in lockdown. Sensor Tower notes that “Pokémon GO has had its best first half to a year ever.” Fortnite also did exceptionally well, pulling in $146.5 million.
App Store: Defying the odds during coronavirus
Mobile gaming’s not the only App Store area that’s defied the odds during the coronavirus pandemic. Streaming apps, for instance, have received a big boost while people have been stuck home.
Overall, the amount of money Apple makes from the App Store has increased every year since the App Store first opened its virtual doors. Total App Store spending surged to a massive $32.8 billion in the first half of 2020. By comparison, user spending on Google Play reportedly hit $17.3 billion during the first period.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
