GAME MARKET TRENDS

Q1 2025
PC & Consoles | Mobile

Research & Analytics Department

[email protected]
 ● U.S. spending on PC and console
games declined YoY.

● Steam revenue rose QoQ, but unit

sales and new releases fell.

● Steam remains more accessible to

PC & CONSOLE
new games than consoles, where
attention is dominated by a few
blockbusters.

GAMES ● Most successful new releases came

from well-known franchises, making
it harder for original IPs to break
through.
PC & CONSOLE

IN Q1 2025, PC & CONSOLE SPENDING DROPS IN THE U.S.

● In Q1 2025, U.S. consumer spending on PC &

U.S. Video Game Industry Sales Console game content, hardware, and
accessories dropped 12% compared to Q1
2024, with YoY declines recorded in every
month of the quarter.

-9.5% ● Hardware sales saw the steepest decline at

32%, likely due to anticipation for the
Nintendo Switch 2.

● Game content sales also fell by 9.5%, with

subscriptions being the only content
category to show growth.

-31.7% -12.3%

3
* According to Circana, U.S.
PC & CONSOLE

RPGS AND SPORTS GAMES DOMINATE PREMIUM SALES IN THE U.S.

U.S. Top 10 PC & Console Games
by Premium Sales Revenue
● The U.S. top 10 PC and Console games by
premium sales revenue were dominated by
RPG adventures and sports titles.

● All top-ranked games were 2025 releases,

except for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and
NBA 2K25 which launched in 2024.

● Additionally, during Q1 strong

performances were seen from new titles
like BLEACH Rebirth of Souls, Avowed, Like
a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and
Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country Returns.

● Nearly all top-ranked games were based on

major franchises and published by top-tier
companies.

4
* According to Circana, U.S. ** For this game digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox platforms not included.
PC & CONSOLE

STEAM: FEWER GAME RELEASES, STEADY REVENUE, USER PEAKS RISE

Revenue Units Sold Games Released Peak Users In-Game
+0.3% YoY +11.9% YoY
+16.6% YoY +5.4% QoQ
+11.4% QoQ -0.2% YoY
-7.5% QoQ
-12.8% QoQ

In Q1 2025, the number of new Despite a decline in unit sales QoQ, Meanwhile, Steam continued to set
game releases on Steam dropped total revenue rose 10% compared to new records for peak user counts
QoQ for the first time in two years, Q4 and edged just above the Q1 both on the platform and in games.
despite a record-breaking March, 2024 peak – likely due to higher
which saw 1,897 new titles – the average prices of new premium
highest monthly total in the titles.
platform’s history.

5
* According to VG Insights, Worldwide.
PC & CONSOLE

NEW STEAM RELEASES: 80% EARNED UNDER $5K

New Steam Games – Revenue share New Steam Games – Units Sold share

● 80% of new Steam games released in Q1 2025 earned less than $5K, and 91% sold fewer than 5k units.

● Games that achieved higher unit sales tended to launch at in average higher price points, suggesting that
initial pricing reflects developers’ performance expectations.

● 15% of new releases were F2P titles.

6
* According to VG Insights, Worldwide.
PC & CONSOLE

TOP-10 NEW STEAM RELEASES: NO F2P, FRANCHISES DOMINATE

TOP-10 New Releases by Revenue
7 of the top 10 grossing new
games on Steam were built on
famous franchises.

Only two new releases – R.E.P.O.

and Schedule I – came from
indie studios. Both indie titles
are still early access, PC-only,
and have the lowest price on
the list.

Most top-grossing titles belong

to RPG and Adventure genres.

None of the top 10 new Steam

releases by revenue in Q1 2025
were F2P.

The highest-earning F2P titles

are FragPunk ($14.7M, 3.9M
units sold) and TRIBE NINE
($1.2M, 191k units sold).
7
* According to VG Insights, Gamalytic.
PC & CONSOLE

STEAM IS MOST OPEN PLATFORM FOR NEWCOMERS

PlayStation, Xbox & Steam: Top X games as a percentage of DAU* ● Player activity on consoles
remains heavily concentrated:
on PlayStation, the top 5 titles
account for 43% of total DAU,
compared to 35.5% on Xbox.

● In contrast, Steam shows a

much more distributed player
base, with the top 5 titles
making up only 27% of DAU.
This makes Steam the most
accessible platform for smaller
developers aiming to gain
traction.

● Meanwhile, consoles are

dominated by a handful of hits,
making it tough for new games
to break through – especially for
unknown newcomers outside of
established franchises.

8
* For February 28th, 2025. ** According to GameDiscoverCo.
 ● In Q1 2025, the mobile market
began to rebound, with slight
growth in downloads and revenue.

● Asia drove the recovery, while

Western markets continued to
decline.

● Genre-wise, shooters, puzzles, and

MOBILE GAMES ●
arcades were key drivers.

In the U.S., Idle RPG and

hybrid-casual Puzzle subgenres
reaffirmed their long-term potential.
 MOBILE

MOBILE MARKET: SLOW REVENUE GROWTH CONTINUES, DOWNLOADS REMAIN

BELOW LAST YEAR

Downloads IAP Revenue After a year-long decline, mobile game

+1% YoY Downloads grew by 4% in Q1 2025 compared to
+2% QoQ the previous quarter. This uptick, while
-3% YoY welcome, follows a seasonal pattern typical for
+4% QoQ
the beginning of the year. Importantly,
downloads still remain 3% below Q1 2024 levels,
signaling that the market has not yet fully
recovered.

IAP Revenue continues its gradual upward

trajectory, increasing 2% QoQ and 1% YoY.
Although modest—and not enough to offset
inflation—this is nonetheless a positive signal.
The current revenue level marks the highest
point since early 2022, indicating a slow but
Q1 2025 Q1 2024 Q4 2024 Q1 2025 Q1 2024 Q4 2024 consistent return to growth.
10
* According to Sensor Tower.
 MOBILE

REGIONAL SPLIT: APAC DRIVES GROWTH, WESTERN MARKETS DECLINE

Downloads IAP Revenue
+3%
+5%

+5% -1%
+3%

-3%
-1%
+14%
-6% +1% -1% -7%

• Mobile game downloads rose across all regions in Q1 2025 • Global revenue grew QoQ thanks to a 5% increase in
except North America, with the fastest growth seen in APAC (+$348M), driven by Chinese New Year in-game
MENA (+14%, or +91M). events in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
• In absolute terms, Turkey (+79.8M), Indonesia (+72.6M), and
• This growth offset declines in North America (-$54M),
India (+68.0M) led the surge, while Thailand (-25.3M), the
U.S. (-14.8M), and Kenya (-10.6M) experienced the sharpest including the U.S. and Canada, and Europe (-$64M), with
declines. sharp drops in Germany, France, and the UK. Revenue
also fell in South Korea (-$47M) and Australia (-$14M).
11
* According to Sensor Tower.
 MOBILE

TOP GROWTH GENRES: SHOOTER, ARCADE, PUZZLE

Growing Mobile Genres, Worldwide, Q1 2025*
Revenue Downloads • Among Shooters, Battle
Genre Revenue growth, QoQ Downloads growth, QoQ
Most Growing Titles
Royale and FPS/3PS
$972M +39% 615M +10% PUBG MOBILE, Call of Duty: subgenres led revenue
Shooter
Mobile, Crossfire: legends growth, powered by PUBG
PC
Eggy Party, All in Hole, Ensemble and CrossFire in China.
Arcade $268M +15% Revenue+9%
2,516M
Stars Music
• Puzzle genre expanded, with
Gossip Harbor, Color Block Jam,
Puzzle $2,284M +1% 2,454M +1% Royal Kingdom Merge-2 hits and new block
puzzles (Color Block Jam,
Love and Deepspace, Glow
Lifestyle $325M +4% 900M +3%
Fashion Idol, Toca Boca World
Wood Away, Block Jam)
driving gains.
Chess - Play & Learn, Candy Crush
Tabletop $251M +2% 662M +1%
Solitaire, Ludo King • Arcade rose thanks to Eggy
RPG $2,673M +2% 330M -10% Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, Where Party, All in Hole, and anime
Winds Meet, CookieRun: Kingdom
rhythm titles (Ensemble Stars
Cat Chaos: Prankster, Roblox, Music, BanG Dream! Girls
Simulation $1,006M -8% 2,508M +5%
Extreme Car Driving Simulator Band Party!, etc.).
Vita Mahjong, Domino Legends:
Casino $1,937M -2% 335M +22%
Classic Game, Poker Hilo • Meanwhile, Racing
continued its long-term
456 Run Challenge: Clash 3D, 456
Action $565M -7% 610M +7%
Cat Survival Master 3D
decline in both downloads
and revenue.
12
* According to Sensor Tower.
 MOBILE

IIDLE RPG CONTINUES TO SHOW STRONG POTENTIAL IN THE U.S.

The most promising mobile niches, U.S., Q1 2025*

Idle RPG has taken the lead in the U.S., overtaking hybrid-casual Puzzle games as the
most promising niche for new development. TD strategy remains a strong and steady
performer, while Survival and hybrid-casual Action are emerging as high-potential
niches worth watching for future titles.

13
* According to our mobile game genre assessment tool.
 MOBILE

SURVIVAL SETTING AND TD STRATEGY VARIANTS GAIN TRACTION

TD strategy remains fertile ground Hybrid-casual Action is also

for core gameplay experimentation, trending, blending Eat & Grow
with new titles regularly breaking games (All in Hole), runner-shooters
into the genre’s top 10 by (Timeline Up), and other arcades
revenue—even if they don’t rival top (Epic Plane Evolution)—proving
performers. demand for simple, tactile gameplay
Train of Survival Dark War Survival
that isn't purely idle or reflex-based.

Survival setting is gaining

momentum, spanning from midcore
4X Strategies and Survival Craft RPGs
to more casual Idle Tycoon and Idle
Arcade variations.

Plant Master: TD Go Wacky Squad All in Hole Epic Plane Evolution

14
 MOBILE

GLOBAL TOP-10 STAYS STABLE

The global top 10 charts by
TOP-10 Games by IAP Revenue TOP-10 Games by Downloads downloads and revenue saw
minimal change in Q1. Established
leaders held their ground, and no
newly released titles made the cut.

The Chinese version of PUBG Mobile

entered the revenue top 10,
replacing Brawl Stars, after a sharp
recovery from a weak end to 2024.
The global version did not show
similar growth.

Roblox downloads jumped 25%, but

revenue dropped 22%, hitting a
5-year low of $39M in March (down
from $125M in December 2024). The
drop affected only the iOS version
and happened too suddenly to be
clearly explained—potentially due to
some data reporting anomalies.
15
* Worldwide, Q1 2025; according to Sensor Tower.
 MOBILE

TOP NEW* TITLES: 4X STRATEGIES, HYBRID-CASUAL PUZZLES LEAD

TOP-10 New Games by IAP Revenue, U.S.
Only two new titles cracked
the overall U.S. top 100 by
revenue in Q1: Archero 2 and
Color Block Jam.

Three new 4X strategy games

entered the top-grossing
newcomers list—all from
experienced publishers with a
strong background in the
genre.

Two hybrid-casual puzzle

games (Color Block Jam, Knot
Busters 3D) made the list,
while the broader trend
continues: 8 hybrid-casual
puzzle titles ranked in the top
20 new games, underlining the
genre’s ongoing momentum.
16
* Started scaling in the U.S. in Q1 2025. **Data: U.S., Q1 2025; according to Sensor Tower.
 Q1 2025 KEY TAKEAWAYS
➢ In Q1 2025, the global games market sent mixed signals.

➢ U.S. consumer spending on PC and console games dropped,

driven by falling game content, hardware, and accessories sales.

➢ Steam revenue rose, despite a drop in unit sales and fewer new
game releases.

➢ Despite tough odds for newcomers, Steam remains the most

accessible platform compared to highly concentrated console
ecosystems.

➢ The mobile market showed signs of recovery: downloads rose

QoQ and revenues continued growing, led by APAC.

17
Research & Analytics Department
[email protected]
MM: @olga.sobolevskaya