Adjust and AppLovin have collaborated to release a new Mobile App Trends 2024 report. The report offers the latest insights into the global app and gaming landscape. It highlights key trends such as the 4% growth rate in app installs for the year 2023, with racing games leading the charge with a remarkable 61% increase in installs year-on-year.
Additionally, the report indicates a rising trend in ATT opt-in rates, particularly in the mobile gaming sector, which has seen a surge in daily active users, contributing to a positive outlook for the industry in 2024.
The Pay and Play Dynamics
Action games emerged as the most-played genre on mobile in the past year, with an average playtime of 45.65 minutes per gaming session. RPGs closely followed with an average playtime of 40.43 minutes. Despite being designed for quick bursts of entertainment, hypercasual games ranked third with an average playtime of 16.36 minutes per session. While overall playtime saw a decline in 2023, global app installs increased by 7% in Q4, with a notable increase in daily active users.
Action games also dominated in terms of downloads, accounting for 18% of installs in Q4, followed by hypercasual games at 14%. Puzzle games made up the third-most popular category, representing 14% of installs. The absence of RPGs from the top three despite their high playtime further highlights the genre’s successful monetization strategy with a smaller player base.
On the monetization front, in-app revenue across all game genres grew by 6% in 2023, with adventure games seeing the most significant increase at 31.6%.
Patterns and Trends
The report highlights a 24% day one retention rate across the mobile gaming landscape, suggesting that integrating strategic personalization features can significantly enhance this rate. The report also identifies various emerging trends, ranging from subscription services to cross-platform integration and the evolving NFT space.
Daniel Tchernahovsky, AppLovin’s VP of international business development, emphasized the importance of making games feel personalized for players to increase long-term retention, leveraging AI to customize game progression and difficulty for individual users.
The report also notes a steady increase in ATT consent, with a rise from 29% to 32% industry-wide over the past year. Specifically, mobile games have shown an even higher acceptance rate at 39%.
Andrey Kazakov, AppLovin’s VP of demand, non-gaming, emphasized the significance of an effective channel acquisition strategy for acquiring high-value users based on the specific app audience and goals.
The full report further delves into the fastest-growing genres of 2023 and more.
Notably, AppLovin reported stellar financial results in the last quarter, generating a substantial $953 million in revenue.
