InMobi reported that India’s adoption of mobile gaming has increased and the amount of digital advertisers spending on ingame ads has more than doubled in the last year. According to the report, mobile gaming advertisers are up 60% year-on year, and each advertiser spends one-third more on in-game ads for phones than they did on mobile games in the first two-thirds of 2018.
The report’s findings highlight the increasing popularity of mobile gaming around the world. On May 25, a report published by mobile analytics firm Data.ai (formerly AppAnnie) and market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said that mobile games accounted for 61% of the global gaming industry’s overall revenue in the March quarter this year.
While the report pegged mobile gaming revenues to cross $136 billion by the end of this year, the same for console and PC gaming is expected to be $40 billion and $42 billion respectively — collectively accounting for nearly 40% lesser than what mobile games around the world are presently earning.
In November last year, an industry report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and venture investment firm Sequoia pegged India’s mobile gaming industry to reach $5 billion by 2025 — thus accounting for a small but growing chunk of the global market. India is the largest market for app and games downloads and use. However, India’s relatively small revenue can be attributed to Indians not spending as much on in-game items as they do through advertisements.
On January 12, a Data.ai report highlighted this very aspect, stating that while Indians were the second highest downloaders of apps and games around the world in 2021, they did not even feature in the top 20 spenders on in-game ads or items — having spent a cumulative amount of around $170 million through last year.
InMobi’s report also reflects similar figures, stating that while 91% of mobile game advertisers use these ads to increase brand awareness, only about 40% use them with the intent to increase sales — thus showing a lack of intent among Indian users to spend through in-app advertisements.
