Casual mobile game downloads are up, but revenue remains flat

A new report by mobile market intelligence tool, AppMagic, has found that while casual game downloads are up since the beginning of the year, revenue has remained relatively flat.

AppMagic’s Casual LiveOps Report H1 2025 report, published on July 30, found that global casual game downloads are up 6% year-on-year, increasing from 28.4 billion in 2023/2024 to 30.2 billion in 2024/2025. AppMagic notes that this increase in downloads was “largely driven by winter months.”

Global revenue has increased year-on-year, too, though less significantly. Casual game revenue has risen by 3.6% from $22.9 billion in 2023/2024 to $23.8 billion in 2024/2025.

However, looking at the half-year trend, the uptrend in downloads is 5% compared to the same period last year, while revenue has remained relatively flat since the start of the year (with a less than 1% change).

AppMagic’s report also highlights a “noticeable change in the revenue trend among the top countries” in the first half of 2025.

The United States and China hold the top two positions in terms of revenue, but the half-year revenue generated in both countries has declined: 7.06% in the United States and 7.31% in China.Meanwhile, Japan has seen a 21.8% increase in revenue for the same period.

These same geographical shifts can be seen in downloads. While Brazil ranked among the top three countries by downloads in H1 2024 (alongside India and the United States), it’s been replaced by Indonesia in 2025, where downloads have increased 21% compared to the first half of 2024. Brazil, on the other hand, has seen a 20% decrease in downloads.

Elsewhere in the report, AppMagic found that puzzle, casino, and simulation games remain the top three revenue-generating genres in the casual mobile games space, with puzzle games showing a 13.2% revenue growth from H1 2024 to H1 2025.

The report also found that 70% of the top casual games in 2025 feature a race mechanic, and 25% of top casual titles (tracked by AppMagic) have featured at least one IP collaboration this year.

Fishing mechanics, however, have so far failed to gain popularity and are “no longer introduced in the new top games.”