App Store’s Revenue Surges 52 Percent More Than Google Play in H1 2020

Recent years have witnessed a surge in the mobile gaming industry, with millions of people choosing gaming apps as their favorite way of entertainment on the go. However, 2020 has delivered new records in the mobile gaming revenues, driven by the boosted user engagement amid the COVID-19 lockdowns.

According to data presented by GoldenCasinoNews.com, App Store generated $22.2bn in gaming revenue in the first half of 2020, 52% more than Google Play.

Gaming Revenues Hit $36.8bn in H1 2020, a 26% Jump Year-on-year

In the first half of 2017, App Store and Google Play hit $22.6bn in combined mobile gaming revenues, revealed the Sensor Tower and Statista data. Statistics show that the App Store generated over 65% of that value. During the first and second quarter of the next year, the combined revenues rose to $26.2bn.

The increasing trend continued in 2019, with mobile gaming profits of the two leading app stores reaching $30.3bn in the first half of the year. The Sensor Tower shows that the first half of 2020 delivered the highest mobile gaming profits so far, with the combined revenue of App Store and Google Play growing to $36.8bn, a 26% jump year-on-year.

Statistics indicate that iPhone users generated 60% of that value. In the first quarter of 2020, the App Store revenue amounted to $10.6bn, an 18% increase year-on-year. The increasing trend continued in the second quarter of the year, with mobile gaming earnings jumping over $11.6bn, the highest App Store quarterly profit.

Statistics show that Android users generated $14.6bn in mobile gaming revenue in the first half of the year. In the second quarter of 2020, Google Play Store recorded revenues of $7.7bn, up from $6.9bn generated in the previous quarter.

Google Play Leads in the Number of Downloads

Although the App Store generated more gaming revenues during the first half of the year, the Sensor Tower data revealed Google Play dominates in the number of downloads.

In the first quarter of 2020, Google Play hit 10.4bn mobile games downloads, a 39% jump year-on-year. The number of downloads continued rising and jumped to 12.4bn in the second quarter of the year. Statistics show the total number of downloads in Google Play store during the first half of 2020 amounted to 22.8bn, a 52% increase year-on-year.

The Sensor Tower data show the number of mobile game downloads in the App Store reached 5.7bn during the first half of the year, four times less than Google Play.