In the report «Identify the Mobile Apps and Categories Defying the Economic Downturn», Data.ai highlights mobile apps during the economic downturn. Mobile games remain the top spenders among apps.

Side note: Data.ai report on the third quarter of 2022.

The mobile app market is not immune to inflation and is already showing signs of an economic downturn that affects publishers and apps of all sizes.

Mobile games continue to be a significant spending driver in all markets. Hyper-casual games top the list of installations in the first half of 2022. The Data.ai report highlights the «puzzle» genre, led by games like 2048.

The MOBA genre, exemplified by Tencent’s perennial chart leader Honor of Kings, also saw the most significant annual spending increase in the Strategy 4X March-Battle genre and open-world RPGs with the flagship game Genshin Impact.

Data.ai reports a change in the types of games mobile gamers spend time and money on. The time users have spent playing games has increased in the creative sandbox genre. A prominent representative of the genre is called ROBLOX. However, the total time spent by gamers in the Battle Royale genre has rapidly decreased.

Source: Company report

MOBA game Honor of Kings provided the most significant difference between consumer spending for the first half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, and the prime example of the Creative Sandbox genre, ROBLOX, leads the way in MAU growth.

Source: Company report

Read Data.ai’s full report on the state of mobile apps during the economic downturn here.

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