In brief
Global spending on mobile gaming apps at Christmas 2019 was US$210 million (about HK$1.638 billion), up 8% from 2018, and games made up 76% of total app revenue. PUBG Mobile was the most popular game, while Tinder was the top-grossing non-gaming app.
Besides celebrating Christmas with parties, many people also spend the holiday playing games. According to the latest report from market research firm Sensor Tower, global consumers spent US$210 million (about HK$1.638 billion) on mobile gaming apps at Christmas 2019, up 8% from US$195 million (about HK$1.521 billion) in the same period of 2018.
According to Sensor Tower data, mobile games accounted for 76% of total app revenue at Christmas 2019. Among them, PUBG Mobile, a mobile game under Tencent (00700), was the most popular, with global revenue of US$8.5 million (about HK$66.3 million), a surge of 431% from US$1.6 million in 2018.
Tinder Tops the Non-Gaming Category
In addition, consumer spending on non-gaming apps at Christmas 2019 grew 24% to US$67 million (about HK$523 million), up from US$54 million in 2018.
On Apple's App Store, entertainment apps sold best, including streaming video services such as Disney+ and Tencent Video, accounting for 24% of non-gaming revenue. On Google Play, social apps were the most popular, accounting for 16% of non-gaming revenue.
Overall, across the two major app distribution platforms during Christmas, the top-grossing non-gaming app was the social app Tinder, with global revenue of US$2.1 million (about HK$16.38 million).
Sensor Tower estimates that global app revenue on the App Store and Google Play at Christmas 2019 exceeded US$277 million (about HK$2.161 billion), up 11.3% from US$249 million at Christmas 2018. Christmas Day alone accounted for 5% of the two platforms' total revenue for December.
The report also noted that the App Store far out-earns Google Play. The former accounted for 70% of the two platforms' revenue, with Christmas 2019 revenue of US$193 million, up 16% from the same period in 2018; the latter, Google Play, generated US$84 million, up about 2.7% year on year.
Original article: http://bit.ly/35uOKRU