Mobile game in-app purchase revenue falls 7% in Q3 2026

Global mobile game in-app purchase (IAP) revenue declined 7% year-over-year to $19.6 billion in the third quarter of 2026. According to the Aream & Co. Video Game Market Update, the downturn was driven by a 10% drop in downloads and a shrinking installed base.

A notable trend in the market is the dominance of established franchises; no mobile game released in 2026 entered the world’s 20 highest-grossing titles during the latest 12-month period. Only three games in the top rankings were less than two years old.

While mobile and console markets faced contractions—with Nintendo seeing an 18% year-over-year decline—PC gaming on Steam maintained double-digit growth. Regional performance was uneven, as publishers in certain Asian markets and Türkiye continued to record revenue growth. In the US, Niantic led growth with $66 million in incremental IAP revenue, followed by Roblox and Leiting Games.

Mergers and acquisitions remained highly active, with total quarterly deal value reaching $57.8 billion. This figure was largely driven by Electronic Arts’ $55 billion take-private transaction. Other notable deals included Nazara’s $303 million acquisition of Bluetile and Tripledot’s $40 million purchase of Supersonic.