US, Canada mobile gaming brought in $9.37 billion in 2018

The mobile gaming industry saw continued strength in 2018 in the US and Canada. 60% of Americans and Canadians play mobile games, and their spending brought the industry $9.37 billion in revenue last year.

EEDAR, in collaboration with Sensor Tower, has published the full version of the Deconstructing Mobile and Tablet Gaming 2019 report, offering further insight beyond the highlights shared earlier this week. The data comes from a survey of 5,000 active US and Canadian mobile gamers ages two and up, who qualified if they had access to a mobile gaming device and had played a game on it within 30 days of the survey.

As previously-reported, EEDAR reports that of a total of 283.1 million mobile users in the US and Canada, 210.9 million play mobile games, a number that's a 5% year-over-year increase.

A gender breakdown shows that 51% of mobile gamers in 2018 were female, and 49% were male. By age breakdown, children 2-12 make up 20% of mobile gamers, play an average of five hours per week, and spend an average of $17 per year. Children are most likely to play kid-friendly games on tablets over smartphones, and learn about new titles from friends and family who are also playing games.

Teens and young adults ages 13-18 make up 24% of mobile gamers, playing for an average of five hours per week and spending an average of $18 per year. Unlike younger gamers, they are more likely to play on smartphones than tablets and enjoy a wider range of genres. YouTube is a key way they discover new games.

As for adults, both mid-adults and later adults (25-44 and 45+, respectively) play six hours per week and spend more per year ($37 and $22). Mid-adults, like teenagers, enjoy a wide array of genres and are far more likely to play only on a smartphone, but later adults see mixed device usage between smartphone and tablet and tend to focus on puzzle and casino titles.

Their interest contributed to skill/chance genre games joining puzzle and strategy as the highest grossing genres, with the three combined driving 56% of mobile revenue in 2018. Racing/driving games contributed the least amount of revenue.

Finally, EEDAR listed the top grossing games of 2018 across the US and Canada as follows:

1. Candy Crush Saga
2. Candy Crush Soda Saga
3. Slotomania
4. Clash of Clans
5. Pokemon Go
6. Roblox Mobile
7. Fortnite*
8. Clash Royale
9. Homescapes
10. Gardenscapes

*Does not include Android revenue