Mobile Gaming Trends and Revenue Models in 2025

Mobile Gaming Trends
7 min read

Mobile Gaming Trends? Mobile Gaming itself is a trend, isn’t it? Why is mobile gaming buzzing the market? And what can be the top revenue models in 2025? Let’s explore this in detail.

Mobile Gaming Trends

1. Growth of Real Money Games

Games

Real money games are played online, and real money is wagered on the outcome. As real money is involved, a risk factor plays a part. Every win-lose counts. Players need to showcase skillful strategies and logic with their game knowledge and gameplay. Some players make real moneyfrom  games as a profession. They earn money based on their skills. Also, real money games promise huge rewards and cash prizes after winning a particular tournament or competition. Real money is growing exponentially in the global gaming market in 2025.

2. Some Examples of Real Money Games

  • Rummy
  • Poker
  • Callbreak
  • Solitaire
  • Uno
  • Spades
  • Ludo
  • Carrom
  • Pool
  • 21 Puzzle
  • Spring the Wheel

3. Growth of Virtual Money Games

The purpose of virtual money games is to enhance the gaming skills of players and entertain them. The earned chips, coins, and points in virtual money games just determine the skill level of a player. Chips/coins in Virtual money games don’t have a monetary value, which makes them risk-free. These games are a massive addition for the players who just want to relax & entertain. Virtual money games are growing significantly in the global gaming market in 2025.

4. Some Examples of Virtual Money Games

  • Teen Patti
  • Andar Bahar
  • Candy Crush
  • Bid Whist

5. Card & Casino Games

Card and casino games are known as the oldest form of games of all time. The reason why card games are on top of the list is due to their highly engaging and exciting gameplay in online mobile gaming nowadays. Generally, card games don’t feature graphics much, but the logic implementation, strategy planning, and decision-making skills are something that attracts users and keeps them in the loop. Also, it comes under skill-based games that take center stage in the real money gaming market.

Read More: A Complete Guide to Grow Your Mobile Gaming Business

6. Some Examples of Card and Casino Games

  • Rummy
  • Poker
  • Teen Patti
  • Andar Bahar
  • Spades
  • Call Break
  • Solitaire
  • Blackjack
  • Roulette

7. Board Games

Board games are more popular than ever before, and they might gain more popularity in the future. The global board games market is worth over $3 billion. That is quite staggering, isn’t it?

Board games like Pool, Carrom, Ludo, Snake & Ladder, and Chess is not only engaging but also develop various skills in a player as board games come under skill-based games. As it provides an option of earning real money, users play this game regularly.

8. Puzzle Games

The puzzle game industry is also evolving in the gaming market. It is the latest mobile game market trend that leaves behind the match-3 puzzle technique and adds new, exciting layers to the game. Two of the best examples are Fruit Ninja and Candy Crush. It is known as a giant in puzzle games. Being on top of online puzzle games creates a different mindset and gameplay for every player.

9. Hyper-casual Games

Hyper-casual games like Hill-Climb Racing are one of the most successful games in the last year. Most people turned to hyper-casual games as these games are simple to play, and users can experience fun and relaxation in a short time. Some users want to play games just to have fun and don’t require heavy graphics, so those Hyper-casual games perfectly fit. The hyper-casual gaming market is on the rise, and it is indeed a trending topic in 2025.

10. Arcade & Quiz Games

Arcade games used to be a fun package game in the late 70s and early 80s. In those days, the meaning of the Arcade game was a game machine that was found most often in restaurants, malls, and was usually coin-operated. The popularity of the Arcade game slowly decreased as PC games evolved. But with the change in time & technology when mobile games came into the market, Arcade games started to rise again. Today, Arcade games like pinball are one of the trending virtual money mobile games. Examples of Arcade games are Bubble Shoot, Archery, Basketball Shoot, and many more.

Quiz games were very popular in the past. It is a way of playing games by answering questions and competing with fellow members. Quiz games are now modified as Mind games, where the player has to think and answer the relevant topics (Can be a crossword, history, or sports). Quiz games are also a trend, as many people don’t go for graphics and strategy. A quiz game is the best solution to relax your mind.

Let’s take a quick look at the top revenue models that can be beneficial for game owners in 2025!

Revenue Models

Games

The revenue models of a game depend on various aspects. Based on which type of game, different revenue models can generate better value. Here are some of the best revenue models in 2025.

1. Tournaments & Competitions

Game owners generate huge revenues by organizing tournaments and competitions in their game apps. Tournaments generally require an entry fee to participate in various games in the tournament. Competitions don’t require larger amounts of money to enter and don’t offer huge prize money, rewards, and gifts like tournaments do. It is a beneficial revenue model, and real-money game owners use this model on the go.

2. Advertisements

Advertisements are the best tactical move to generate revenue. Game owners tend to add various attractive and eye-catching advertisements in their game apps to boost their revenues. Here is a quick look at it.

Interstitial Ads

These are the ads that cover the whole screen of the mobile. You might have experienced this many times in your game app. It is called interstitial ads, and these are highly interactive & alluring ads (sometimes it feels like giant pop-up ads). Such ads appear suddenly when you complete a game level or when you are playing the game and take a pause. A single click on these ads increases the revenue counts of the game owner.

Header & Footer Ads

Header and Footer ads are a general money-earning purpose for game owners and app owners. For a known instance, third-party ads are in the header and footer sections of the game screen. When a player taps on the ads (intentionally or not), a certain amount will be transferred to the game owner’s account. This is not the primary source of income for multi-gaming platform owners, but it keeps ticking the revenues upwards.

3. Game Publishers

Game publishers publish games for gaming companies. This game’s owners discuss a business model where revenues are distributed via Pay-Per-Click, Pay-Per-Install, Pay-Per-View, etc.

Pay-Per-Click

Once a user clicks on the game app or the banner, he/she will be redirected to the game app website and the revenue will be generated. For every redirected user the game owner has to pay a certain amount of revenue to the publishers.

Pay-Per-Install

Once a user installs the game app on their device, revenue is generated. For every installation, through the publisher’s site, the game owner must pay a certain amount to the publisher.

Pay-Per-View

Once a user clicks on the view button to see some screenshots of the gameplay, the revenue is generated, and the game owner must pay a certain amount or a small percentage of the payment to the publishers.

Wrapping Up!

Online mobile gaming is currently buzzing the gaming market. Game owners implement various revenue models for the mobile gaming business, which is becoming a long-term investment. The above-mentioned points give clarity on mobile gaming trends and the current revenue models.

Artoon Solutions has been a leading game development company over the years and has developed 100+ games for top gaming clients like MPL, Flipkart, Dangal Games, and Super, and that’s just a few.

Let’s connect for a quick discussion on Gaming trends and their development processes!

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Artoon Solutions

Artoon Solutions is a technology company that specializes in providing a wide range of IT services, including web and mobile app development, game development, and web application development. They offer custom software solutions to clients across various industries and are known for their expertise in technologies such as React.js, Angular, Node.js, and others. The company focuses on delivering high-quality, innovative solutions tailored to meet the specific needs of their clients.

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