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March 3, 2025
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2025 marks the year of bouncing back for mobile gaming, with positive YoY IAP revenue growth for the first time since 2021. But with more apps and games than ever competing for time on players’ devices, attention to any specific title can be fleeting. That’s where loyalty comes in, a cornerstone of LTV, which drives how much players are willing to return to play (and spend in) your mobile games.
“In 2025, a strategic loyalty program is a mission-critical component of player LTV, the driving factor to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. But loyalty can be built or broken at every stage of the player lifecycle. Fostering rich, authentic and long-term relationships with players demands a full-funnel approach across a publisher’s whole organization.” – Tricia Han, CEO at Mistplay
To help mobile game publishers better understand the current state of player loyalty in mobile gaming, Mistplay has launched the 2025 Mobile Gaming Loyalty Index in collaboration with AppsFlyer to provide publishers with a comprehensive analysis evaluating genres' loyalty levels across four key metrics. By offering a quantitative perspective on loyalty through the lens of monetization and engagement, and integrating qualitative insights gathered from over 4,500 mobile gamers, the report sheds light on what makes and breaks loyalty in mobile gaming.
Below, we cover three key gaming trends from our gaming report focused on what genres drive player loyalty and the power behind it.
Leading the competition with an unrivalled loyalty rating of 85, Puzzle games continue to assert their dominance in the world of gaming. Showcasing an impressive presence in overall player loyalty and especially in monetization, these games outshine others like RPG and Strategy, which trail behind at 75 and 71, respectively.
💡 We partnered with AppsFlyer to analyze mobile game titles across the US in 2023 and 2024 using four key mobile game monetization and engagement metrics. We indexed each genre’s metric data against the top performer in the category, averaged the genre across all four metrics per platform to arrive at the platform-specific Loyalty rating, and averaged the results across platforms to calculate the primary Loyalty rating presented in our gaming report.
The road to securing such loyalty begins with an efficiently planned ad-to-onboarding pipeline where aligning the gameplay with advertising plays a pivotal role. This strategic setup not only intrigues the potential players but also lays the foundation for long-lasting loyalty. Puzzle games inherently excel in this realm, with playable UA ads driving higher-intent users to the store page and then to the game, where they encounter engaging early levels that introduce a sense of achievement and competition alongside opportunities for IAP to further advance.
“The top puzzle games showcase how powerful a well-planned live ops strategy can impact player loyalty and retention. Looking at games like Royal Match, social co-operation through guild events and or friendly competition via dynamic leaderboards are driving a lot of player motivations in the puzzle space. These are some examples of what I think every publisher should consider as they roadmap their live operation strategies or develop new features in their games.” – Jon Chew, Director of User Acquisition, Jam City
👀 Related reading: Lessons in loyalty: Cross-industry insights for mobile game publishers
Match is the leader in engagement with the highest average D30 retention across platforms and ranking second for average sessions per user on Android.
Tabletop came in close second for retention, achieving first in D30 retention on Android (5.1% vs 3.2% avg), and second on iOS (8.4% vs 5.1% avg).
Success in engaging mobile gamers relies on implementing effective onboarding and engagement strategies that quickly build a lasting connection with players – especially when competing for a player’s daily downtime against a sea of competing apps on their device.
Match and Tabletop games excel in this, with an easy-to-learn yet hard-to-master approach to their games that introduces players to the core game mechanics quickly while building a desire for achievement and progression to keep them coming back. This balance of accessibility and challenge combined with social and competitive elements results in higher average sessions per day, catering to players seeking quick, bite-sized entertainment with built-in community connection.
👀 Related reading: Plugging the leaks: Decoding leaky bucket syndrome to find growth in mobile gaming
Fostering loyalty with your mobile game player base has many benefits beyond short-term retention and a quick time-to-purchase. With nearly half of mobile gamers (49%) playing their favourite title for more than a year, it’s clear that fostering a deep connection with players can reap long-term rewards for publishers.
Plus, 39% of loyal gamers – and 46% of spenders – refer three or more friends to their favorite game, proving that can not only foster engagement but also be a powerful driver of cost-effective word-of-mouth growth.
Building loyalty among your players can lead to a virtuous cycle of increased engagement and referral activity. When players feel a sense of attachment to a game, they're not just likely to stick around – they also become advocates for your brand.
To cultivate this loyalty, publishers must learn from other top genres (and even app categories) to find innovative features that enhance the player experience and make their games stand out from the crowd.
“Winning loyalty in mobile gaming requires a holistic strategy that integrates advertising, onboarding, engagement, and monetization. With the average time to first purchase hovering just over two days post-install, the opportunity to capture and convert users is short-lived. Publishers and marketers must invest in adaptive experiences, dynamic pricing, and robust loyalty programs to ensure players remain engaged for the long haul.” – Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming at AppsFlyer
👀 Related reading: Game changers: How mobile games can flip the script and stand out in a red ocean marketplace
From top genres for building loyalty to motivations for play and churn, this is just a taste of the gaming insights uncovered in our 2025 Mobile Gaming Loyalty Index.
Our mobile gaming loyalty report insights highlight the multiple levers that publishers can push to maximize retention and monetization, pulling from the successful trends of top genres and direct input from players.
To better understand the state of player loyalty in today’s mobile gaming landscape, jump into our full report to discover fresh mobile game data such as what makes the top genres the best at garnering loyalty, what drives that player loyalty, and what makes IAP spenders tick.
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