Despite the challenges faced by the mobile industry, including the pandemic-driven hype mostly fading and Apple’s privacy changes, global app downloads in 2022 remained significantly above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from Sensor Tower. So what’s happening?
App downloads still above pre-pandemic levels
Sensor Tower found that while global app downloads dropped by 0.9% year-over-year to 142 billion in 2022, they still remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The decline in downloads is attributed to the fading of pandemic-driven hype, as well as various challenges faced by the mobile industry, including the global economic slowdown and Apple’s privacy changes.
Global app installs above pre-pandemic levels
Source: Sensor Tower
Games was the top mobile app category of 2022 with over 50 billion downloads, followed by Utilities with 17 billion downloads and Entertainment with 8 billion downloads.
Mobile game spending takes a hit
However, the report showed that global consumer spending on mobile games experienced a decline for the first time in 2022. Games generated $79 billion in revenue, down from $86 billion in 2021.
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Source: Sensor Tower
The Game category continued its decline in revenue, while non-game apps reached unprecedented heights in January, thanks in large part to increased consumer spending on Entertainment apps. Sensor Tower suggests this shift could be due to users moving away from gaming and towards Entertainment apps, such as TikTok and Netflix, which have recently started offering mobile games on their platforms.
Entertainment versus game app spending
Source: Sensor Tower
The decline in revenue for the Game category further highlights the importance for mobile game developers to innovate and create new gaming experiences to attract users back to their apps.
Key takeaways
- Global app downloads dropped by 0.9% year-over-year to 142 billion in 2022
- Games was the top mobile app category of 2022 with over 50 billion downloads, followed by Utilities with 17 billion downloads and Entertainment with 8 billion downloads
- Users may shift focus to entertainment apps
