This post was written by Galith Arroche, Director of Strategic Planning at Start.io.
For more than a decade, games have dominated the mobile monetization equation. From puzzle hits to massive multiplayer titles, gaming consistently drove the largest share of in-app revenue.
But 2025 marked a turning point.
According to the Sensor Tower State of Mobile 2026 report, consumers spent more money in non-game apps than in games for the first time last year. The shift signals something deeper than a single year of market fluctuation. It reflects a fundamental evolution in how people use their phones and where developers are finding new revenue opportunities.
Apps Overtake Games
According to the report, consumers spent approximately $85.6 billion in non-game apps in 2025, a 21% year-over-year increase. Just five years ago, spending in non-game apps was less than half that amount. Today, it has grown to 2.8 times its size in 2020.
By comparison, spending in mobile games reached $81.8 billion in 2025, representing only 1% year-over-year growth.
The difference between the two categories is striking. While games remain a massive and resilient segment of the mobile economy, revenue growth is increasingly happening elsewhere.
Generative AI played a major role in accelerating this shift. Sensor Tower estimates that GenAI apps alone added $3.5 billion in revenue growth between 2024 and 2025. But AI is only part of the story. Other categories also expanded rapidly, including streaming platforms and social apps. For example, apps focused on movies and television content generated $2.2 billion in additional revenue growth year over year.
In short, the mobile ecosystem is diversifying. The center of gravity is moving beyond gaming into everyday utility, creativity, and entertainment.
Engagement Is Expanding Beyond Gaming
Revenue is only part of the story. The same report shows that mobile engagement is also growing within non-game experiences.
According to Sensor Tower, consumers spent nearly 2.5 trillion hours on social media apps across iOS and Android in 2025, representing a 5% year-over-year increase. For the average mobile user, that translates to more than 90 minutes per day spent on social platforms alone.
Social messaging apps continue to command enormous attention as well, with 901 billion hours spent globally, while browsers accounted for 477 billion hours. OTT streaming apps generated more than 100 billion hours of user engagement during the year.
By comparison, worldwide mobile users spent 444.6 billion hours playing mobile games in 2025, an increase of just 0.9% year over year.
In other words, the categories attracting the most attention on mobile today are overwhelmingly non-game experiences.
AI is also rapidly becoming a larger part of that time-spent mix. Sensor Tower reports that gen AI assistant apps ranked among the top 10 subgenres globally by time spent in 2025, with 37.4 billion hours spent, representing a 426% year-over-year increase. AI companion apps, while still emerging, are gaining traction as well, recording 68% growth in time spent.
Taken together, these trends help explain why monetization patterns are shifting. As users spend more time across social platforms, streaming services, productivity tools, and AI assistants, those categories are naturally capturing a larger share of mobile spending. These shifts also have implications for how brands should be thinking about their mobile ad spending.
What Start.io’s Data Shows
Start.io’s own mobile audience insights reflect similar momentum across non-game categories. Analysis of app download data shows significant year-over-year growth in several non-gaming verticals during 2025, including:
- Sports apps: +31%
- Food and drink apps: +24%
- Books and reference apps: +17%
- Entertainment apps: +13%
These trends reinforce the idea that mobile users are spending more time engaging with apps that help them follow passions, manage daily life, and consume content.
The rise of sports apps, for example, reflects the growing habit of second-screen viewing and real-time engagement around live events. Food and drink apps continue to benefit from delivery services, restaurant discovery, and digital loyalty programs. Meanwhile, books, reference, and entertainment apps are capturing audiences looking for education and streaming content directly on their phones.
In other words, the smartphone is becoming less of a gaming device and more of a hub for daily experiences. This shift opens new opportunities for developers and advertisers alike.
A New Phase for the App Economy
Games are not disappearing from the mobile ecosystem. They remain a powerful driver of engagement and revenue.
But the mobile economy is clearly entering a new phase. Growth is now coming from a broader mix of categories, from AI assistants to streaming platforms to everyday utility apps.
For advertisers and developers, the takeaway is simple: If you’re focusing solely on games with your mobile plans, you’re missing a growing opportunity within other categories. The platforms capturing attention today are the ones embedded in users’ daily lives.
