[DigitalToday reporter Lee Ho-jeong] Sensor Tower forecast this year’s global revenue from top mobile games will reach $53 billion.

Global market intelligence company Sensor Tower released its “2026 Mobile Game Monetisation Trend Insights” report on May 14.

The report said global revenue from the top 100 mobile games showed steady growth from 2022 through last year, posting about $46.6 billion last year. Sensor Tower projected revenue from the top 100 games will rise to about $53 billion this year, helped by stronger live operations and more advanced monetisation strategies. It forecast the group will account for about 58 percent of total mobile game revenue.

Top mobile games are maximising revenue through a “combination” of multiple strategies rather than a single mechanism. The analysis showed 83 percent of top games combine 5 to 7 monetisation mechanisms. Examples include combining currency bundles, live operations, loot boxes, season passes, subscriptions and gacha. Among them, season passes showed a high adoption rate of 75 percent and have become a key stable revenue source.

Preferred monetisation strategies differed by genre. Mid-core and hardcore games actively used multiple monetisation mechanisms, while relying less on advertising. Hybrid casual games combined advertising with existing revenue structures. Casual games focused on advertising, currency bundles and live operations, while hyper-casual games concentrated on advertising, ad-removal features and currency bundles.

The report highlighted Nexon’s “Mabinogi Mobile” as a major monetisation success case. It assessed the game as optimised for mobile by lowering the high entry barriers of existing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and introducing life-simulation content, a light social structure and customisation-focused monetisation elements.

As of January this year, Mabinogi Mobile achieved about $150 million in cumulative global revenue. It was cited as one of the new games that recorded the highest revenue in South Korea’s market last year. Sensor Tower also conducted in-depth analysis of key monetisation mechanisms and operating strategies through various games including “Archero 2,” “Gossip Harbor” and “Whiteout Survival.”