The spread of artificial intelligence coding tools is driving a rapid increase in the launch of mobile games and apps, it showed. AI has lowered the development threshold, making it easier for individuals and small developers to create games, but revenue is still concentrated among major game companies, an analysis found.

On July 1, local time, online media outlet Gigazine reported that research firm ATTN Economy counted 181,000 smartphone games released in the past six months through May 2026. By operating system, iOS game releases rose 118 percent from a year earlier, while Android increased 73 percent.

The broader app market showed a similar trend. App analytics firm Appfigures said the number of iOS and Android apps released globally in the first quarter of 2026 rose about 60 percent from a year earlier. iOS rose 80 percent, marking a higher growth rate. Game market analytics firm Naavik also analyzed that from March 2025 to February 2026, new publishers on iOS increased 21 percent and new publishers on Android rose 82 percent.

The industry cited the spread of AI-based "vibe coding" as a driver of the change. AI support for coding and debugging has sharply shortened development time and created an environment where even non-professional developers can make apps and games.

But the rise in launches did not necessarily lead to success. Naavik said that from December 2025 to February 2026, the number of games generating at least $20,000 in revenue rose only 14 percent. That meant growth in actual hit titles was limited compared with the pace of releases.

ATTN Economy analyzed that about 80 percent of global app downloads are concentrated among the top 1 percent of companies, and most revenue is also captured by them. AI has lowered barriers to entry, but it has not changed market dominance.

Major game companies' competitiveness remained solid. ATTN Economy assessed that big game companies hold vast development funding, skilled talent and decades of accumulated user data, making them hard to catch up with through AI alone.

Concerns in the industry over AI adoption are also growing. A "Festival of Gaming" report by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) said 1 in 4 workers in the game industry experienced restructuring over the past two years. It also said 52 percent of respondents answered that generative AI has a negative impact on the game industry. The share rose to 52 percent this year from 18 percent in 2024 and 30 percent in 2025.

In particular, 64 percent in visual arts and technical art and 63 percent in game design and narrative rated AI negatively. By contrast, only 7 percent responded that they expected positive effects.

Consumer trust is also emerging as a new challenge. ATTN Economy analyzed that users exposed to AI-made content may become much less likely to trust the brand. It pointed out that because story and art completeness shape user satisfaction in games, the use of AI could instead lower brand trust.

There is also a view that sees AI positively. Vlastimil Venclik (블라스티밀 벤츨리크), co-founder and chief executive of Czech game startup Vaka AI, said AI performance has improved sharply over the past two years and predicted storytelling and dialogue quality would continue to improve. He said, "Most game studios already use AI," adding that some gamers' current aversion could gradually ease over time.

The industry views that AI is driving an expansion in the supply of mobile games, but that success will ultimately be determined by content quality, user trust and differentiated planning capability. It also expects how AI reshapes the development ecosystem and employment structure to remain an important task going forward.