New Appcharge Research: Direct-to-Consumer is Already a $17Bn Market in Mobile Gaming – and the Rest of the App Economy is Set to Follow

New Appcharge Research: Direct-to-Consumer is Already a $17Bn Market in Mobile Gaming – and the Rest of the App Economy is Set to Follow

New report from GDC Festival of Gaming and Appcharge, based on a survey of 1,200+ professional game developers, reveals the scale of the rapidly emerging direct-to-consumer (DTC) market in mobile gaming

DTC already accounts for around 15% of the $113.3Bn mobile gaming in-app purchase market – approximately $17Bn today – with 92% of publishers expecting further growth in 2026

Early adopters are seeing median revenue uplift of 35% and pulling decisively ahead of the rest of the industry, with 63% already outperforming app store monetisation

The findings point to a much broader opportunity, with adjacent consumer categories – fitness, education, lifestyle, entertainment, subscription services – expected to follow a similar path