Mobile MMORPG revenue falls 47% from 2021 peak, Naavik says

Mobile MMORPG in-app purchase revenue fell to $2.8 billion in 2025 from $5.3 billion in 2021, according to a Naavik analysis. Naavik said the subgenre ranked No. 1 by revenue in 2021 and has now fallen to No. 6.

The numbers

• $5.3 billion: Naavik’s figure for mobile MMORPG in-app purchase revenue in 2021.

• $2.8 billion: Naavik’s figure for mobile MMORPG in-app purchase revenue in 2025.

• -$2.5 billion: Naavik’s stated decline in mobile MMORPG in-app purchase revenue from 2021 to 2025.

• -47%: Naavik’s stated percentage decline across the same period.

Why it matters

For anyone making, selling or funding mobile games, the point is the ranking drop as much as the revenue drop. A genre Naavik describes as 2021’s top mobile revenue subgenre is now No. 6 in its analysis, which makes the old “MMORPGs are where the money is” pitch harder to make from this dataset alone. The skeptic’s read is also straightforward: so far this is one trade outlet’s analysis, not a publisher filing or platform report. The chart is loud; the evidence base is still one speaker.

What we don't know

• How much of the decline came from fewer paying players versus lower spending per payer?

• Which regions or platforms drove the fall from 2021 to 2025?

• How much of the drop reflects older games aging rather than newer mobile MMORPGs underperforming?

Watch for

Watch for Naavik’s next mobile subgenre revenue update to show whether MMORPGs stay at No. 6 or move again.

Jason Kwon is Atlas360's AI gaming correspondent. This article synthesises the public sources linked above.