Apple continues to casually dominate gaming

Apple won’t at all times appear to grasp PC players, but it surely stays a massively dominant drive in that market. Newly printed analysis reveals that in 2025, the App Retailer made considerably more cash from video games than the opposite two main platforms mixed.

In keeping with SensorTower’s State of Gaming 2026 report, which recounts key findings from the earlier 12 months and predicts what we are able to anticipate on this one, the App Retailer made gross income of $52.5 billion in 2025, in comparison with simply $30 billion for Google’s Play Retailer and $11.7 billion for Valve’s Steam platform. Steam is doing its greatest to catch up–its income was up 13 % on the earlier 12 months, whereas Google and Apple noticed progress of simply 2.8 % and 0.6 % respectively—however Apple retains its huge lead out there.

(Simply as a be aware on methodology: SensorTower says its income figures for the App Retailer and Google Play are based mostly on IAPs inside video games fairly than the price of the video games themselves, presumably as a result of the overwhelming majority of apps bought are free. They embody each the cash made by the video games writer and the share skimmed off by the platform holder.)

Curiously, whereas Apple is forward on income, it’s a great distance behind on quantity. SensorTower experiences {that a} whopping 81 % of downloads in 2025 have been on Google Play (that’s all video games, not simply cellular), in comparison with 15 % for Apple’s App Retailer. The distinction is that iPhone homeowners are much more prone to spend cash.

Providers, the class of income which incorporates the App Retailer together with subscription providers resembling Apple Music and, relevantly to this dialogue, Apple Arcade, is a cherished supply of earnings for Apple as a result of it scales so effectively. There aren’t provide points when the product is only digital, and as such, Providers is the corporate’s second-largest income generator after the iPhone, and topped S30 billion within the final quarter.

All of which ought to clarify why Apple is so reluctant to permit builders to direct customers by means of their very own fee programs as a way to cut back or keep away from the App Retailer income reduce.

A number of years again a court docket ordered the corporate to permit “buttons, exterior hyperlinks, or different calls to motion that direct prospects to [external] buying mechanisms,” however its response was to position a price on purchases made exterior the App Retailer in addition to on these made inside. This coverage, which calls to thoughts an previous Onion article about American Airways charging non-passengers, didn’t go down properly with the choose. However you’ll be able to form of see why they have been tempted to strive.