28% of casual game installs from non-gaming publishers come from utility apps, Liftoff’s Casual Gaming Apps Report reveals

Liftoff, the leading provider of marketing, monetization, and creative solutions for the mobile industry, and Singular, the end-to-end marketing attribution and analytics platform, today released their 2025 Casual Gaming Apps Report. The report, based on combined Liftoff and Singular data from February 2024 to February 2025, which includes 1.4 trillion ad impressions, 63 billion clicks, 2.5 billion installs, and $11.9 billion in ad spend, reveals that utility and entertainment apps drive the majority of non-gaming app installs for casual games.

Ads in utility and productivity apps account for 28% of non-gaming app installs for casual games, while 25% come from entertainment apps. Photo and social media apps also play an important role in converting users to casual gaming, accounting for a combined 25%.

Liftoff and Singular’s Casual Gaming Apps Report covers three main topics: an annual breakdown of benchmarks for advertising costs and revenue, the mobile game genres and subgenres driving the most installs, and the latest trends shaking up the casual gaming market.

Key findings from the report include:

Utility apps drive the most installs as advertisers look outside of gaming audiences

As the consumer app market share grows, more downloads come from outside the mobile game ecosystem, with utility apps being the main driver. In the sample, over half of the casual game installs from non-gaming apps are from utility and productivity apps (28%) and entertainment apps (25%). Photo apps and social media apps are similarly impactful, driving a combined 25% of installs from non-gaming apps, while health and fitness apps contribute the least at just 4%.

Hypercasual and hybrid puzzles revenue grows 240%

Following the success of apps like Twisted Tangle, Hexa Sort, and Block Jam 3D, games with simple yet addictive puzzle mechanics have captured the attention of casual game audiences. GameRefinery data reveals a huge increase in the US market share of these games within the top 500 grossing iOS titles, with market share surging collectively from $4.12 million in Q4 2023 to $13.99 million by Q4 2024. 

Mobile game CPIs are 907% higher on iOS

From February 2024 to February 2025, the average cost per install (CPI) for casual games was $1.41 on iOS and $0.14 on Android. In contrast, strategy, RPG, and tabletop games exhibited a higher CPI on both platforms, likely due to their niche audiences. While CPI is lower on Android, iOS still delivers more than 2x D30 ROAS on most game genres.

Minigame events are on the rise in top-grossing titles

Events are an essential element of strategy for casual gaming apps, and nearly all event types saw higher adoption rates in 2024. Minigame events, in particular, continued to grow between Q1 and Q4 2024, increasing by 31%. ‘Thinking’ minigames that feature varied mechanics saw the highest adoption rates. The minigames gaining the most popularity include digging, physics-based, and board game-inspired minigames. Other growing trends include co-op partner missions, seasonal albums, and win-streak events.

Match 3 games are making a comeback

After a long period of market saturation dominated by existing giants in the genre, Match 3 games are showing signs of a revival. New releases like Royal Kingdom and Truck Star have consistently ranked among the category’s highest-grossing games in 2024.

“As always, mobile games advertising is the most competitive marketing challenge on the planet. CTR for casual games is significantly higher than most genres, which is a big positive: you get a chance to make your case. What you do with that opportunity, of course, is up to you.” John Koetsier, VP of Insights, Singular 

“Casual gaming is a competitive market, but there’s plenty of growth potential for games willing to experiment and innovate. We’ve seen top games, including new releases and seasoned winners, rapidly scale their revenue by investing more in their live event strategies and monetization models. Finding what works is a process of trial and error, but having a partner with the newest insights into revenue drivers can make a huge difference.” Brendan Fraher, General Manager, GameRefinery