Global gaming app sessions saw an increase vs. last year with the paid-to-organic ratio rising 61% globally, reflecting evolving acquisition dynamics as studios balance user growth with strategies designed to deepen engagement and retention. Across regions, APAC recorded the largest increase in the paid-to-organic ratio, rising 45% from 2.05 to 2.97, reflecting the region’s continued investment in paid user acquisition as competition intensifies.

“As mobile gaming matures, growth is becoming less about scale alone and more aboutprecision,” noted Tiahn Wetzler, director of marketing at Adjust. “Studios are increasingly focused on retaining high-value players, optimizing creatives and channels, and building ad-to-experience flows that favor sustained play over fast turnover. Understanding where true long-term value comes from, and the ability to connect acquisition, engagement, and monetization data for fast decisions is now a necessity.”

The Gaming App Insights Report: 2026 Edition breaks down top-of-funnel, engagement, retention, and user acquisition cost metrics across gaming subgenres, regions, and countries, giving mobile marketers benchmarks and context to guide strategy in 2026.

Highlights include that:

Strategy games saw the strongest session growth of any subgenre, rising 57% YoY, while casual and hyper casual sessions rose 37% and 31%, respectively.

Slots, casino, and casual games recorded the highest installs growth, up 46%, 22%, and 19% YoY, hyper casual, RPG, simulation, and word games also grew.

Vietnam emerged as one of the strongerperforming gaming markets in APAC, alongside Indonesia and South Korea, with sessions per user per day rising by 2%. Across the region, gaming engagement remained largely stable overall, edging up from 1.69 to 1.70 average daily sessions per user. Several markets outperformed the regional average, including Japan, which saw a 3% increase in sessions (1.76 to 1.81), as well as Singapore and Thailand, which also recorded 3% growth.

Day 1 retention rates in APAC remained stable at 20%, in line with other regions globally. Several markets recorded higher retention rates, led by Japan at 25%, followed by Singapore at 23%, Thailand and Indonesia at 21%, and South Korea at 20%.

Globally, the report also highlights continued shifts in the mobile gaming landscape. Gaming App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in rates rose to 39% in Q1 2026, up from 38% in Q1 2025, while strategy games recorded the strongest session growth among subgenres.

“Across APAC, we’re seeing gaming companies become increasingly sophisticated in how they approach growth,” said April Tayson, Regional Vice President for INSEAU at Adjust. “Studios are moving beyond pure install growth and focusing on building deeper player relationships through smarter acquisition, stronger retention strategies, and better measurement across the full player journey. In Vietnam particularly, we’re seeing strong engagement and retention potential, reinforcing the country’s growing importance within Southeast Asia’s gaming landscape.”

The report also explores the broader trends shaping mobile gaming in 2026, including D2C, AI-generated creatives, live ops, reward-driven mechanics, and cross-platform strategies.