Industry is optimistic about income from mobile games in 2026, and DTC and AI are considered core growth drivers

The Investment Bank Aream & Co published its second year mobile game CEO survey, which brings together the views of about 80 industry executives from leading game companies. When asked about the outlook for insider purchases in 2026, 30 per cent of the visited mobile games CEOs projected a double-digit increase, 70 per cent believed that they would remain largely stable and zero per cent were expected to decline.

For the income from applied advertising, it is expected to be slightly conservative: 23 per cent predict a double-digit increase, 68 per cent forecast little change and zero per cent anticipate a decrease.

With regard to the greatest growth opportunities in the mobile game industry in 2026, 58 per cent of respondents considered that direct consumer-oriented distribution channels/webshops were the most important opportunities for increasing profits. Immediately thereafter, 55 per cent chose an AI-driven workflow to accelerate the iterative process, while 40 per cent predicted more explosive mobile games.

The biggest challenges facing the market in 2026, according to interviewees, will be: a harsh user acquisition/marketing environment (73 per cent of respondents selected), a competition of attention among users from other forms of media (63 per cent) and a saturation/oversupply of content (38 per cent).