Leading non-gaming iPad app publishers in the U.S. 2022, by downloads

In September 2022, Google LLC was the top non-gaming iPad app publisher in the United States with approximately 3.65 million app downloads by iPad users. The tech giant, a subsidiary of parent company Alphabet, has become synonymous with some of the most widely used apps and services today - Google Maps, Google Search, and Gmail, to name a few. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation generated more than 1.33 million iPad app downloads through the Apple App Store within the same period.

Mobile app revenue on the rise

As smartphones and tablets become increasingly commonplace, mobile app revenue continues to rise across the globe, with consumer spending reaching approximately 170 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Making up a sizeable section of this market, mobile gaming apps saw 90.7 billion U.S. dollars in global revenues in 2021.

Mobile gaming apps monetization

Two of the main methods through which mobile games make money are in-app purchases and advertising. The former includes purchases, also known as microtransactions, where players pay for in-game currency and special items such as armor and equipment. This is most often used in adventure games. By comparison, games that run on the advertising model are free to play but display ads as a means of revenue and is most often employed by arcade and word games. In 2021, video ads were the most used monetization methods for mobile gaming apps, with 82 percent app publishers using this advertising format to monetize their mobile gaming content.