Japan’s mobile games generated over $10 billion as downloads fell 5.4%

Sensor Tower estimates 585 million installs over the latest 12 months, placing Japan ninth in Asia by downloads but second by IAP revenue. Players logged roughly 16.7 billion hours during the period.

The gap between revenue and install rankings shows a mature market driven by established users, engagement and high monetization rather than acquisition volume. Revenue declined 5.1% year over year, yet Japan still generated more than twice South Korea's mobile game IAP revenue and nearly four times Taiwan's.

eFootball led grossing from January through July 2026 after World Cup-related activity supported engagement and spending. Block Blast remained the most downloaded title, while puzzle formats led acquisition growth and 4X strategy grew 9.4% to remain the top spending subgenre. Sensor Tower's estimates cover the App Store and Google Play and exclude third-party Android stores, pre-installs and re-downloads.