We used the data of 92 gaming apps to analyse behaviours and habits of paying mobile gamers in Russia, draw a picture of a typical gamer, and assess the correlation between a country's GDP and ROI of gaming projects.
Millennials are the core audience. They are more willing to make in-game purchases, but older gamers tend to pay more.
Users aged 25 to 34 are most likely to make in-game purchases.
The most active age group (25–44 years) accounts for almost three quarters (73%) of all IAP revenue from mobile games.
The maximum average revenue per user (ARPU), including both paying and non-paying ones, comes from players aged 35 to 44, while the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) is highest among those aged 45 to 64.
Men play more often and have better conversion to paying users, but paying women spend as much as men do.
Men install gaming apps 2.6 times more often and yield 5.5 times more revenue. ARPU for the male audience is twice as high as that for female one, while ARPPU is almost the same for both sexes.
Women are more active payers only in three genres – time management (farming simulation games, Diner Dash, etc.), match three, and MMORPG.
Gamers aged 25 to 44 are most likely to donate in platforms, MOBA and Build & Battle games, teenagers support MMORPGs and time management games, and students spend their money in shooters and platforms. Gamers aged 65+ pay most in crosswords, Sudoku, trivia quizzes and match three games.
Men are more likely to pay during lunchtime, while women make purchases in the evening.
Russian gamers tend to spend more after 6 pm with the peak at 9 pm. Women are more likely to pay in the evening than men. Another peak of payments was recorded around noon, during lunchtime.
Most in-game revenue is generated on Fridays and Saturdays (some 7% higher than on other days), while on Mondays the payments are at their lowest.
Higher income means higher in-game spending.
Users of iPhones, especially the latest models, have a significantly higher average spending than Android users.
Users tend to pay more in locations with higher average salaries. Top average revenues per user are generated in the Kamchatka Territory, Moscow and Leningrad regions.
Internationally, the highest per user spending is recorded in Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, Denmark, and Australia, and the lowest in Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Brazil, and the Philippines.
Acquisition costs tend to pay off very well in Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Denmark, and Arab countries. Russians also respond enthusiastically to successful marketing, while attracting mobile gamers from Japan, Vietnam, or China and making a profit can be more of a challenge.
