QuestMobile 2026 H1 Mobile Game Industry Report: The undeclared battle for stock users has begun, with clear differentiation between mobile game apps and mini-games, and core user stickiness has become a key focus for in-depth cultivation.
According to QuestMobile data, as of May 2026, the monthly active user base of the mobile game APP industry reached 672 million, a year-on-year increase of 4.0%; the monthly active user base of WeChat mini-games reached 654 million, a year-on-year increase of 32.7%; the monthly active user base of Douyin mini-games reached 85 million.
Overall, in the first half of 2026, the total number of approved domestic game licenses reached 917, a year-on-year increase of 21.1%. The supply of diverse new games is robust, and many popular games have emerged. As of May, Roco Kingdom: World, Goose Goose Duck, Colorful World, and Crossfire: Future ranked top four among newly launched mobile game APPs, with monthly active user sizes of 17.482 million, 9.04 million, 7.162 million, and 6.309 million respectively.
Different from new games that continuously rely on IP and new gameplay, the competition among established games has shifted from traffic grabbing to deep cultivation and operation of core high-loyalty users. For example, the core user penetration rate of typical mobile games generally exceeds 20%, among which the core user penetration rate of Honor of Kings exceeds 35%; at the same time, WeChat mini-games are also focusing on the existing user base, with traditional chess and card and casual games stabilizing the traffic foundation.
All of this has led to a continuous improvement in the overall stickiness of the game industry. In May 2026, the monthly average daily usage times per user in the mobile game APP industry increased by 12.7% year-on-year to 23.8 times, and the monthly average daily usage duration per user increased by 6.9% year-on-year to 111.2 minutes; the monthly average daily usage duration per user in the WeChat mini-game industry reached 23.6 minutes, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%.
However, from the perspective of user portraits, the differentiation between mobile game APPs and WeChat mini-games is becoming increasingly obvious. Users aged 35 and below account for 63.7% of mobile game APP users, and users in third-tier and lower cities account for nearly 50%, reflecting the heavy entertainment nature and user characteristics of mobile games; in contrast, WeChat mini-games have 54.7% of users aged 36 and above, and users in first-tier, new first-tier, and second-tier cities account for 57%.
In addition, AI technology has continued to penetrate deeply into the game industry, and AI-native interaction, virtual world ecological construction and other aspects have become the core high ground of industry competition, with R&D efficiency tools...
Highlights of Mobile Game Industry Insights in the First Half of 2026
I. The mobile game APP industry has 672 million monthly active users, AI drives the upgrading of the game industry, and game enterprises continue to expand overseas markets
1. The domestic game industry continues to heat up, AI technology fully empowers product iteration, coupled with the continuous supply of diverse new games, the user base of the mobile game APP industry has increased year-on-year to 672 million
2. In terms of mini-games, WeChat mini-games grew by 32.7% year-on-year relying on the social fission channels among acquaintances, reaching 654 million users in May 2026; Douyin mini-games rely on short video content distribution and recommendation, reaching 85 million users this month
3. The "high-frequency" and "long-duration" trends coexist in the mobile game industry
The improvement of stickiness of mobile game APP users is mainly reflected in the increase in usage times and duration. According to QuestMobile data, in May 2026, the monthly average daily usage times per user in the mobile game APP industry increased by 12.7% year-on-year to 23.8 times, and the monthly average daily usage duration per user increased by 6.9% year-on-year to 111.2 minutes. For WeChat mini-games, the improvement of stickiness is reflected in the increase of single-session usage duration, and user behavior is shifting towards medium-heavy type games.
4. Users under 24 years old account for more than 30% of the mobile game APP industry, and users with online consumption capacity below 2000 yuan account for as high as 68.3%; WeChat mini-games have expanded to a wider age group, gathering users in first- and second-tier cities, with the proportion rising to 57%
According to QuestMobile data, compared with the same period last year, the mobile game APP industry has seen a slight increase in users aged 36-45, users in third- and fourth-tier cities, and users with online consumption capacity above 1000 yuan; the proportion of male users, users aged 36-45, users in first-tier cities, and users with high online consumption capacity in WeChat mini-games has increased significantly.
5. AI has evolved from an R&D efficiency improvement tool to a core element that reshapes game products and business models. Game enterprises are deploying AI through multiple paths such as creation platforms, self-developed products, and production pipelines. Industry competition has shifted to technological games around AI-native interaction and virtual world ecological construction
According to QuestMobile data, in May 2026, the active penetration rate of AIGC APPs in the mobile game APP industry has reached 38.7%, a year-on-year increase of 14.6 percentage points.
6. Domestic game enterprises combine their own resources to explore differentiated overseas deployment, relying on different advantages such as R&D, culture, and capital to expand overseas markets and improve the global industrial layout
II. Mobile Game APP Industry: Newly launched mobile games are expanding in diverse ways, with the flight shooting track exploding
1. The approval of domestic game licenses maintains a steady expansion trend. The total number of approvals in the first half of 2026 increased by 21.1% year-on-year, and the stable and sufficient supply of licenses continuously releases the space for new game creation and commercialization in the industry
2. Many high-heat works have emerged among newly launched mobile games in 2026, with the top 10 new games having diverse category layouts; Tencent Games holds traffic advantages, heavy long-cycle games have gained a large number of users, puzzle and casual new games occupy four spots, with outstanding user stickiness performance
According to QuestMobile data, in May 2026, the monthly active user sizes of Roco Kingdom: World APP, Goose Goose Duck APP, and Colorful World APP were 17.482 million, 9.04 million, and 7.162 million respectively.
3. Roco Kingdom: World, derived from a classic IP, has attracted over 10 million users after launch, with a high proportion of male users, mainly users under 35 years old. Relying on the lightweight cartoon style inherent in the IP, it broadens the audience boundary of the track, and the proportion of female users is higher than the industry average of MMORPGs
4. The social reasoning game Goose Goose Duck meets players' social game-playing needs through online interaction, and the coloring creation game Colorful World adapts to the public's relaxation demands with low-threshold decompression creation. The segmented experience broadens the puzzle and casual category and gains market favor
According to QuestMobile data, in May 2026, users of Goose Goose Duck and Colorful World are both concentrated among male users under 35 years old, and their active proportions are higher than the industry average of puzzle and casual games.
5. There are significant differences in user duration across segmented mobile game tracks. Users of heavy competitive and long-cycle cultivation categories have deeper immersion, while light casual and racing categories focus on broad audience coverage. Among them, the flight shooting track has maintained double-digit growth in duration for two consecutive years
6. The top 10 flight shooting mobile games in May show a "one superpower with multiple strong players" pattern. Tencent's Delta Ops has a user base of nearly 70 million, while the new Tencent titles Valorant: Mobile and Crossfire: Future have performed outstandingly. Other game developers' titles such as Mini Gunfight Elite, White Night Aurora, and Thunder Fighter: Assembly have achieved year-on-year growth in user size
7. The two top shooting products are complementary in differentiation. Delta Ops attracts over 70% of male users under 35 with hardcore realistic tactical content, while the mass-market game Game for Peace has a balanced gender ratio among its audience, deeply cultivates the sinking market, stabilizes the existing user base, forming a track pattern of "new titles drive growth, established titles defend the basic market"
8. Thunder Fighter: Assembly takes retro vertical air combat level-breaking as its core gameplay, creates a differentiated segmented track relying on classic IP, and targets male users under 40 years old in first- and second-tier cities as its main audience; from the perspective of usage time, traffic increases significantly at night, with a growth rate of 1.7% between 23:00 and 24:00
