Sensor Tower said on the 27th that it released the "2026 Asia-Pacific game advertising trend insights" report.
The report analyzed game advertising expenditure and impression trends, genre shares, publisher rankings, and channel-by-channel advertising strategies for major markets including the United States, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, China, and Taiwan.
In 2025, digital advertising expenditure in the global game industry increased overall. The United States maintained its position as the largest market, recording $9.1 billion, up 23% from a year earlier. In Asia, advertising expenditure also expanded, centered on Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, and Indonesia.
Ad impressions also trended upward. The United States recorded 886.3 billion, up 11% from a year earlier, while Asia saw strong growth with Japan up 115%, India up 81%, and Korea up 52%.
By genre, puzzle and strategy games had high shares. In the U.S. market, puzzle games accounted for 34% and strategy games 17%, for a combined 51%. Japan posted a combined 50% for the two genres, and Korea 55%, highlighting ad execution centered on those genres.
Advertising channels remained centered on mobile apps. For puzzle, the mobile app share was 86% in the United States, 88% in Japan, and 75% in Korea, while strategy tended to use a mix of channels including social media.
In major publisher ad impressions, Tencent ranked No. 1 in the United States, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while in Korea and Japan, Nexon and local publishers, respectively, took top spots.
In the case study, "Grow Maple" drew attention. The game recorded cumulative global revenue of $130 million within two months of launch and ranked No. 1 in Korean mobile game revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025. It was analyzed to have effectively reached its core user base through a Facebook-centered advertising strategy.
Sensor Tower said the report offers insights that corporations can use to optimize advertising strategies, acquire users, and identify growth opportunities.