According to the 2026 Japan Game Market Insights report released by Sensor Tower on the 23rd, in-app purchase (IAP) revenue for mobile games in Japan reached over $10 billion during the 12-month period leading up to July 2026. Although this represents a 5.1% decrease year-over-year, it was more than double the figure for South Korea.
Japan's mobile game revenue totaled approximately 1.56 trillion yen, ranking second in Asia behind China's iOS market. This was roughly four times that of Taiwan. During the same period, downloads were estimated at approximately 585 million, down 5.4% year-over-year, while total time spent playing reached approximately 16.7 billion hours. Sensor Tower analyzed that although downloads and play time have declined from past peaks, they have remained relatively stable in recent years, demonstrating the characteristics of a mature market where existing user engagement and sustained monetization are critical.
In contrast to mobile, sales in the PC and console segments grew. In the first half of 2026, PC and console game unit sales in Japan reached approximately 21 million units, representing year-over-year growth. The action genre, which held the largest share, sold 5.9 million units with a growth rate of 22.4%, outperforming the global action genre's 9.7% growth. Sales in the racing genre also increased by 60.1% compared to the same period last year.
Resident Evil Requiem ranked first in PC and console game unit sales in Japan during the first half of the year. Meanwhile, the indie game Meccha Chameleon achieved strong success on Steam. The report noted that alongside established popular franchises, indie games featuring creative concepts are also attracting significant attention.
In terms of publisher market share in the mobile market, Japanese companies maintained their lead, while Chinese publishers saw their revenue share expand. In Q2 2026, Japan-headquartered publishers accounted for 28% of downloads and 46% of IAP revenue, holding the highest share by country. Chinese publishers' IAP revenue share rose from 24% in the same period last year to 28%. Among games from overseas publishers, 4X strategy titles such as Last War: Survival and Whiteout Survival generated high revenues, while RPGs including Honkai: Star Rail, Goddess of Victory: Nikke, and Genshin Impact also ranked near the top.
In the Japan mobile game IAP revenue rankings from January to July 2026, eFootball climbed 6 spots to claim the 1st position. Sensor Tower stated that World Cup-related events boosted user engagement and spending, leading to its highest-ever monthly revenue in July. Monster Strike ranked 2nd and Last War: Survival placed 3rd, followed by Whiteout Survival and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby.
In downloads, Block Blast! maintained its 1st-place position. The new title hololive Dreams took 2nd place, while Arrows Puzzle Escape surged 52 spots to reach 3rd. Roughly one-third of downloads across all genres came from puzzle games, and downloads in the puzzle sort subgenre grew 45.8% year-over-year.
By IAP revenue share by genre, RPGs accounted for roughly one-third, while strategy games made up about 24%. Among subgenres, 4X strategy, propelled by the strong performance of Last War: Survival, grew 9.4% year-over-year to generate the highest revenue. Revenue for the realistic sports subgenre, which includes eFootball, also grew 8%. The report analyzed that major sports events and LiveOps operations contributed to sustained monetization.
The puzzle genre also stood out in ad impressions. Nine of the top 10 mobile games by ad impressions in Japan belonged to the puzzle or tabletop genres, with Block Blast! leading the market at approximately 3.65 billion impressions. Ad impressions per monthly active user (MAU) were recorded at 792 for Solitaire Associations Journey and 106 for Block Blast!.
This report covered overall trends in the Japanese mobile and PC/console game markets, the performance of key titles, user demographics, and advertising strategies. The full report can be found on Sensor Tower's official website.
