App Store versus Play revenue split: Sensor Tower’s store estimates, fees included

Sensor Tower’s State of Gaming 2026 materials put App Store game revenue near $52.5 billion and Google Play near $30 billion for 2025, while Play still leads downloads. Those are store consumer-spend estimates on two official stores—not net publisher proceeds after fees and taxes, and not China Android third-party spend. State of Gaming release; methodology notes in the report PDF.

Fees and countries are part of the split

Sensor Tower’s documented IAP scope includes paid downloads, in-app purchases and subscriptions from the App Store and Google Play and excludes third-party Android downloads. Revenue is commonly discussed as gross consumer spend inclusive of store take. Country mix matters: high-ARPU markets weight iOS; high-volume markets weight Play. A first-OS decision that cites “iOS wins revenue” without fee treatment and country coverage is incomplete.

Secondary outlets repeat the $52.5B / $30B split from Sensor Tower; they are not independent measurements.

Use the split carefully

Our recommendation is to record estimator, gross-versus-net treatment, stores covered and whether China Android third-party is included before using the split in a launch memo. Missing fee or country fields stay blank.

Inspect the evidence

Download the source-population and comparability card. The extraction separates documented facts from our analysis and unknowns.

Further reading in the existing archive: authority Sensor Tower IAP-scope card; Blended ROAS Calculation: Where It Quietly Goes Wrong. These links provide background; this check does not independently verify their full contents.