Mobile Gaming Stocks: 10 Biggest Companies in 2024

Market cap: US$3.058 trillion

Microsoft operates Xbox Game Studios, formerly known as Microsoft Studios, which encompasses 15 independent gaming studios. Rebranded in February 2019, Xbox Game Studios owns Minecraft, Halo, Kung Fu Chaos and Age of Empires.

Aside from that, the company's xCloud cloud gaming platform, launched in 2019, allows users to play a large curated library of games on browsers and mobile as long as they have a subscription and Bluetooth controller.

In October 2023, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in a US$69 billion deal — the biggest US tech play to date. With hallmark games such as Candy Crush Saga and Hearthstone, Activision Blizzard has a long history in the mobile gaming market. The company's biggest audience is mobile gamers, but it's also the gaming titan behind PC and console games like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Overwatch and Call of Duty.

Microsoft is reportedly considering launching an Xbox mobile game store to rival Apple and Google. “We have a different vision for the future of gaming. A future where players have a unified experience across devices. A future where players can easily discover a vast array of games with a diverse spectrum of business models,” said Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in an internal memo to employees.

Market cap: US$2.603 trillion

Apple launched its video game subscription service Apple Arcade in March 2019. Offering a wide selection of mobile games, Apple Arcade provides in-house game development and features acclaimed brands and game developers. Apple Arcade offers over 100 games on which the company works intimately with creators.

The ability to market and sell mobile games through the App Store has proved a boon for both the mobile gaming industry and Apple itself which takes a 30 percent cut of revenues generated from those sales. Along with Tencent and Sony, Apple ranked among the top three public companies by game revenues, followed closely by Microsoft for the first half of 2023.

In April, Apple made a significant change to the App Store, allowing customers to download game simulator apps. This includes iGBA, which allows users to play Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color games on their iPhone or iPad.

Market cap: US$2.125 billion

NVIDIA designs graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming and chip units for mobile devices. The company has a long history — with the invention of the GPU in 1999, NVIDIA spurred growth in the PC gaming market. While hitherto available mainly on PC platforms, in 2022 NVIDIA brought games such as Fortnite to gamers on iOS and Android apps.

The company now has its own cloud gaming service known as GeForce Now. In 2022, NVIDIA partnered with AT&T (NYSE:T) to give AT&T 5G network customers access to GeForce Now games. In 2023, the pair will extend the offering to AT&T fiber customers.

NVIDIA announced at the start of this year that its G-Sync support will be added to its GeForce NOW cloud game streaming service to enhance gamer visual and immersive experience. G-Sync, "synchronizes a display's refresh rate to the GPU to mitigate unwanted screen tearing, display stutter, and input lag," explains Hot Hardware.

Market cap: US$1.937 trillion

In 2019, Alphabet, known widely as Google, launched Stadia, a cloud gaming service that doesn’t require any special hardware. A variety of games can be purchased in the Stadia store and played via Wi-Fi and wired internet connections.

However, Stadia was not as successful as Alphabet had hoped. The company is now reportedly moving toward more streaming technology partnerships with game publishers, dubbing its white label offering Google Stream.

For 2023, the Google Play Store reportedly generated an estimated US$34 .3 billion in revenues, with about 60.5 percent attributed to mobile games. This revenue stream may be in jeopardy following Epic Games epic win in its antitrust suit against Google.

Market cap: US$1.248 trillion

Social media giant Meta Platforms product suite includes Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Meta Quest. More than three-quarters of internet users, or 3.59 billion people, actively engage with at least one of Meta's platforms. The company's ad networks are among the most successful for the mobile game sector.

In September 2023, Meta began testing of its online VR game Horizon Worlds for mobile and web platforms. "By making this game available for mobile and web users, Meta is now promoting cross-platform play instead of limiting the fun to VR gadgets," reports Android Headlines.

Market cap: US$360.677 billion

Tencent Holdings is the world’s largest gaming company by revenue. In terms of mobile, Tencent's PC emulator for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile allows users to play the mobile game on their PCs. The multiplayer battle royale game is available on Android and iOS. Tencent also owns games such as League of Legends, with League of Legends having a monthly active player base of between 140-160 million. League of Legends' mobile spinoff League of Legends: Wild Rift has drawn a growing player base as well.

Tencent is using its strong mobile gaming expertise to build up its AAA and console gaming business segment in order to better compete with western gaming companies. The company is now working on a mobile version of one its best-selling games, Elder Ring.

Market cap: US$184.073 billion

A global leader in wireless technology, Qualcomm has been driving the development and adoption of 5G technology. The company takes credit for the birth of mobile internet tech: “When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born.”

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon-branded mobile platforms power many of the top high-end gaming devices, such as Xiaomi (OTC Pink:XIACF,HKEX:1810), ASUS, Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930), and ZTE (SZSE:000063). Samsung is the official smartphone partner for its Snapdragon Pro Series, a leading esports competition for multiple mobile games, such as League of Legends: Wild Rift, Brawl Stars, PUBG, Clash of Clans and Free Fire.

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 has a suite of hyper-realistic mobile gaming enhancements, including AI, ray tracing and improved audio capabilities.

Market cap: US$149.925 billion

Founded in 1968, multinational tech firm Intel is one of the world’s most profitable semiconductor chip manufacturers. It produces microprocessors that power many of the world’s PCs and mobile devices.

Intel has a series of new gaming-focused mobile processors and graphics cards, including the 14th Gen Intel Core family of mobile processors released in early 2024 which has "four more efficiency cores than the 13th Gen Core i7 model and should improve multithreaded applications and game performance".

Nintendo’s franchise games are some of the most well-known and well-loved games in the world, including Mario ™ , Donkey Kong ™ , The Legend of Zelda ™ , and Pokémon ™. The Tokyo-based company manufactures and markets video game devices such as the Nintendo Switch ™ family of systems, as well as developing and operating applications for smart devices.

According to Statista, Nintendo has generated more than US$1.5 billion in lifetime revenue from mobile games as of October 2023. In April, Nintendo signed mobile game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate as a timed Switch exclusive, set to launch on Nintendo Switch this July.

Market cap: US$33.932 billion

Electronic Arts (EA) is a leading esports company. Its video game offerings cover many genres, from sports to action/adventure to role playing to family games. Among others, the California-headquartered company owns key titles such as the the Sims, Madden NFL, FIFA, Battlefield, Need for Speed, Dragon Age and Plants vs. Zombies.

EA has made some big changes to its business model in the first quarter of 2024. Following the merger of its mobile and HD franchise teams across EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and The Sims, the company cut 5 percent of its staff in February as part of ending licensing deals.

EA is switching its focus to growing its mobile games portfolio. "These games have entertained many people over the years, and it's the right time to focus our time on the remaining games in our portfolio which we believe can grow," said entertainment and technology president Laura Miele. "We have some great titles, and I'm optimistic about where we can take our significant library of owned-IP."