How much do whales spend on mobile games?
Whales can spend an astronomical amount on mobile games, with averages ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. As a passionate mobile gamer and content creator, I‘ve done extensive research into this top-spending demographic that is critical to the mobile gaming industry.
According to a 2021 Game Marketing Genie survey of developers, publishers are willing to pay over $500 in ad costs to acquire a single whale. Why? Because they know that on average, these big spenders will shell out up to $10,000 over their lifetime in the game.
The Whaling Spectrum in Gachas
In gacha-style games with loot box mechanics, you can‘t pinpoint an exact threshold for what constitutes a whale. Generally speaking, whaling refers to spending sizable amounts of real-world money to obtain rare characters, weapons, skins and other virtual goods.
Based on self-reported spending amounts, here is a spectrum of whaling levels seen in the popular game Genshin Impact:
| Dolphin | $100 – $500 |
| Baby Whale | $500 – $5,000 |
| Whale | $5,000 – $10,000 |
| Mega Whale | $10,000+ |
As you can see, whales start at around $5,000 spent, with the highest tier ("mega whale") crossing into five figures of spending.
Does Whale Spending Pay Off?
For publishers and developers, catering to whales in the game economy pays dividends. While they make up around 2% of players, whales can drive a staggering 50-70% of total revenue.
Take Genshin Impact – a 2021 analysis found that Chinese mega whales contributed $300 million in spending alone, making up 30% of global revenue. So while the average mobile gamer spends minimally each month, whales can single-handedly float profitable titles.
What Motivates These Big Spenders?
As an avid gacha gamer myself, I‘ve noticed a few key motivations behind whaling behavior:
Competition: Whales wield the most powerful characters/weapons to dominate leaderboards and PvP arenas. The drive to win against others fuels spending.
Completion: OCD tendencies drive whales to collect every character/item possible via spending.
Customization: Whales spend to stand out – buying skins, accessories, and bling for bragging rights.
There‘s also evidence that the same dopamine hit from loot box mechanics hooks whales and gets them chasing the next rare pull. The rewards are just too unpredictable – and exciting – to resist.
Spending Comparison
Let‘s contrast whales with dolphins (moderate spenders) and fish/plankton (F2P players):
| Yearly Spending | Monthly Spending | |
| Whales | $5,000 – $10,000+ | $400 – $800+ |
| Dolphins | $100 – $500 | $10 – $40 |
| Plankton/Fish (F2P) | $0 | $0 |
The plankton and small fish don‘t spend anything, but they support titles through ads and word-of-mouth marketing. But it‘s the whales and dolphins that deliver actual revenue through big and moderate in-app purchase spending.
The Reign of the Mobile Whale
Whales deliver life-supporting value to publishers, making up the bulk of gacha game profits. And with more mobiles games adopting loot box draws and battle pass subscriptions, I expect the reign of mobile whales is only beginning.
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