Poki: Web Gaming Perceptions in 2026 - sponsored by PWN Games
The leading web platform in the world asked the audience and developers of what they think about web gaming.
Both surveys were conducted by Atomik Research. 400 developers from the US and UK were surveyed (70% primarily make mobile games, the rest PC), along with 2,000 “web gamers” from the same countries, selected on the criterion of playing web games at least once a week.
❗️This report was produced by Poki, one of the leading web platforms in the market. As always in these cases, noting a possible affiliation.
Poki is the largest web platform in the market. Its MAU is now over 100 million. In 2020 it was 10 million.
Engagement and Player Habits
37% of web gamers play web games multiple times a day, and another 20% once a day. 86% play at least a few times a week.
A typical session lasts 11-20 minutes (29% of respondents), and in a single session, a player tries 2-3 different games (49%).
A word from our sponsor
Still paying for impressions and clicks that never convert? Advertise your PC game with PWN Games! With our CPA model, you only pay when a player installs, engages, or pays. 250+ PC games promoted, 42M+ players acquired, 10 years in the business. Trusted by top PC game publishers worldwide.
90% combine web games with something else: 56% listen to music, 49% watch shows on Netflix/YouTube/TV, 38% use social media, 26% watch streams.
42% of surveyed web players own a PS4 or PS5. 34% own a gaming PC, and 27% each said they own an Xbox or a Nintendo Switch 1/2. It’s fair to assume people aren’t playing web games for lack of powerful hardware.
When we speak of motivation, 58% of users say they play web games because they’re free. 56% cite ease of access. For 52%, it’s important to be able to jump in quickly. And 34% like that web games don’t need to be downloaded.
Web games are played mostly at home during downtime (80%), during short breaks (34%), commuting to school/work (22%), and at school/work itself (15%).
46% have abandoned a mobile game because it took too long to load, 28% because of a large install size. The numbers are a bit lower on PC/console: 32% and 26% respectively.
27% of all web gamers spend more than $50 a month on games (across all platforms, including game purchases, subscriptions, IAP, and hardware). Among the most active web gamers, that figure is higher, at 35%.
❗️Unfortunately, the report has no direct data on how much web gamers spend within web games themselves. That, of course, would have given a far more informative picture of the platform’s prospects.
Developer Sentiment
53% of developers plan to port a mobile game to web within 12 months, another 41% plan to port from PC/console. 51% have plans to release a native HTML5 title. Only 8% have no plans to work with web.
74% consider releasing a title on the web fairly easy.
The main barrier developers see in publishing web games is technical complexity (53%), likely referring to porting from other platforms. Other cited reasons: insufficient revenue or insufficient users (36% each), poor audience quality (32%), revenue cannibalization from other platforms (31%).
Among the upsides: creative freedom (54%), the ability to reach new audiences (53%), new revenue (47%), discoverability (46%).
