Why browser games are the next billion-dollar bet

Browser gaming is booming.

Research by distribution platform Playgama shows the number of HTML5 games released in the first half of 2025 had almost tripled year-on-year to 15,000. That’s also 4.9 times the number that launched in H1 2023. Fellow distribution service Poki reports that it is seeing 100m monthly active users in 2026, up an order of magnitude since 2020’s 10m.

Data from Ahrefs.com shows that Poki sees 122.5m visits a month, while rival service CrazyGames sees 61.1m. Compared to visits five years ago, that’s an increase of 569% and 673% respectively.

That kind of growth is unheard of in games as the market matures.

It’s also a far cry from the perception of the web games industry; many feel that this peaked with the Java and Flash game boom of the 2000s. That technology has gone the way of the dodo, but many of today’s major players in the HTML5 games space have their roots here. Both Poki and CrazyGames were founded in 2014 as Flash was on the decline. The former was started by University of Amsterdam students Michiel Van Amarogen and Bas Moeys, who focused on bringing titles to the open web while the industry focused on the closed ecosystem of app stores. In that same year, CrazyGames was set up by brothers Raf and Tomas Mertens. Flash might have died, but web games are still thriving and seeing monumental growth year-on-year thanks to HTML5.

There are a few reasons for this kind of momentum. Research from Poki – conducted by Atomik Research – shows that 37% of gamers play web games “multiple times per day”. This audience is also valuable, with 27% spending $50 per month on these kinds of experiences. Meanwhile, 46% of developers say that web games are appealing as a means of addressing the discoverability issue facing creators across the industry.

There’s also the simple fact that HTML5 games can be played on pretty much any device without friction. No massive downloads, no Day One patches and less of the kind of aggressive monetisation that has characterised parts of the games industry.

The market has caught the eye of the studios behind some of the biggest hits in the world of mobile – such as Sybo’s Subway Surfers, Talking Tom and Friends from Outfit7 and Tilting Point’s Spongebob title, coming to CrazyGames shortly – which have brought their blockbusters to the world of web games, too.

Web games are also very of the moment; instant video platforms such as TikTok have normalised the notion of “micro-moments” where users turn to entertainment on their device of choice.

When asked why they think web gaming is on the up, Andy Gill, founder of Deer Cat Games mentioned how “Players love instantly playable games with no downloads. Anecdotally, I also think people are tired of too many egregious ads in mobile games,” echoing research from ZBD which says that 43% of Gen Z say ads ruin the experience of playing a game.

There are also a broader array of devices out there that are capable of playing HTML5 titles. As developer Happylander says, “You can find HTML5 games as part of entertainment systems on airlines, coaches, trains, hospitals, prisons as well as gaming portals, brand campaigns and mobile operator bundles.”

The tech widely used by developers for making PC and console titles can also be used to make web games. For example, Playgama’s research shows that Unity was the engine of choice behind 55% of games released in Q2 2025, in part thanks to the company’s adoption of WebGPU in 2024’s Unity 6. Looking to the future, this will help the sector grow as standardised tools will lower the barrier to entry for developers not native to HTML5.

There are technical reasons for the proliferation of HTML5 games, too. Happylander says that there is a huge availability of “well-maintained frameworks, libraries and construction tools” for these kinds of experiences, while also saying that there has been an “explosion” of AI-generated titles.

“Device and browser tech improvements over the years allowing more complex and detailed games have helped, too,” they say.

Despite the wealth of advances made, many still perceive HTML5 games as being “lower-fi” experiences, especially compared to the cutting-edge experiences coming out on PC and console. As a result, it stands to reason that web games could stand to benefit from the hardware situation – the shortage of RAM and NAND due to demand on the back of AI data centre construction. But those in the HTML5 space say that this isn’t the case.

“I suspect it may end up hurting new console and other device sales,” Gill says. “People will keep playing on their old devices for longer, but not necessarily drive people towards HTML5 games.”

Poki COO Stein Janssen also says that the notion that web games are played on older or less powerful hardware is fallacious. That adds up with Atomik Research’s study which found that 71% of web gamers also own consoles or gaming rigs.

“A huge portion of web players also own premium hardware, playing web titles during commutes and breaks in between AAA gaming sessions,” he says. “It proves that instant, zero-friction play appeals just as much to hardcore gamers as it does for players feeling priced out by rising prices.”

Despite a monumental rise, web games are not immune to challenges. Poki’s Janssen says that due to a lack of friction, the audience moves freely between different games until they find something attention-grabbing.

“While that encourages players to discover multiple titles in a single session, developers have to design exceptionally tight engagement loops,” he explains. “That requires a mindset shift for developers used to designing titles for mid and hardcore players.”

Data from browser game platform CrazyGames shows that, on average, users spend 30 minutes playing a web game per session, indicating a dedicated audience when they find something they enjoy.

The future of the web games market is bright: Statista, drawing on research from Inkwood Partners, predicts the web games market to grow from $19.28 billion in revenue this year to $28.44 billion by 2032.

Poki’s Janssen says that far from being an outlier, web games will become more of a default for games companies.

“I envision a future where studios won’t be asking if their title belongs on browsers anymore, but rather which version sits alongside their console or mobile releases,” he says.

There’s clearly an appetite for experiences that don’t require huge beefy PCs or cutting-edge technology; just look at Roblox – that platform isn’t known for its technical or graphical fidelity but is nonetheless wildly successful and lucrative.

At a point in time when the industry looks more precarious than ever before – ever-growing budgets, dwindling chances of success – perhaps the industry could do worse than to adopt a slightly simpler way of doing things.