- Formula
- Share of revenue from top X% of payers
- Unit
- %
- Models
- Gaming
| top 0.15% of payers | 50% | Swrve via CNBC; Game Developer |
| top 10% of payers | 64% | Swrve via CNBC; Game Developer |
What it is
Whale concentration measures the share of in-app purchase (IAP) revenue that comes from the top X% of paying players. Defined as: share of revenue from top X% of payers.
How to calculate it
Rank all paying users by cumulative spend in a period, identify the top X% cohort, sum their revenue, and divide by total IAP revenue for the same period. Express as a percentage.
Why it matters
In mobile gaming, revenue is highly skewed toward a small group of high-spending players ("whales"). Understanding this concentration tells product and monetisation teams how exposed the business is to churn among a tiny cohort, and informs decisions around VIP programmes, segmented offers, and risk diversification.
Benchmarks & pitfalls
According to Swrve via CNBC and Game Developer data (2014–15), approximately 50% of IAP revenue came from just 0.15% of players, and the top 10% of payers accounted for roughly 64% of revenue. These figures are now roughly a decade old; treat them as directional rather than current industry standards. The concentration ratio you report depends entirely on the X% threshold chosen — always specify the cutoff when sharing this metric internally or externally.