The global mobile games market is projected to grow two-fold from its current $5.4 billion into a $10 billion behemoth by 2013, revealed Juniper Research.

While the launch of the Apple iPhone did act as a catalyst in giving the sector a boost by providing new platform for publishers and developers to work on, the volume of paid-for mobile game downloads has nonetheless shown a downswing across North America and Western Europe, bringing fears of players exiting the market, added the research.

“The revenue share offered by Apple to games’ publishers is incredibly attractive. The danger is that if operators do not respond with a similar business model, publishers faced with low margins may simply exit Java completely, thereby reducing consumer choice in the longer term,” commented the author Dr Windsor Holden.

Furthermore, it found a pick up in ad-funded downloads but the revenue generated from advertising alone may not be adequate to provide developers or operators with a primary revenue stream.

Besides, with cost per mille (CPM) rates likely to fall in the face of pressures on advertising budgets, advertising would be largely employed by most publishers as a means of monetizing older content, said it.

However, the Juniper study remained confident about prospects for growth in regions such as the Indian Sub Continent, Africa/Middle East and South America.