Recap: As gaming goes mobile and mainstream, app developers are finding it worth their while to cater to female gamers. They're both cheaper to acquire as customers and spend more on in-app purchases compared to their male counterparts.

Think you know what the most desirable mobile gamer looks like? Think again.

According to Liftoff's 2018 Mobile Gaming Apps Report, female app users are less expensive to acquire and engage more compared to males, making the demographics both power users and super-shoppers.

The firm's data indicates that at $7.51, females cost 20.2 percent less than males to acquire and they have a 26 percent higher conversion rate. Liftoff also found that 16.7 percent of females make an in-app purchase after installation which is a whopping 79 percent higher than for males.

While females may be more lucrative than males, Liftoff is quick to highlight the key differences between the genders and their preferences. Insight consultant DeltaDNA, for example, found that men typically prefer strategy and action games while women tend to lean towards puzzle games. Casino games, however, are near gender neutral.

Looking at individual platforms, we continue to see that iOS is the platform of choice for big spenders. According to recent data published by App Annie, Android users accounted for 70 percent of total downloads in 2017 yet generated only 34 percent of total app consumer spending.

Due to the massive growth of Android as a platform (1.5 million new Android devices are activated daily), Google's mobile OS will continue to be a worthwhile endeavor for developers to pursue.