There’s a deluge of new data and research to wade through in the mobile games business. Our regular data drop column breaks it all down into digestible chunks.
Read on for the numbers you need to know about minus the fluff.
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Monopoly Go earned $800m in Q4 alone, says Hasbro
IP holder Hasbro had some eyebrow-raising stats on Monopoly Go in a recent earnings call.
CEO Chris Cox said it is the “number one mobile game launch of all time in the US”, beating the likes of Pokémon Go and Candy Crush Saga as “the fastest mobile title to reach $1 billion in the US”.
He added: “In Q4 alone, the game drove more than $800m in revenue worldwide for Scopely.”
Niantic’s pet sim Peridot earned under $100k last month, says Appmagic
While its latest launch Monster Hunter Go has been performing well, spare a thought for Niantic’s virtual pet sim Peridot, which launched in May last year.
A glance at Appmagic’s stats on the game suggests it earned Niantic just over $93k in January 2024, down from its launch month peak of ~$565k. Lifetime downloads to date stands at ~1.8m, with revenue – minus platform fees and local taxes – standing at around $2.35m to date.
Appmagic says Monster Hunter Now, meanwhile, has earned ~$103m from ~9.6m downloads since it launched in September 2023.
AppLovin’s bumper earnings send shares rocketing
Blowout earnings for AppLovin saw the company’s stock price shooting up over 17.4 after it reported its Q4 earnings.
The adtech giant closed off 2023 with $953m in Q4 revenue, a 36% increase year-on-year, while net income clocked in at $172m with a net margin of 18%. For the quarter, adjusted EBITDA almost doubled to $476m.
For the year as a whole, revenue came to $3.3bn – a 17% increase year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 41% to $1.5bn, reflecting a margin of 46%.
AppLovin is still focused on its UA and ad monetisation business, which it calls its ‘software platform’, which saw its revenue increase 76% to $1.8bn in 2023. On the flipside, the company’s apps business saw revenue dip 18% to $1.4bn for the year.
TikTok says 1 in 4 people worldwide will play on mobile
A new report from TikTok and the National Research Group says that mobile game players will surpass 2bn worldwide – meaning that 1 in 4 humans on the planet will be mobile gamers. Most of that growth will come from Asia and Latin America.
It goes on to urge marketers to focus on getting long term loyalty, establishing cultural relevance and fostering a community among audiences. And to do that, the report says marketers must cast a wider net and understand what TikTok calls ‘the modern gamer’: players who seek out “immersive, social, and innovative” games.
‘The modern gamer’ also plays at least seven hours a week on mobile and is:
- 1.6x as likely to be loyal to specific brand or franchises
- Have a one-in-three chance of being an early adopter of new titles and platforms
- Twice as likely to share their thoughts on games with their peers
- 84% more likely to watch over 20 hours of streaming a week
- Five times more likely to follow popular culture
Alien Invasion boosts Embracer’s mobile arm for Q3
Embattled Swedish games firm Embracer Group saw mobile games net sales rise by 4% for the last three months of 2023, bringing in SEK 1.642bn ($158m) during Q3.
The company boasted of a ‘record strong’ adjusted EBIT for its mobile games division, which rose 32% to SEK 611m ($58.8m) with a 37% margin. Embracer called out Easybrain’s “continued solid performance” as well as Alien Invasion – bought by CrazyLabs in Q2 – as being its second-largest mobile title for Q3.
CEO Lars Wingefors told shareholders Embracer had “an increased focus on profitability within mobile” at the moment.
Overall, Embracer’s net sales for the quarter rose by 4% to SEK 12bn ($1.16bn) while EBIT clocked in at SEK 273m ($22.3m).
Nitro Games delivers record revenue, still in the red overall
Autogun Heroes maker Nitro Games ended 2023 with yet another record quarter for revenue. For the three months ending December 31 2023, the company reported revenue of €2.9m ($3.13m), a 25% increase year-on-year and bang on the company’s forecast.
Nitro’s net result for the period clocked in at over €302k ($326k) in the black, a considerable increase on the €613k ($662k) loss the company made in Q4 2022.
For the full year, Nitro saw its revenue rise 22% to €8.841m ($9.55m) though saw a net loss overall. However, the company is €3.28m ($3.54m) in the red for the period, though that is a slight improvement on the €3.61m ($3.9m) it saw last year.
Epic Story Interactive hits 100m downloads
Canadian studio Epic Story Interactive’s portfolio of games has been downloaded over 100 million times. The company says that this success is down to the likes of Slugterra: Slug it Out 2, Beyblade Burst Rivals and Ben 10 Heroes.
