There’s a deluge of new data and research to wade through in the mobile games business. Our regular data digest 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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Pokémon Go surpasses $8bn in user spending
Niantic’s pocket monster blockbuster has brought in over $8bn in lifetime user spending, says Appmagic. During 2023, the data firm says net revenue clocked in at $567m, a 13% dip year-on-year, and the brought in $44m for the month of March 2024, roughly the same as March 2023. As ever, these figures do not include web shop revenue and the 30% taken by app stores.
Monster Hunter Now downloaded over 15m times
Niantic’s Monster Hunter Now has been downloaded more than 15m times to date, according to PocketGamer. The game was released back on September 14, 2023 and within one month had hit over 10m installs.
Appmagic says the game has now earned over $118m in IAP revenue (minus Apple and Google’s 30%) and earned about $10m in March and $7.4m in April.
Supercell and Benchmark back Web3 startup GFAL
Clash of Clans maker Supercell and Benchmark have taken part in a funding round for Web3 games start-up Games for a Living (GFAL). The studio’s latest raise totals $3.2m, bringing its total funds raised to date to $7.6m. GFAL recently soft-launched hero battler Elemental Raiders.
Wildlife Studios hits 3.5bn downloads
Tennis Clash maker Wildlife Studios says that its games have been downloaded more than 3.5bn times since the company was founded in 2011. During the last 13 years, the firm has released over 60 titles, it says, and in the last two years, Wildlife estimates its consumers have spent 270,000 years playing its games.
Mobile funding drops off cliff, says InvestGame
The amount of money being invested into mobile games firm has seen a considerable decline. InvestGame’s Gaming Deals Report for the first quarter of 2024 shows that M&A activity in the space has been practically non-existent for Q1, dropping from four deals at a $5.8bn valuation the previous year.
Meanwhile, mobile game firms are less popular among venture capital and private equity outfits due to weaker growth and performance compared to PC and console companies. In Q1 2024, there were only 11 such deals.
Finally, seed funding has remained stable, though this is not true for Series A or later-stage investment. Though fewer mobile firms have closed seed funding, the average amount they are receiving at this stage has only declined slightly.
Belka is laying off 20% of staff
Clockmaker studio Belka Games is laying off 20% of its staff. The developer confirmed the news to App2Top, which was later reported by Game World Observer, and said that this was due to a revision in strategy. Data from Appmagic shows that Belka’s monthly revenue has dropped down to between $5-6m recently, down from 2021’s high of roughly $10-11m.
74% of midcore installs driven by ads in casual games
Almost three quarters of midcore game installs are the result of ads in casual games, according to Liftoff’s Casual Gaming Apps Report. The data also shows that marketing displayed while consumers are playing this genre drove 74% of installs for midcore titles.
Meanwhile, hypercasual games drove installs of 29% of titles across all genres, while simulation and lifestyle titles were each behind 8% of game installs.
NetEase games revenue up 9.4% for 2023
Chinese giant NetEase has reported a 9.4% increase to its games revenue for 2023. In its annual report, the company declared net revenue of RMB81.6bn ($11.5bn) for its games division, and called out its mobile output – such as MMO Justice and party platformer Eggy Party – as helping its games performance.
Revenue from NetEase’s developed games rose by 18.7% to RMB71bn ($10bn) in 2023, while licensed titles dove down 48.2% to RMB4.7bn ($668.6m).
Playdigious revises forecast up to €10-17m
Loop Hero publisher Playdigious has revised how much revenue it believes it will make from its current game pipeline upwards.
The company now believes that its release slate will now bring in between €10-17m ($10.7-18.2m), compared to the €6-14m ($6.4-15m) previously expected.
Playdigious is still on track to release between six and eight new games during the year, and currently has six unannounced mobile games in the works in addition to the recently released Loop Hero and upcoming Skul.
Phoenix Games buys PopReach for up to $9.8m
Phoenix Games has acquired Indian developer PopReach in a deal worth up to $9.8m. The acquisition includes IP and games such as Smurf’s Village and Gardens of Time. PopReach says its free-to-play portfolio has been downloaded over 420m times to date.
Activision Blizzard drives Xbox growth
The newly-acquired Activision Blizzard was behind 61% of the 62% year-on-year growth that Microsoft reported for its Xbox content and services division for the three months ending March 31st.
This helped offset a 31% decline in hardware revenue, resulting in the Xbox arm as a whole reporting revenue of $1.8bn, a 51% increase year-on-year.
