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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ZZZ pushes hack and slash genre to $112m
Sensor Tower data shows that the recently-released Zenless Zone Zero and Solo Leveling: Arise helped the hack and slash genre gross $112m in revenue for July. That’s around three times the figure these titles have made on average across the last four years.
Zenless Zone Zero didn’t see the biggest growth in downloads for July, however. That title goes to Offline Games – No Wifi Games, which launched in 2023 but saw a massive growth in installs for the month. It’s also the release with the highest number of downloads for July, too.
Hoyoverse’s latest release did, however, see the biggest spike in consumer spend for the month, coming in ahead of Pokémon Go, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle and Honor of Kings. Zenless Zone Zero was No.13 in the revenue charts globally, too.
Despite only being out in China, Dungeon and Fighter Mobile was once again the highest grossing game globally during July. Monopoly Go also held onto second place, while Honor of Kings rose up two places to third.
43% of games turn to hybrid monetisation
Almost half of mobile titles are now splitting monetisation between in-app advertising and in-app purchases. AppsFlyer data shows that 43% of games have turned to hybrid monetisation, up from 36% in 2023. 26% of hypercasual titles are using his model – up from 19% – as are 51% of midcore games, up from 41% last year. This shift, in part, is down to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, which has made advertising tracking more challenging.
Consumer spending has also dipped while in-app advertising has become more popular. In Q2, IAA rose 4% year-on-year driven by a 12% increase on Android. That helped to offset a 10% dip from iOS. The growth from Android was driven by hypercasual, simulation and puzzle titles.
Revenue up 44% at AppLovin
Marketing and analytics firm AppLovin made $1.08bn in revenue during its second quarter. That’s a 44% increase year-on-year, while net income almost tripled to $310m, rising 286%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 80% to $601m with a 56% margin.
Revenue from AppLovin’s software platform rose 75% to $771m, while its apps revenue hit $369m, a 7% increase.
Rovio helps Sega’s games sales shoot up 34%
Angry Birds maker Rovio helped Sega’s games arm clock a 34% increase in sales in Q1. This division brought in ¥72.5bn ($492.8m) for the company’s first quarter, with Sega calling out both the inclusion of Rovio’s sales but also an increase in full game sales year-on-year.
Overall, Sega reported a 3.2% decline in sales for its first quarter. In its release to investors, the company said it had brought in ¥104.7bn ($711.8bn) through net sales.
DnF Mobile drove 30% revenue increase at Nexon
Publisher Nexon has reported ¥122.5bn ($829m) in revenue for the three months ending June 30. This has been driven by the blockbuster launch of Dungeon and Fighter Mobile back in May.
However, Nexon does say that it expects revenue from the hit to “normalize” in its third quarter following the game’s “extremely strong launch”. Mobile revenue rose 125% year-on-year to ¥65.6bn ($443m); 54% of the company’s revenue came from mobile games.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery conjures up $500m
Sensor Tower reports that Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery has made over $500m in gross revenue. The title was released in 2018 but has seen prolonged success, sitting at the number spot for the adventure simulation genre for the first half of 2024. Over half the title’s revenue comes from the US, said the data firm.
Net sales up 24.8% at Bandai Namco
Japanese entertainment giant Bandai Namco has reported that it made ¥280bn ($1.9bn) in net sales for the three months ending June 30. That’s a 24.8% increase year-on-year, driven by its digital entertainment – aka games – division. That arm of the company brought in ¥106 billion ($725m) for the period, a 56.3% increase.
Krafton’s Q2 mobile revenue doubled year-on-year
Korean games firm Krafton reports that it made KRW499.9bn ($364.5m) from its mobile games division during Q2. That’s a 104.2% increase year-on-year driven in part by a 30% increase in paying users for PUBG: Mobile and a 40% spike in daily active users. Mobile comprised 70.7% of the company’s revenue for the quarter.
Square Enix mobile and browser sales drop 15%
Japanese giant Square Enix made ¥18.9bn ($128.5m) from its smart devices and browser game segment for the three months ending June 30.
That’s a 15% drop year-on-year, which the firm blames on weaker sales of its existing titles. Overall, Square posted an 18% dip in net sales for the period.
Nazara snaps up Love Island dev Fusebox for $27.2m
Indian games and sports giant Nazara Technologies has acquired London-based free-to-play specialist Fusebox for $27.2m. The firm is best known for interactive narrative games such as Love Island: The Game.
Grand Hotel Mania books $100m
Grand Hotel Mania has generated north of $100m in revenue, says My Games. The title has also been downloaded over 22m times, it said. The game launched back in 2019, and just passed its fifth birthday.
