[Sensor Tower] [Report] Changes in the environment in IP games
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Press release: February 29, 2024
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[Report] Changes in the environment in IP games
*You can download the full report for free*
As the cost of player acquisition continues to rise, many developers and publishers are turning to IP (intellectual property) with broad appeal. In this report, we take a look at the top IP’s performance over the past few years, IP media type, parent company, and more. What you need to know – Key points:
– 『MONOPOLY』
GO! is the world’s highest grossing IP mobile game. That makes Scopely the No. 1 publisher in revenue from IP mobile games, and Hasbro the No. 1 IP parent company in mobile games.
– The wide appeal of IP is expanding to non-IP games due to the increase in in-app events due to IP collaboration.
– In 2023, several major IP titles were released on PC/console, including Warner Bros.’s Hogwarts Legacy.
This report analyzes trends and looks at the size and saturation of the IP mobile gaming market as IP holders and publishers consider the opportunities available from IP. We also cover in detail the top PC/console titles released in 2023.
Download the full report for free
Top 20 IP Parent Company Revenues
Parent companies are classified into IP operators and individual IPs. For example, Disney is a parent company that owns the IP operator Lucasfilm, which operates the Star Wars IP. IP is color-coded by IP media type. IP media type refers to the type of media in which the intellectual property first appeared. For example, Star Wars is a movie IP, and Monopoly is a board game IP.
If you look at the diagram above, you will see that “MONOPOLY” Go!’s Monopoly IP has made Hasbro the number one IP parent company in the world. In second place is South Korean game publisher NCSOFT, whose RPG Lineage has been a great success. Nintendo released “Pokemon”
It’s no surprise that it ranked in “GO”. 3rd place goes to “ONE PIECE” and “NARUTO”
-Naruto” and other hit anime/manga works, Hitotsubashi belongs to Shueisha. Group. Hitotsubashi
The Group has multiple powerful IPs under its umbrella, bucking the trend of a single blockbuster IP supporting the top IP parent company. Disney somewhat surprisingly came in at No. 5, but it similarly bucks the trend in that it not only has multiple strong IPs, but also a diverse range of IP media.
In 2021 and 2022, Japanese publisher Bandai Namco is enjoying mobile success with its Dragon Ball Z games.
Entertainment and the aforementioned Korean publisher NCSOFT, developer of the Lineage series, were the top two revenue earners for IP mobile games. Scopely also ranked in these years, but “Star It barely managed to break into 10th place thanks to games such as “Trek Fleet Command” and “MARVEL Strike Force.” 『MONOPOLY』 With the release of “GO!”, Scopely moved up 9 ranks to the top. Another interesting trend is Tencent’s rise to second place with League of Legends: Wild Rift. While this mobile MOBA hasn’t gained as much traction in the West, it’s been an incredible success in China, where it’s become the world’s highest-grossing game, Honor.
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That’s not too surprising considering that Kings is a mobile MOBA inspired by League of Legends and also owned by Tencent.
However, recently, in addition to the development of games that emphasize IP, another means of IP in mobile games has become prominent. It’s a collaboration in an in-game event. At these events, mobile games work with IP to drive downloads, revenue, and engagement. For example, in the past few months alone, Roblox has made a huge contribution to Canadian circus production company Cirque du Soleil, Japanese variety show “Fuun! Takeshi Castle”, celebrity Paris Hilton, and K-Pop group BLACKPINK have teamed up to develop many collaborations. Among these collaborations, the one with BLACKPINK seems to have earned the most, showing how passionate and dedicated K-Pop fans are.
However, unless the primary purpose of these partnerships is to drive user spending to match ad revenue, the apparent increase in user spending will only be superficial for Roblox. While other
collaborations haven’t seen significant increases in revenue, the wide variety of partnerships Roblox engages in shows its versatility as a platform.
On the other hand, just because you specialize in something doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at a disadvantage. In fact, strong synergies between mobile games and IP partners can significantly boost revenue. For example, the mobile game “NieR: Automata” recently partnered with the PC/console game IP “NieR: Automata” for an in-game event, which generated significant revenue.
“Goddess of Victory: NIKKE” is a sci-fi mobile RPG that features attractive characters, and it overlaps perfectly with “NieR: Automata.” This overlap makes it much more likely that NieR:Automata fans will enjoy NIKKE and spend money to acquire their favorite NieR:Automata characters. Ta. The resulting surge in revenue shows how the audiences for these two games overlap.
Going back to the topic, BLACKPINK is not only successful through in-app events. It has released its own mobile games and is one of the most successful games in the dwindling celebrity IP mobile game category. The most downloaded celebrity IP in the US is Ellen (who has released a series of mobile party games).
Things like DeGeneres and kids’ YouTube channels like Ryan’s World.
The renewed focus on IP has paid off in the past year for companies willing to make informed strategic bets. As privacy concerns make it more difficult to effectively target players, IP is a proven way to gain attention, and it’s not just for IP-focused games. We look forward to future developments.
Download the full report for free
Further information can be found on our website:
https://sensortower.com/ja/blog/landscape-shifts-in-ip-gaming-2024-report-JP Introduction to Sensor Tower
Sensor was founded in San Francisco in 2013.
Tower is a company that provides data and analysis environment for mobile apps/games. Trusted by global digital companies such as X (formerly Twitter), Unity, Tencent, and HBO, it is a digital analysis platform that provides store intelligence that helps you understand trends in the mobile market, and advertising intelligence that can be used to optimize your advertising strategy. We provide high-quality insights and advanced customer support for every aspect of mobile.
Sensor Tower was awarded Best Analytics/Best Analytics at Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2022.
Received the Data Tool Award.
Our Japan office will be relocated to Nippori, Tokyo from the summer of 2023 to strengthen our business in Japan, and the number of partner companies is rapidly increasing. We are increasing the number of our staff and will continue to strengthen our customer support.
Sensor Tower Japan Office Representative
Shogo Yachi
Further information about Sensor Tower can be found on our website: https://sensortower.com/ja
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