[Sensor Tower] [Report] 2024 Mobile Game Market Insights
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Press release: April 18, 2024
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[Report] 2024 Mobile Game Market Insights
*You can download the full report for free*
2023 was a year that symbolized changes in the mobile game industry. In addition to dynamically changing markets and user acquisition challenges, game operations continue to evolve, new IP collaborations continue to emerge, and new titles and genres continually emerge. Meanwhile, mobile casual games and emerging markets revenues grew.
This report delves into the data behind global mobile gaming market trends from 2023 onwards and examines the key factors influencing the huge changes in the mobile gaming market. We also explore new collaboration strategies for popular titles and top publishers, find out how successful games grasp market trends and attract players, and uncover monetization opportunities across genres. In addition, the popular game “MONOPOLY”
GO!” and “Royal Match” to gain a deep understanding of the operational strategies behind them.
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Special Note: This report only aggregates IAP estimates of app store revenue and excludes advertising revenue and third-party Android market revenue in mainland China. All revenue data is net revenue after deducting 15% to 30% taxes and app store system usage fees. * Download the full report for free
Global mobile game IAP revenue declines 2%, but mobile casual game revenue increases 8%
2023 was a transformative year for the mobile gaming market. Google Total IAP revenue decreased 2% to $54 billion due to lower revenue from Play, but the decline was slower than the 9% decline in 2022. On the other hand, mobile mid-core games are facing the problem of declining revenue, while mobile casual/hybrid casual games are growing.
In a market environment where user acquisition costs continue to increase, the mobile gaming industry is facing changes in casual gamers, and the trend of “casualization” of mobile games is becoming more pronounced. In Q4 2023, mid-core gaming global revenue declined 9% year-on-year, while MONOPOLY
Revenue from casual games that are easier to play, such as “GO!” and “Royal Match,” increased by 8% year-on-year, and is a mobile hybrid that combines the play methods and monetization methods of
hyper-casual and mid-core games. Revenue from casual games increased significantly by 30% compared to the same period last year.
Looking at mobile game genres, casino games were the most prominent with an 18% increase compared to the same period last year, with Scopely’s MONOPOLY
GO!” benefited from its outstanding track record. Puzzle game revenue increased 10% year-on-year as mobile Evergreen games such as Royal Match, Candy Crush, and Gardenscapes maintained high retention rates and had an excellent track record in monetization. Mobile action game revenue increased 7% year-on-year, with hybrid casual games such as Dada Survivor effectively retaining users and increasing revenue. RPG, Strategy
, and mid-core games such as shooting decreased by 10% to 13% compared to the same period last year.
Revenues soar outside of Asia; mobile game players’ preferences differ by market.
Global mobile gaming total revenue decreased by 2%, but each region had different trends. In the Middle East, “Whiteout Survival” and “Rise
of Kingdoms” and other strategies.
Mobile gaming revenue increased by 8% as games performed exceptionally well. In Europe, downloads fell 12%, but revenue increased 7%, with growth driven by casual puzzle games such as Candy Crush and Gardenscapes. In the Latin American region, “Call
of Duty(R): Mobile” and “Free”
The performance of shooting games such as “Fire” was outstanding, increasing revenue by 4%. In comparison, downloads and revenue in Asia declined by 10% and 6%, respectively.
Mobile game players in Europe and North America prefer casual games, while spending on mid-core games accounts for 79% of mobile game spending in Asia, which is the main reason for the decline in revenue. This is the cause. In the Middle East and Latin America regions, spending on mid-core games accounts for around 53% of the total, with “Free
It offered growth opportunities for mid-core games like “Fire” and “League of Legends: Wild Rift.”
New Live Operations Becomes an Effective Strategy for User Acquisition and Retention in Mobile Games
With user acquisition costs remaining high, retaining and monetizing existing users through live operations has become extremely important. 『MONOPOLY』
Go!’s “Baking Partners!” event and “Pokemon
GO’s Journey Through Time event increased mobile gaming revenue by 250% in the first three days, generating over $2.3 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
In 2023, a new trend in game management will be the implementation of in-app events through cross-industry collaboration between game IP and non-game real brands. 『Stumble
‘Guys’ is a classic case of this, with the original game IP becoming a hot topic.
We’ve partnered with brands like Wheels, NERF, Rabbids, Barbie, and MrBeast to release certain new items, skins, maps and game modes. The collaboration with MrBeast was by far the most effective, increasing downloads by 600%.
Innovative advertising creative supports the development of new markets for mobile games
When releasing mobile games, game manufacturers are constantly optimizing their digital advertising strategies and creating unique and diverse advertising creatives to effectively increase mobile game downloads, revenue, and user data.
Utilizing a game’s own IP or collaborating with other IP is already a key strategy for popular advertising creatives. Take Roblox, the third-largest mobile game in the world in revenue in 2023, for example, which has partnered with many of the world’s famous brands such as Nike and Gucci to increase its name recognition and number of users. 『MONOPOLY』
GO!, which emphasizes the Monopoly IP in almost all advertising creatives, has been downloaded over 100 million times in less than a year since its release.
The popular mobile Evergreen game attracts old users back with creative advertising creatives and maintains steady user activity. In April 2023, “Gardenscape” published a large number of advertising creatives that appealed to former users, and succeeded in increasing the number of downloads and revenue by 270% and 64%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Utilizing celebrities, influencers, and user-generated content (UGC) in ad creative to get closer to players has become a popular strategy in mobile game ad marketing. “Candy Crush” will be performed by American rock band Jonas at the Game Music Festival in May 2023. We collaborated with Brothers to conduct live operations and publish advertising creatives to encourage players to download and make purchases. UGC ad creatives that feature real people demonstrating how to play the game are similarly widely used, combining the strengths of low cost and organic traffic déjà vu.
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Further information can be found on our website:
https://sensortower.com/ja/blog/state-of-mobile-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, strengthening 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
Updates on blogs and reports can be found on Sensor Tower Japan X (formerly Twitter):
https://twitter.com/SensorTower_JP
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