- Reverse: 1999 celebrated its first anniversary since global release on October 26th
- The gacha RPG is on the verge of $100 million in gross revenue across Apple and Google stores
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Time travel RPG Reverse: 1999 is celebrating its first anniversary in the West as it verges on $100 million in gross mobile revenue.
The global version of Bluepoch’s debut game turned one year old on October 26th, and according to AppMagic data, it has made $98.7 million to date from player spending across Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.
The true total is likely higher when factoring in alternate app stores.
The milestone is no small feat for a brand-new IP, let alone a studio’s first game, especially with giant anime-style gacha RPGs like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail for competition.
Two versions, one anniversary
Bluepoch first released Reverse: 1999 in China on May 31st, 2023 ahead of its global launch on October 26th, 2023, meaning the title has technically taken more than a year to teeter on that $100 million mark.
However, the Chinese version has maintained its months-long lead over the global version in terms of content updates, so Bluepoch is treating the current period as Reverse: 1999’s worldwide anniversary.
Version 1.9 marked the first anniversary in China this May and took until September to arrive globally. Since then, players all over the world have had the chance to play through celebratory content, earn rewards, and roll for shiny new characters.
One year since going global, China remains Reverse: 1999’s most lucrative market, having contributed 67% of its revenue, equating to $66.1 million. Japan ranks second with 14% of total earnings, or $14.3 million, making Reverse: 1999 another demonstration of Asia’s penchant for mobile RPGs.
The US has spent the third most in-game at $9.5 million, or roughly 10% of player spending, while no other individual region has eclipsed a 1% contribution.
A view in reverse
To date, Reverse: 1999’s most lucrative period was its first full month after Chinese launch – earning $13.3 million in June 2023. Revenue quickly declined thereafter, sinking to $3.1 million in July 2023, but the game received a second wind with its global release last October.
Reverse: 1999 earned almost $7 million in October 2023 and grew to $9.9 million in November, with sporadic peaks and troughs since but no extreme drops to the extent of last July’s.
As for the gacha game’s best single day for player spending, one doesn’t need to reverse too far. May 16th, 2024, takes the crown with $1.6 million gross, beating any other individual day – including during Reverse: 1999’s launch period in 2023.
The Version 1.9 update in China was released on May 16th, 2024, and it brought with it the swathes of anniversary content now being experienced globally. It also included the release of Lucy into the gacha – an elusive 6-star character able to increase critical hit rates.
She later released in the global version’s gacha on September 19th, spiking revenue for the day to $987,000. This was up from just $88,000 the day prior.
As well as Lucy, another 6-star character called Kakania was added during the Version 1.9 update. She proved less lucrative, however, with the game generating $313,000 on her Chinese launch day (June 6th) and $224,300 upon global launch (October 10th).
Across time and space
Bluepoch also celebrated Reverse: 1999’s first global anniversary with a live, in-person event in Los Angeles on October 26th and 27th. Fans could visit an exhibition full of artwork, game music, interactive installations, and merchandise.
“We loved seeing fans of the game in the flesh in Los Angeles. There’s so much love for Reverse: 1999 amongst its community,” said Bluepoch staff.
Other gachas, like Pokémon Masters and Genshin Impact,recently celebrated their latest anniversaries in style. Much like Genshin Impact, Reverse: 1999 has just gone cross-platform with an expansion to PC.
