Analytics company GameRefinery have published a review of the month of July in the mobile gaming industry.
Square Enix’s Octopath Traveller was released worldwide on July 28th, following its Japanese release in October 2020. While the game didn’t mimic the meteoric success it experienced in Japan, where it was downloaded three million times in two days, it proved to be a modest success with over 104 thousand downloads and $131 thousand in earned revenue. The game was a particular success in the United States, where it peaked at number 140 in the top-grossing charts with $94 thousand earned.
K-pop band BLACKPINK’s virtual concert within PUGB: Mobile was a significant success. This event was the first of its kind within the game and was repeated multiple times in multiple timezones. Cookie Run: Kingdom also enjoyed success with its ongoing collaboration with Disney, which began on July 28th and will run until September 13th.
Genshin Impact also enjoyed significant success with the Summer Fantasia event, which saw a revenue surge of over a million dollars on iOS.
The Chinese market saw significant success with a range of exclusive titles. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened added a new 4v4 co-op mode, while Fantasy Westward Journey saw a return of the 2022 Championship. The Chinese gaming market also benefited from several crossovers, with Langrisser collaborating with manga/anime Gintama while The Marvelous Snail collaborated with the massively popular Pokémon series.
Diablo Immortal was released in China on July 25th following a delay and immediately mimicked its success overseas, being ranked as the second highest-grossing mobile game in the country.
League of Legends esports manager game Ying Xiong Lian Meng DianJing Jing Li also entered the top five. GameRefinery reports that it may be the first game of its type available for mobile devices so this success could be an early indicator of the genre’s popularity for developers and publishers.
Music proved to be the central theme for updates in the Japanese market, with rhythm/RPG/adventure title Disney Twisted Wonderland introducing plushes in its latest character and story update, while Puzzle & Dragons added a new collection system for background music tied into the game’s gacha system.
The Japanese market also benefited from several events and crossovers, including a collaboration between baseball game Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu and manga series Jujutsu Kaisen and updates for Umamusume Pretty Derby, One Piece Treasure Cruise, and Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage.
GameRefinery recently published a report on the midcore gaming market. The success of titles such as Genshin Impact and Diablo Immortal highlighted in this article adds further credence to this trend.
