Mobile gaming’s secret and not so-secret new blockbusters

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One of the common themes during the challenging times of the past year is that, more than ever, launching a new mobile game is incredibly tough. 

I’m not here to counter that notion completely. But after hosting the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight, and in the process of putting together this year’s Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list (which we’ll reveal at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, which takes place on October 1st and 2nd), it’s become apparent, despite it all, just how many hits have still emerged since the start of 2023.

Scopely’s Monopoly GO! has, of course, famously surpassed $3 billion in revenue since its launch in April 2023. The speed and scale of its success is more akin to a blockbuster release in Asian markets like China, Japan or South Korea, and yet this time it’s Western countries powering the game’s sales.

Century Games’ 4X strategy game Whiteout Survival has proven an instant hit, with player spending rising almost every month, with little sign of revenue peaking. AppMagic estimates show that on the App Store and Google Play, it has amassed $1.18 billion in gross revenue to date, making it by far the company’s most successful game ever.

Then we have Nexon’s Dungeon & Fighter Mobile launching in China (published by Tencent), ranking as the No. 8 top grossing mobile game in the world so far this year. It’s easily 2024’s biggest launch. That doesn’t account for Android spend, which as Niko Partners estimates have shown, means its real total revenue is far, far greater.

But wait, there’s more

And what else? Supercell’s Brawl Stars – released in 2018, has had a super resurgence during the past year, raising it to one of the world’s most significant games again.

Want more hits from last year? HoYoVerse’s blockbuster release of Honkai: Star Rail, FirstFun’s hugely successful Last War: Survival, and Joy Net Games’ Legend of Mushroom have all made waves.

Speaking of waves, Kuro Games’ RPG Wuthering Waves has been an instant hit too. It earned the accolade for Best Audio / Visual Accomplishment at the Mobile Games Awards last month while also picking up an Honourable Mention for Game of the Year.

Want more? Check out Microfun’s merge games Gossip Harbor and Seaside Escape, Lilith Games’ AFK Journey, Magmatic Games’ Travel Town, and Niantic’s Monster Hunter Now. 

There are a number of other examples of breakout hits and live games experiencing a significant boost in revenue thanks to strong live ops and game-changing updates.

I’m not here to downplay an exceptionally tough couple of years for the industry – which will continue to be the case, despite the mobile games market currently experiencing growth again. The old adage that the top mobile games charts isn’t entirely dispelled either – though Royal Match dethroning Candy Crush Saga as the king of match-3 is perhaps a crack in the wall.

But it may surprise you just how many new hit games there have been over the past 18 months, and how many titles are experiencing a resurgence. It’s not just the headliners like Brawl Stars.

If you look a little closer, there are new games breaking through and pulling the mobile market kicking and screaming forward again.

P.S. Excited for the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024? Ahead of the reveal, you can check out the 2023 list here.