In the North American mobile game market, popular Chinese titles are making their presence felt by ranking high in revenue. The analysis suggests that the casual genre's popularity in the North American mobile game market aligns well with the characteristics of Chinese mobile games that offer light gameplay. On the other hand, the competitiveness of domestic mobile games in the North American market has weakened, deepening the concerns of domestic game companies.
According to mobile analytics firm Mobileindex on the 4th, the casual game "Last War: Survival" by Chinese game company Firstfun ranked 3rd in revenue on both the U.S. Google Play Store and Apple App Store as of the previous day. It also made it to the top revenue rankings in Canada. During the same period, this game ranked 5th and 7th in the Canadian Google Play Store and Apple App Store, respectively. Since its North American launch in August 2023, "Last War: Survival" has consistently ranked high in revenue, establishing itself as one of the top five games in North America.
The strategy game "WOS: Whiteout Survival" by Chinese game company Century Games is also showing strength in the North American market. This game ranked 7th and 9th in revenue on the U.S. Google Play Store and Apple App Store, respectively, as of the previous day. In Canada, it recorded rankings of 4th and 9th. The strategy game "Kingshot," which Century Games globally released in March this year, is also gaining popularity. This game has similarly ranked between 8th and 10th in revenue across both major app markets in the U.S. and Canada.
Conversely, domestic game companies are also attempting to expand their reach into the North American market but are not yielding good results. As of the previous day, the only domestic games among the top 50 revenue-generating mobile games in North America were SHIFT UP's shooting role-playing game "Goddess of Victory: Nikke" and KRAFTON's "PUBG Mobile," utilizing the Battlegrounds intellectual property. "Goddess of Victory: Nikke" ranked 19th in revenue on the U.S. Google Play Store and 15th in Canada. Meanwhile, "PUBG Mobile" was ranked 45th in the U.S. App Store and 18th in the Canadian App Store.
The North American market, centered around the United States, represents the largest segment of the overall mobile game market, making it a key target for Korean and Chinese game companies. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) '2024 Overseas Content Market Analysis' report, the size of the U.S. game market in 2023 was $64.845 billion (89.8 trillion won), ranking second after China ($67.457 billion). Notably, mobile gaming is robust in the U.S., with over 45% of all users engaging in mobile games, which is about twice the rate compared to PC and console gaming.
Industry analysts suggest that Chinese game companies have effectively entered the North American mobile game market by understanding its characteristics, which are centered around the casual genre. The North American game market is largely divided between mobile games and console platforms, and in the mobile sector, games that promote easy and light gameplay based on casual games are dominating.
The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has evaluated that in the U.S. mobile game market, 'light genres like puzzle and arcade gain popularity due to easy gameplay and simple design.' In fact, the current top revenue-generating mobile game in North America is the social board game "Monopoly Go," a quintessential example of the casual genre.
A representative from the domestic game industry noted, "Domestic game companies have focused primarily on AAA game genres like MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), and casual game development has been a secondary concern," adding, "As a result, there is a tendency to lag behind China in the casual game sector, which is gaining popularity in the North American mobile market." They further emphasized, "To effectively enter the North American mobile market in the future, it is essential to analyze local user preferences and actively discover and nurture casual games that suit market characteristics."