The Secret Behind the Chinese Game Company's Leap to 2nd Place in Sales... 'Opening Users' Wallets with 1000 Won'

Hobby 'Capybara Go', App Store Sales on the Rise
"Focusing on Lowering Psychological Barriers to Payment"

Chinese game company Hobby's new game is causing a stir in the domestic gaming market. While its revenue growth is remarkable, it is evaluated more as a business model that easily opens users' wallets rather than for its gameplay.

According to application analysis firm Mobile Index on the 30th, Hobby's newly released mobile role-playing game (RPG) 'Capybara GO,' launched on the 23rd, ranked 3rd in Apple App Store sales as of the 29th. It stayed at 70th place on the first day of release but jumped to 7th the next day and even reached 2nd place on the 28th. On Google Play Store, the other major app market alongside the App Store, its sales ranking soared from 112th to 17th, showing an increasing revenue trend.

Capybara GO is a new release from Singapore-based game company Hobby. This company was founded by Chinese developers. Hobby had already gained fame in Korea with the casual game Tang Tang Special Forces, released in 2022.

The strong performance of Capybara GO is attributed more to the business model that allows users to spend money easily rather than the gameplay itself. Hobby encourages users to open their wallets by offering items at low prices once the game starts. The cheapest payment amount is 1,000 won, providing equipment that characters can wear and items for draws. As the difficulty increases, users tend to make payments for higher-priced items.

This structure is not unique to Hobby but is common among Chinese game companies. The new mobile game 'Gamja Shuk Shuk' by Chinese game company Joinice Games, famous for the idle game 'Mushroom Care,' also offers a payment element called 'Beginner Pack' priced at 1,200 won when the game starts. Gamja Shuk Shuk's sales rankings were 20th and 33rd on the Play Store and App Store, respectively.

An industry insider explained, "Chinese game companies focus on lowering people's psychological barriers to spending rather than on gameplay," adding, "Once the first payment is made, they increase revenue by exploiting the fact that users tend to spend money more easily afterward."