Ranked 2nd in Revenue Among Chinese Mobile Games in the US Market
Number of Mobile Game Users Increasing Annually
Chinese popular games, which show strong performance in the domestic game market, are also demonstrating their influence in North America. They are soaring high in the sales rankings.
According to application analysis firm Mobile Index on the 5th, Chinese game company First Fun's "Last War: Survival" ranked 5th and 2nd in sales on the US Apple App Store and Google Play Store respectively as of the 3rd. Since achieving the number 1 sales rank on the App Store on the 29th of last month, the game has maintained its position as one of the top five games in the US.
Another strategy game from the Chinese company Century Games, "WOS: Whiteout Survival," is also strong in the US market. It ranks 9th and 6th on the App Store and Google Play Store respectively. Both games show high sales rankings not only in the US but also in Canada, a neighboring region. "Last War: Survival" holds 4th and 2nd place on the two major markets, while "WOS: Whiteout Survival" ranks 9th and 4th. These games are also enjoying success domestically, ranking 1st and 3rd in sales respectively.
The US boasts the largest scale in the overall game market. According to the "2023 Overseas Content Market Analysis" report released by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the US game market size last year was estimated at $58.423 billion (approximately 80.2498 trillion KRW), with the number of game companies reaching 48,000.
The mobile genre is also strong in the US. As of last year, over 45% of all users enjoy mobile games, which is about twice as high compared to PC and console users. The number of users is increasing annually. It is projected to grow from 167.8 million users this year to 172.5 million by 2026.
The US mobile game market has traditionally been dominated by casual games that are easy to play. The 2023 Overseas Content Market Analysis report explains the US mobile game market by stating, "Puzzle and arcade genres are popular, likely because their simple gameplay and design are optimized for mobile." Currently, the number 1 revenue rank in North America is held by the social board game "Monopoly Go." "Last War: Survival" is a shooting genre game with the advantage of simple controls, while "WOS: Whiteout Survival" is praised for its intuitive interface.
On the other hand, Korean games have relatively lower rankings. The mobile role-playing game (RPG) "Goddess of Victory: NIKKE," developed by the domestic game company Shift Up, dropped from 14th to 43rd in sales rankings earlier this month. PUBG Mobile, which utilizes Krafton's BattleGrounds intellectual property (IP), showed an upward trend from 46th in sales on the App Store earlier this month but currently maintains a position within the top 20.
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