According to Sensor Tower, from November 1, 2020, to October 31, 2021, player spending on mobile strategy games increased 24 percent year-over-year to $4.2 billion.
From November 1, 2020, to October 31, 2021, the top strategy genre game by player spend in the US was Lords Mobile from IGG, which is part of the 4X strategy subgenre and grossed $330.3 million. The second strategy title was Clash of Clans from Supercell, part of the Build & Battle subgenre. It was followed by the State of Survival from FunPlus, which is also part of the 4X strategy subgenre.
The number of downloads of strategy games increased by 3.6% and reached 145.4 million. The top title for download was Pokémon Unite, a MOBA-style game from The Pokémon Company. The second-place game was Top War from Topwar Studio, followed by State of Survival.
The state of the subgenres of mobile strategy games
There are 7 different sub-genres of mobile strategy games. 4X strategy is by far the most profitable among these sub-genres. The 4x strategy subgenre grew 32.5% year-over-year and reached $2.9 billion in revenue. On the other hand, MOBA games increased by 50% year-over-year, reaching $168.4 million. However, it should be kept in mind that each sub-genre consists of different titles within itself.
The 4X strategy subgenre was also the number one subgenre for installs, with 53.3 million downloads. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing subcategory for downloads was MOBA, with downloads increasing 133.3% year-over-year to 19.4 million.
In revenue per download (RPD) analysis, the 4x strategy led to $54 per download, followed by the Build & Battle genre. In third place was the Empire Simulation subgenre. It is worth remembering that this RPD value covers only the last year, not all time.
The strategy genre became the third mobile game genre in the USA last year, after puzzle and casino games. The strategy subgenre 4X strategy remains the driving force in this regard. It still accounts for two-thirds of all player spending and remains the most downloaded subgenre.
On the other hand, it is possible to say that the Riot Games’ League of Legends: Wild Rift game has a significant impact on this year’s breakthrough of the MOBA game genre. The game, which achieved colossal download and revenue statistics shortly after its release, is expected to grow even more.
