GameRefinery, a Liftoff company, has released its latest analysis of the US, China, and Japan’s key mobile games markets for June 2024. GameRefinery’s analysts have hand-picked their top updates from June’s data for each country, including new releases, special events, and game updates.
Major new releases like Zynga’s Star Wars Hunters, Level Infinite’s MMORPG Tarisland, a global version of Chinese mega-hit Honor of Kings, and a new mobile installment in the Uta no Prince-sama series were released in June. This month also came with significant updates for ongoing casual games. Over on the midcore side, much of the attention was placed on seasonal events.
The report’s highlights are:
- Major revenue spike for New York Times Games: NYT Games: Word and Sudoku saw an over 200% increase in daily revenue in the US on 9 June following a half-price sale (which is still active) on monthly and annual subscriptions. A paid subscription gives you access to additional features and content in all the games playable within the NYT Games app. Additionally, the daily crossword, which is arguably the main draw for most users, is only available to subscribers.
- Monopoly Go added Tycoon Racers and Piggy Bank events: Tycoon Racers is a competitive event where players build their teams as they race to collect as many progression points as possible by pressing a Pop-o-Matic style dice popper using event currency. Piggy Bank event allows players to deposit their dice rolls whenever they roll a double while playing the game.
Image Credit: GameRefinery
- Pride Month events: Several popular titles launched seasonal events inspired by Pride Month, including Marvel Contest of Champions, which launched a task event that encouraged players to acquire, level up, and win battles using LGBTQ+ Marvel characters, and Beastar, which had a Pride Month-themed battle pass highlighting LGBT artists like Lady Gaga and Elton John.
- Honor of Kings re-released: Chinese mega-hit Honor of Kings launched for the second time in the West following its previous attempt some years ago under the name Arena of Valor. The new version of Honor of Kings made a significant splash at its US launch on 22 June, debuting at five in downloads and 98 in the grossing ranks. However, the game’s popularity quickly waned. By 1 July, just one week after its release, it had dropped out of the top 200 in both categories.
- MMORPG Tarisland flops: Level Infinite launched a new MMORPG, Tarisland, that features high-production values and crossplay with PC. Titles in this genre often struggle to succeed in the Western mobile market, and this game continues that trend. At launch on 21 June, the game placed at six in downloads and 163 in the grossing ranks. However, within just five days, the title had dropped out of the top 200 titles in both ranks.
Image Credit: GameRefinery
- Uta no Prince-sama: A new mobile instalment in the Uta no Prince-sama series, a multimedia franchise that began life as a rhythm game for the PSP, launched in Japan last month and spent several days at the top of the download ranks. Uta no Prince-sama: LIVE EMOTION also peaked at 15 in the grossing ranks. The game has since fallen out of the top 100 but is maintaining a steady pace overall.
- Star Wars: Hunters launched globally : After being in soft launch for several years, the new Star Wars game has finally launched and made a big impact on the market by reaching grossing rank 77 and download rank 1. However, the hype for the game died down really quickly and the game has fallen out of the top 200 rankings.
The full report can be accessed at GameRefinery’s website.
