Newzoo analysts together with the Pangle platform have prepared a report on mobile RPG. They talked about the income of the genre, popular mechanics and monetization strategies, as well as the demographics of such games. We share the main thing from the study.
Genshin ImpactBasic data
- RPG is the largest mobile genre by the box office last year. In 2020, he earned $18.5 billion. This is 21.3% of the revenue of all mobile games.
- 72% of the genre’s revenue came from three countries. China provided $7.84 billion, South Korea — $3.46 billion, Japan — $2.04 billion.
- Among the main subgenres last year were: collectible RPG, geolocation AR projects, RPG puzzles and action RPG. To highlight popular categories, Newzoo and Pangle looked at the top 50 RPG titles in the App Store and Google Play. Here and further, they provided data for the United States, Great Britain, Japan and South Korea.
- All top titles have mechanics related to the progression of characters. Also, many of them have the opportunity to collect characters, gacha, loot system, elements of turn-based strategies and puzzles.
- Asian games usually use more mechanics, which leads to higher revenue.
Promotion and monetization
- About half of the most moneyed RPGs are based on popular franchises.
- In South Korea, 13 RPG games from the box office top 50 are based on existing IP. In Japan, their share is slightly lower — 11. In the UK — 5, and in the USA — 4.
- RPGs that are not based on franchises are often promoted with the help of advertising creatives and regional influencers. Also, events and elements of game services help to attract new and retain old players. For example, RAID: Shadow Legends adheres to this strategy.
- In—game purchases are the most important source of income for mobile RPGs, analysts say. One of the most effective IAP options they call gacha mechanics (a temporary opportunity to get a character or item for virtual or real currency). This mechanics proved itself well in Genshin Impact. With each update of the gacha, the weekly revenue of the project grew.
- Nevertheless, the RPG has all the possibilities for in-game advertising. 83% of users agree to watch ads if they allow you to play for free or give a reward in return.
- As a result, many developers use hybrid monetization, simultaneously earning both on IAP and advertising.
Gamers
- Western and Asian mobile RPG fans are quite similar. Men are more interested in such games (in the USA their share is 59%, and in South Korea — 67%). The average age of gamers is about 30 years.
- Mobile RPGs are played most often for the same reasons as other mobile games. Among the main ones are the desire to relax (44%), kill time (34%) and experience different emotions (21%)
- Nevertheless, some things interest RPG fans more than other mobile gamers. For example, they are more willing to explore virtual worlds (18% vs. 11%) and more immersed in the plot (17% vs. 10%). Social functions in games are also important for them.
The full report of Newzoo and Pangle can be read here.