July Mobile Gaming Update: New Releases and Crossovers
July was an exciting month for the mobile gaming market, with major franchises making big updates and introducing new entries. According to GameRefinery’s latest report, here are some highlights:
Pokémon Sleep:
The release of Pokémon Sleep was a huge success. The game aims to promote healthy sleeping patterns among users, and it exceeded expectations.
Diablo Immortal:
Activision Blizzard capitalized on the success of Diablo IV by updating Diablo Immortal. The update introduced the blood knight, the first new character class in almost a decade. This resulted in a 400% increase in daily downloads on iOS.
Monopoly GO!:
The popular game Monopoly GO! continued its successful streak with the release of its first cooperative event, Baking Partners. This event led to almost double the daily revenue on iOS, despite no significant impact on downloads.
Celebrity Collaborations:
Several popular IPs collaborated with mobile games. Barbie celebrated the release of a hit movie with a Stumble Guys Crossover, while Dragon Ball Z had a crossover with PUBG Mobile. These collaborations brought new content and excitement to the games.
Dragon Ball Z Crossover:
The Dragon Ball Z crossover with PUBG Mobile introduced new features, including a Battle Royale mode and the ability to find hidden dragon balls across the map. This crossover brought together the iconic characters from the Dragon Ball series with PUBG Mobile’s core gameplay.
Mobile Game Rankings:
Moonton’s tower defense RPG Watcher of Realms made it to the top 50 highest grossing charts in the USA. Space Ape’s Chrome Valley Customs also showed steady growth and approached the top 100. However, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened did not perform well after its July launch, and DC Heroes and Villains did not break into the top 200 despite featuring popular characters.
Success in Japan:
Pokémon Sleep was particularly successful in Japan, becoming the most downloaded game in the market for the month. Its collaboration event with Pokémon GO, which allowed players to receive a special Snorlax, contributed to its success.
Dragon Ball Legends also saw massive success in Japan with the introduction of Super Saiyan God SS Vegito. The game’s daily revenue spiked 2000% due to the low drop rate and the need for duplicate pulls to upgrade the character.
China’s Successes:
Justice Mobile, the mobile adaptation of NetEase’s MMORPG Justice Online, ranked third in terms of revenue and second in terms of downloads in China. Crystal of Atlan, an action RPG, also performed well and made it to the top-grossing and most downloaded titles for the month.
We previously listed some of these companies as the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022. Stay tuned for our list for 2023, which will be unveiled at our event during Gamescom on August 22.