AppMagic: The casual games market in Tier-1 West countries grew in H1'24
The sort Puzzle sub-genre is growing massively.
The analytical platform took a closer look at the genres Merge-2, Match-3, Match 3D, Sort Puzzle, Idle Tycoon, and Social Casino (Casual Casino according to AppMagicās classification). The Tier-1 Western countries include the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.
Casual games in Tier-1 Western countries earned $7.2 billion in the first half of 2024. This is 11% more than in the first half of 2023 ($6.5 billion).
Match-3 with meta
In the first half of 2024, games in this genre earned $837 million (9% more than H1'23 - $768 million) in Tier-1 Western markets. However, downloads dropped by 23% ā from 61 million in H1'23 to 47 million in H1'24.
24 new games in this genre were released in the first half of 2024. Two were successful, with a Success Rate of 8.3%.
āļøAppMagic considers a game successful if it earns more than $50,000 per month.
Revenue growth was largely driven by Royal Match, which is increasing its RPD in the West. Recently, new social features, new game mechanics, reworked old mechanics, and new events were added to the game.
āļøAppMagic analysts note that revenue growth despite declining downloads is a typical story for the modern casual market. Attracting players has become more challenging and expensive, so companies are focusing more on retention and monetizing existing users.
Among the highest-earning games in the genre, three new projects have emerged: Mystery Matters, Chrome Valley Customs, and Piggy Kingdom. However, Chrome Valley Customs is declining, and Forza Customs has not caught up to its competitors. On the other hand, Truck Star is performing well, but its results are not yet sufficient to enter the top 10 (currently earning $1.2 million a month and growing).
Merge-2 with meta
Revenue from projects in this genre increased by 107% in H1'24 ā from $164 million last year to $339 million. Downloads grew by only 20% (from 88 million to 105 million).
āļøThe main reason is that the revenue leaders are well-established games like Travel Town, Gossip Harbor, and Seaside Escape. For example, Travel Town saw a significant increase in both event frequency and variety in H1'24.
61 projects in this genre were released in H1'24, and only one game is earning more than $50,000 a month ā Merge Prison: Hidden Puzzle from Hong Kongās Blue Ultra Game. Interestingly, the gameās setting is a prison. The Success Rate for the genre is 1.6%. This is better than in all of 2023, during which no "successful" projects were released.
Three new projects entered the top 10 in the first half of the year: Adventure Island Merge, Road Trip: Royal Merge Games, and Taylorās Secret: Merge Story. There were also changes at the top ā Merge Mansion was dethroned from the first spot, for instance.
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Match 3D
Revenue for the genre grew from $94 million in H1'23 to $213 million in H1'24, an increase of 127%. Downloads also grew significantly, by 66%, from 43 million to 71 million.
In H1'24, 39 new projects were released in the genre, one meeting the success criteria (Success Rate ā 2.6%). This was Match Rush 3D: ASMR Care.
The genreās growth is largely driven by new projects. The previous genre leader, Triple Match 3D, is stagnating. Match Factory! (over $100 million in lifetime revenue) and Happy Match Cafe (over $44 million in lifetime revenue) are growing. In the H1'24 top 10, in addition to Match Factory!, there are three other projects: Joy Match 3D, Match Frenzy ā Test ASMR, and Match Villa: Makeup ASMR.
Idle Tycoon
Genre revenue fell from $157 million in H1'23 to $127 million in H1'24, a 19% decline. Downloads also dropped from 333 million to 266 million (-20% YoY). Itās important to note that H1'23 was the genre's peak, largely thanks to Frozen City.
In H1'24, 91 games were released, three of which crossed the $50,000-per-month revenue mark. Success Rate ā 3.3%.
Only one new game entered the top 10: Idle Outpost: Business Game.
āļøAppMagic analysts note that Frozen City has entered the operational stage. Both downloads and overall revenue for the game have dropped significantly, but RPD continues to rise. In June 2024, the game earned $3.75 per acquired user.
According to AppMagic, the Idle Tycoon genre is overheated. There is intense competition, and leaders donāt stay at the top for long, while no one has yet managed to reach a significant revenue plateau.
Casual Casino (Social Casino)
This genre includes Coin Master, MONOPOLY GO!, Dice Dreams, and similar projects.
Genre revenue grew by 146% in H1'24 ā to $984 million from $400 million the previous year. This is largely thanks to MONOPOLY GO!. Downloads grew by 3% ā from 37 million to 38 million.
In the first half of 2024, 11 games were released in the genre. None have yet reached the success criteria.
MONOPOLY GO! accounted for 63% of the genreās revenue in H1'24, Coin Master for 24%, and Dice Dreams for 9%. The remaining 4% was shared among other games. One newcomer to the top 10 in the first half of the year is Age of Coins: Master of Spins.
Sort Puzzle
Genre revenue grew 12-fold in H1'24 ā from $3 million to $41 million. Downloads increased 2.4 times ā from 26 million to 87 million.
160 new games were released in the genre in the first half of the year, three of which crossed the $50,000-per-month revenue mark. Success Rate ā 1.9%.
The genre emerged relatively recently. In H1'24, seven new projects entered the top 10. The genre is at the intersection of hyper-casual and casual genres, and the data shows that downloads have started to fall while IAP (In-App Purchase) revenue has sharply increased.
