US mobile game revenue continues to grow, according to a new report by Sega Networks and Sensor Tower. Annual revenue of mobile games grew by seven percent from $5.75 billion in 2015 to $6.15 billion in 2016.
Knowing Is Downloading
While original IP games accounted for 63 percent of total revenue in December, branded IP games are expected to surpass original IP-based games in revenue in 2018. The original IP category (such as Candy Crush or Clash of Clans) experienced 30 percent growth throughout the year, while branded or licensed games like Pokémon GO and Madden NFL Mobile experienced massive growth of 139 percent. This trend indicates a shift and rising interest for known licensed and branded IP among the consumer market.
In fact, seven of the top 10 games released in 2016 were licensed brand or expansion game IPs, which accounted for 93 percent of revenue ($614 million) and 68 percent (40 million) of downloads.
Top Players
The top-grossing title for 2016 in the US was Game of War, which made an average of $43.2 million per month on iOS and Google Play. The top-200-grossing titles of 2016 in the US generated a total of $6.6 billion. The top five grossing mobile games generated 28 percent of total market revenue compared with 40 percent for 2015, however, indicating significant revenue distribution away from the top of the charts.
The top categories were Strategy, Casino, and Puzzle which accounted for $4.3 billion in combined revenue and 70.2 percent of the overall market. Strategy accounted for $2.1 billion of that total, as well as four of the top five games in terms of revenue.
2016 Top 10 Mobile Publishers In The US By Revenue:
- MZ: $917.5 million
- Supercell: $809.2 million
- King: $623.4 million
- Playtika: $305.9 million
- Niantic: $270.3 million
- Electric Arts: $257 million
- Zynga: $191.9 million
- Big Fish: $177.4 million
- Jam City: $138.2 million
- DoubleDown: $124.8 million
