Lion Studios
CompanyUnited States · Founded 2018
Documents about Lion Studios
Top Games by Downloads and Revenue: January 2020
Mobile game performance in January 2020 was led by hyper-casual and Asian-market titles, according to AppMagic data compiled on global downloads and revenue across iOS and Google Play.
- The Chinese launch of AFK Arena drove its monthly revenue to approximately $70 million, moving it into the top three highest-earning games on iOS and the top four across all platforms.
- Johnny Trigger, published by SayGames, was the most downloaded mobile game globally in January 2020 with 36 million installs.
- Lineage 2M remained the top-grossing game on Google Play in January, generating $45 million in South Korea despite a slight revenue decline.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide: January 2020
Hyper-casual titles dominated worldwide mobile game downloads in January 2020, according to Sensor Tower's ranking of the most installed games across the App Store and Google Play.
- Johnny Trigger by SayGames was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in January 2020, reaching 44.5 million installs.
- Brain Out by Eyewind secured the second position with over 41.5 million installs, driven primarily by users in Indonesia and Vietnam.
- Playrix titles saw significant growth, with Gardenscapes achieving its best month ever for downloads at 20.9 million and record revenue of $67.6 million.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide for December 2019 by Downloads
Brain Out from Eyewind was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in December 2019, with close to 41 million installs. The United States accounted for 10 percent of its downloads and Russia for 9 percent.
- Eyewind’s 'Brain Out' was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in December 2019, securing nearly 41 million installs.
- Ruby Game Studio’s 'Hunter Assassin' ranked second globally with over 40 million installs, driven primarily by India (33%) and Brazil (8%).
- The top five most downloaded games for December 2019 were 'Brain Out', 'Hunter Assassin', 'Johnny Trigger', 'Sand Balls', and 'Ink Inc.'
Store Intelligence Data Digest: Q2 2020
Mobile app markets in Q2 2020 were reshaped by COVID-19, producing record activity worldwide.
- Worldwide mobile app downloads reached a record 37.8 billion in Q2 2020, a 31.7 percent year-over-year increase driven by pandemic-related shifts in work, education, and entertainment.
- Google Play game downloads surged by over 50 percent to 12.4 billion, with hypercasual titles leading in volume and Sandbox and Battle Royale genres flourishing as social hubs.
- Business category app installations peaked at 176 percent above pre-pandemic levels, with Zoom becoming the third app in history to surpass 300 million installs in a single quarter.
Top Hyper-Casual Games Worldwide: November 2019
Sand Balls from SayGames led all hyper-casual games worldwide in November 2019 with close to 36 million installs, according to Sensor Tower's Store Intelligence estimates.
- SayGames' 'Sand Balls' was the most downloaded hyper-casual game globally in November 2019, reaching approximately 36 million installs.
- India was the primary market for the top two hyper-casual titles, accounting for 40% of 'Sand Balls' downloads and 20% of 'Fun Race 3D' downloads.
- Good Job Games' 'Fun Race 3D' secured the second position worldwide with over 19 million installs during the month.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide: November 2019
Hyper-casual titles dominated worldwide mobile game downloads in November 2019, according to Sensor Tower's Store Intelligence estimates covering the App Store and Google Play globally from November 1 to November 30.
- SayGames' 'Sand Balls' was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in November 2019, reaching approximately 36 million installs with 40% of its traffic originating from India.
- Lion Studios' 'Ink Inc.' secured the second position with nearly 28 million installs, driven primarily by the United States (26%) and Russia (11%).
- The top five most downloaded mobile games for November 2019 were 'Sand Balls', 'Ink Inc.', 'Rescue Cut', 'Call of Duty: Mobile', and 'PUBG Mobile'.
Has the Hypercasual Game Genre Peaked?
Eric Seufert argues in this November 2019 analysis that the hypercasual mobile game genre has likely peaked, with Voodoo's estimated $200MM raise from Goldman Sachs' private equity arm in May 2018 marking the category's high-water mark.
- The hypercasual gaming market has likely peaked, with the $200 million funding of Voodoo by Goldman Sachs in May 2018 representing the industry's high-water mark.
- Market competition has splintered significantly, as publishers like SayGames, Lion Studios, and Good Job Games have eroded the previous dominance of early leaders like Voodoo and Ketchapp.
- The rapid commoditization of game development through tools like Unity and Buildbox has made 'fast following' and cloning successful titles a standard, low-barrier industry practice.
Top Hyper-Casual Games Worldwide: October 2019
Sensor Tower's November 2019 ranking identifies the most downloaded hyper-casual mobile games worldwide for October 2019, based on estimated installs across the App Store and Google Play.
- SayGames' 'Sand Balls' was the most downloaded hyper-casual game worldwide in October 2019, reaching approximately 29 million installs.
- Good Job Games' 'Fun Race 3D' secured the second position with over 22 million global downloads during the same period.
- India and Brazil were the primary growth markets for the top two titles, with India accounting for 22% of 'Sand Balls' downloads and 20% of 'Fun Race 3D' downloads.
Best Mobile Games by Downloads: September 2019
Sand Balls was the most downloaded mobile game of September 2019 across both the App Store and Google Play, according to Apptica Store Intelligence estimates.
- In September 2019, 'Sand Balls' was the most downloaded mobile game globally across both the App Store and Google Play, reaching over 15 million installs—an 82% increase from the previous month.
- The Chinese version of 'Archero' by Habby saw significant success with over 4 million downloads in September, significantly outperforming the global version, which recorded 700,000 installs in the same period.
- 'Pokémon Masters' secured the seventh position on the download charts, achieving more than 10 million downloads within its first four days of release.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide for Q2 2019 by Downloads
Hyper-casual titles dominated worldwide mobile game downloads in Q2 2019, according to Sensor Tower's Store Intelligence estimates covering the App Store and Google Play.
- Stack Ball by Azur Interactive was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in Q2 2019, reaching approximately 101 million first-time installs.
- Hyper-casual games dominated the market, with 12 new titles entering the top 20 rankings during the quarter.
- Run Race 3D by Good Job Games secured the second-highest global download spot with nearly 96 million installs.
The Future of Hyper-casual Games | GameJam CEO Christian Calderon
The hyper-casual gaming market has evolved from a niche category into a dominant force in mobile entertainment, characterized by high-frequency ad monetization and rapid development cycles.
- The hyper-casual sector reached a major milestone in 2018, when its titles accounted for 15 of the top 20 most downloaded games globally.
- The industry has shifted from intuition-based design to a data-driven model, where market leaders like Voodoo, Ketchapp, and Lion Studios prioritize retention analysis and lifetime value optimization.
- Macroeconomic trends show that advertising revenue has surpassed traditional in-app purchases, enabling developers to achieve payback windows as short as a few days or weeks.
Top New Mobile Games Worldwide in 2018 by Downloads
Voodoo's Helix Jump was the most downloaded new mobile game worldwide in 2018, surpassing 300 million installs.
- Helix Jump, published by Voodoo, was the most downloaded new mobile game of 2018 with over 300 million worldwide installs.
- The top five most downloaded new mobile games of 2018 were Helix Jump, PUBG Mobile, Rise Up, Love Balls, and Happy Glass.
- Voodoo dominated the top 20 rankings with five titles, including Helix Jump, Hole.io, Paper.io 2, Color Road, and Fire Balls 3D.