Playrix
Company
Documents about Playrix
2019 Predictions: Only One Way to Climb to the Top of the Puzzle Games Category
The mobile puzzle games market reached a critical juncture in 2018, characterized by high maturity, intense competition, and a shift in the requirements for commercial success.
- The Puzzle category is the dominant force in casual mobile gaming, accounting for 60% of all in-app purchase revenues within the genre, totaling $3.8 billion in 2018.
- Market leaders King, Playrix, and Peak Games command the Match & Blast sub-category, with King’s Candy Crush franchise alone generating over 60% of its portfolio revenues.
- Playrix and Peak Games achieved significant growth in 2018; Playrix grew net revenues by 40% to $866 million, while Peak Games nearly doubled its revenues to $440 million.
What Kinds of Western Games Have Taken off in Japan?
This analysis examines the performance of Western mobile games within the Japanese market, a region characterized by high competition and strong local publisher dominance.
- Casual games dominate the Japanese market for Western publishers, accounting for nearly 60% of top-grossing Western titles as of November 2018.
- Puzzle games are the most successful genre for Western developers in Japan, representing 35% of the market, followed by Simulation games at 16%.
- Match3 is the leading subgenre for Western games in Japan, significantly outperforming other categories like Tycoon/Crafting and turn-based RPGs.
Predictions for 2018: Casual Games
The casual mobile gaming landscape in 2018 is defined by a shift from volume-based growth to a focus on product innovation, deeper engagement, and improved monetization.
- Rising user acquisition costs have forced casual game developers to shift focus from simple portfolio expansion to creating deeper, higher-LTV titles with advanced mechanics.
- Playrix has emerged as a dominant force in the puzzle category, leveraging gameplay innovations and cross-promotion across its titles to challenge industry leader King.
- The hyper-casual market is experiencing a surge in growth driven by short, ad-monetized gameplay loops, leading to industry consolidation as major publishers acquire smaller developers to secure talent and scale.
Has King Peaked?
King maintains a dominant position as a mobile gaming powerhouse, yet the company faces significant long-term strategic challenges.
- King remains highly dependent on the Candy Crush franchise, which accounts for 68% of total revenue, with the original Candy Crush Saga alone contributing 46%.
- While King’s gross revenue reached an all-time peak in May 2017, monthly installs have declined by approximately one-third compared to the previous year.
- King has failed to produce a breakout hit since 2014, with newer releases like Bubble Witch Saga 3 and Farm Heroes Super Saga contributing only 7% of total revenue despite receiving significant cross-promotion.
Gardenscapes: A Case Study in Incremental Growth
Gardenscapes demonstrates that mobile games can achieve significant commercial success through incremental growth and high retention rather than relying solely on massive marketing spend and top-tier download rankings.
- Playrix’s Gardenscapes achieved a Top 50 Grossing position on the US iPhone charts without relying on high-volume user acquisition or a top-tier download ranking.
- The game demonstrated that strong retention metrics can drive significant revenue growth, allowing for success without competing directly with larger, better-funded rivals on marketing spend.
- Data from September 2015 to August 2016 shows that only 21% of the 175 apps that reached a Top 50 Grossing position also spent time in the Top 50 Downloaded chart, highlighting that high download volume is not a prerequisite for sustained financial performance.
Mobile Game Market
The provided content serves as a comprehensive digital repository for the mobile gaming industry, functioning as a resource hub for market analysis, publisher performance, and strategic trends as of 2026.
- Playrix has reached a significant milestone of over $12 billion in total revenue and 2.6 billion downloads as of 2026.
- Playtika has generated more than $9.3 billion in revenue specifically through in-app purchases.
- Outfit7 has achieved a massive scale in user acquisition, recording over 25 billion total downloads.
