2024 First Half Mobile Game Market Review: South Korea

The South Korean mobile game market experienced a notable shift in the first half of 2024, characterized by a slight increase in total revenue and a significant rise in the influence of foreign publishers. Total market revenue reached approximately $2.75 billion, a modest growth from the $2.72 billion recorded in the same period of 2023. While Google Play Store revenue saw a minor decline of 2.3%, the Apple App Store experienced a robust 10.3% increase, driving the overall positive trend. Conversely, total download volume decreased by approximately 19 million units compared to the previous year.

A defining trend of this period is the unprecedented success of foreign titles, with five international games securing spots in the top 10 revenue rankings—a milestone not seen since 2017. Strategy title Last War: Survival and idle RPG Mushroom Nuko emerged as market leaders, significantly disrupting the long-standing dominance of domestic MMORPGs. Last War: Survival, in particular, catalyzed a doubling of the domestic mobile strategy game sector's revenue to $540 million. Additionally, the six-year-old title Brawl Stars demonstrated remarkable longevity, achieving high retention rates and ranking third in revenue growth.

Methodologically, the analysis utilizes store intelligence data covering the first half of 2024, aggregating revenue and download estimates from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The findings highlight a changing competitive landscape where foreign publishers now occupy half of the top 10 publisher revenue rankings. While domestic giants like NCSoft and Netmarble maintain significant market presence through established franchises and new releases like Solo Leveling: Arise, the data confirms that player preferences are diversifying, favoring a broader mix of international and genre-varied mobile gaming experiences.