Mobile Game Taxonomy Report 2021: Hypercasual Accounts for Nearly One-Third of Downloads

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Hypercasual games accounted for 31% of all mobile game installs in 2020, up from 17% in 2017.
02
RPG and Strategy titles combined for 50% of total mobile game revenue among the top 1,000 earning titles in 2020.
03
The 'Fashion' theme was the fastest-growing trend in 2020, with downloads for the top 100 titles using the theme increasing by 109% to 991 million.
04
Arcade and Puzzle game downloads grew by 33% and 78% respectively in 2020, driven by titles such as Sybo Games' Subway Surfers and InnerSloth's Among Us.
05
Casino and Shooter genres increased their revenue share to 10% and 9% respectively, bolstered by high-earning titles like Moon Active's Coin Master and Tencent's PUBG Mobile.
06
Genshin Impact by miHoYo generated approximately $560 million in 2020, contributing to the continued revenue growth of the RPG category.
07
Call of Duty: Mobile, developed by Activision in partnership with Tencent’s Timi Studios, has surpassed $760 million in player spending since its 2019 launch.

Summary

The 2021 Mobile Game Taxonomy Report provides a comprehensive analysis of global mobile gaming trends during the 2020 calendar year, a period significantly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. By leveraging proprietary game intelligence data, the analysis examines shifts in genre popularity, revenue distribution, and emerging thematic trends among the top 1,000 mobile titles. The primary objective is to identify how publishers are innovating within a highly competitive landscape to capture market share and user engagement.

Key findings highlight the rapid expansion of the hypercasual genre, which grew to represent 31 percent of all mobile game downloads in 2020, up from 17 percent in 2017. While hypercasual titles dominated in volume, RPG and strategy games maintained a combined 50 percent share of total player spending. Despite a slight contraction in market share, the RPG category remained a primary revenue driver, bolstered by high-performing titles like Genshin Impact. Additionally, the shooter and casino genres experienced notable growth in revenue share, supported by billion-dollar performers such as PUBG Mobile and Coin Master.

The analysis also identifies the fashion theme as a significant growth driver across multiple genres, including lifestyle and puzzle games. Downloads for the top 100 titles utilizing fashion themes surged by 109 percent in 2020, reaching 991 million installs. This trend underscores a broader industry shift toward integrating specific, popular themes into established gameplay mechanics to drive user acquisition. Overall, the data illustrates a market where developers are increasingly combining successful genres and themes to navigate the complexities of the global mobile gaming ecosystem.