The Top Mobile Games for November 2018

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
In November 2018, NetEase's battle royale title Knives Out became the highest-grossing game in its genre, generating over $52 million in monthly revenue.
02
Knives Out entered the worldwide overall revenue top 10 for the first time in November 2018, securing the No. 9 position and out-earning both Fortnite and PUBG Mobile.
03
Japan was the primary market for Knives Out, accounting for 93 percent of the game's total revenue for the month.
04
As of December 2018, Knives Out has reached a lifetime global gross revenue of $445 million.
05
Sensor Tower's rankings for November 2018 are based on worldwide estimates from the Apple App Store and Google Play, excluding third-party Android store data.

Summary

The mobile gaming landscape in November 2018 was defined by shifting dominance within the battle royale genre. The primary objective of the analysis is to identify the highest-grossing and most downloaded mobile titles globally, utilizing proprietary store intelligence data to track performance across the Apple App Store and Google Play. The scope of the findings is worldwide, excluding third-party Android marketplaces, and focuses on first-time installs and consumer spending.

A significant finding from this period is the emergence of NetEase’s Knives Out as the leading battle royale title by revenue. The game secured a position in the global top 10 for overall revenue for the first time, generating over $52 million in player spending during November. This performance allowed it to surpass major competitors in the genre, including Fortnite and PUBG Mobile. The success of Knives Out was heavily concentrated in the Japanese market, which accounted for 93 percent of its monthly revenue, contributing to a cumulative global lifetime gross of $445 million at the time of the analysis.

The data relies on standardized metrics where downloads represent unique first-time installs per user account, intentionally excluding re-installs, updates, or multi-device downloads. By providing these rankings, the analysis highlights the competitive volatility of the mobile market and the critical importance of regional performance in driving global revenue leadership for high-profile titles.