U.S. Mobile RPG Spending Rises by 33% Y/Y to $2 Billion in First Eight Months of 2020

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
U.S. mobile RPG player spending reached $2 billion in the first eight months of 2020, representing a 33% year-over-year increase.
02
The Squad RPG subgenre was the highest-grossing category, generating nearly $850 million with a 67% year-over-year growth rate.
03
Marvel Strike Force by Scopely was the top-grossing RPG in the U.S. during this period, earning approximately $144 million.
04
Puzzle RPGs demonstrated the highest monetization efficiency, leading all subgenres with $47 in revenue per download.
05
While total RPG downloads remained relatively flat with a 1.8% year-over-year increase to 115 million, the Survival and Idle RPG subgenres saw the fastest spending growth at approximately 88% each.
06
RAID: Shadow Legends by Plarium led the RPG category in total downloads with 4.6 million installs during the first eight months of 2020.

Summary

The mobile Role-Playing Game (RPG) sector in the United States experienced significant financial growth during the first eight months of 2020, with player spending reaching $2 billion, a 33 percent year-over-year increase. This surge in revenue, attributed largely to increased engagement during COVID-19 lockdowns, contrasts with relatively flat download growth, which rose only 1.8 percent to 115 million installs during the same period.

The Squad RPG subgenre emerged as the most lucrative category, generating nearly $850 million in revenue and approximately 32 million downloads. While Squad RPGs led in total volume, the Survival and Idle RPG subgenres demonstrated the fastest growth, with spending in both categories rising by roughly 88 percent. When evaluating efficiency, the Puzzle RPG subgenre proved most effective at monetization, generating an average of $47 per download and the highest average revenue per title at approximately $11 million.

Data for this analysis was derived from store intelligence metrics, utilizing a specialized game taxonomy to categorize titles into eight distinct subgenres. Top-performing titles during this period included Marvel Strike Force, which led in revenue, and Raid: Shadow Legends, which secured the highest number of downloads. While the current data highlights strong monetization and retention trends, the long-term sustainability of this growth remains contingent on broader economic conditions and the evolving impact of pandemic-related consumer behavior.