Card Game

Week in Mobile Games E41 - How Scopely made $10bn, and 2025's big stories to watch

The mobile gaming industry is currently defined by a tension between established giants achieving record-breaking scale and a volatile market environment that demands constant innovation.

• Scopely reached $10 billion in lifetime revenue, a milestone driven by the seven-year development cycle and strategic refinement of Monopoly Go.
• Established intellectual property remains a primary monetization driver, evidenced by Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket generating $400 million in its first ten weeks.
• Major gameplay overhauls can drive significant revenue spikes, as seen with Zenless Zone Zero reaching $8.6 million in daily revenue following content updates.

Week in Mobile Games E39 - Mobile's hot new releases and the loot box investigation unpacked

The mobile gaming industry is currently undergoing a structural transformation defined by the rise of high-fidelity, cross-platform titles that bridge the gap between mobile and console experiences.

• Nexon’s 'Dungeon and Fighter Mobile' generated over $1 billion in iOS revenue in China within six months, highlighting the massive financial potential of successful mobile titles.
• The mobile industry is shifting toward high-fidelity, cross-platform experiences like 'Infinity Nikki' and 'Delta Force' that emphasize cross-progression to bridge the gap between mobile and console.
• Investors are increasingly prioritizing daily active user counts over traditional retention metrics, seeking shorter return on investment windows of two to three years.

Week in Mobile Games E37: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket's blockbuster launch & Royal Kingdom hype

The mobile gaming industry is currently navigating a period of significant volatility, characterized by a shift away from traditional performance-based user acquisition toward brand-centric development and long-term intellectual property cultivation.

• Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket generated over $120 million in its first three weeks, demonstrating the high market potential of leveraging nostalgia and simplified mechanics.
• The mobile gaming market is experiencing high volatility, with top-tier titles often suffering revenue declines exceeding 50% from their peak launch performance.
• Warcraft Rumble has seen a 92% decline in monthly earnings, highlighting the difficulty of maintaining long-term player engagement for major franchises.

#307: Pokemon Game Rises, Supercell's IPO Dreams and VC Misdeeds

The global gaming industry is currently navigating a period of significant structural transition, characterized by the maturation of major hardware cycles and a fundamental reassessment of venture capital investment strategies.

• The gaming venture capital model is under scrutiny for prioritizing management fees over portfolio success, resulting in an influx of overvalued, unacquirable startups that lack clear paths to liquidity.
• Startups founded by former Activision Blizzard employees have raised $1.7 billion since 2020, yet the broader investment landscape is increasingly viewed as unsustainable.
• Nintendo reported a 17% revenue decline and a 69% drop in net profit as the Switch nears the end of its lifecycle, though investor confidence has been bolstered by the confirmation of backward compatibility for its successor.

DeNA Q2 FY2024 Financial Results Briefing: Summary of Key Questions and Answers

DeNA’s Q2 FY2024 financial results briefing highlights a strategic focus on balancing growth across its diversified portfolio, which spans healthcare, sports, mobile gaming, and live streaming.

• DeNA reported a year-over-year increase in operating profit for Q2 FY2024, though the company recorded a net loss due to foreign exchange volatility and finance costs.
• The mobile gaming segment is currently driven by the global launch of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, which achieved 10 million downloads shortly after release.
• The sports division, anchored by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, expects a financial boost from the team's Japan Series participation, which attracted 100,000 spectators across three home games.

American Kids Are Playing Fewer Video Games

Recent industry data indicates a notable decline in video game engagement among American children under the age of 13. According to the 2024 U.S.

• The number of American children under 13 playing video games has declined from a 2022 peak of 40.9 million to 38.5 million in 2024, returning to levels seen in 2018.
• While active playtime for children aged 2–12 dropped from 17.2 hours per week in 2022 to 16 hours in 2024, weekly consumption of gaming videos and streams increased from 8.9 hours to 10.1 hours.
• Roblox reported a record 88.9 million daily active users during the summer of 2024, an increase of 18 million compared to the same period in 2023, alongside $1.2 billion in quarterly net bookings.

Pokémon Esports’ Highest Ever Viewership on Live Streaming

The 2024 Pokémon World Championships (PWC) in Honolulu established a new benchmark for the franchise’s esports viewership, confirming the event's status as a premier global gaming spectacle.

• The 2024 Pokémon World Championships (PWC) achieved its highest viewership to date, generating 2.8 million hours watched and a peak concurrent viewership of 201,000.
• Total hours watched for the PWC 2024 increased by 14.3% (352,000 hours) compared to the 2023 event.
• The Pokémon Video Game (VG) remained the primary driver of engagement, accounting for 42% of total event viewership with 1.2 million hours watched and a peak of 113,000 viewers.

Bushiroad FY2024 Full-Year Financial Results Briefing Material

Bushiroad’s fiscal year 2024 performance reflects a period of significant structural transition, characterized by a decline in net sales to 46.26 billion yen and an operating profit of 882 million yen.

• Bushiroad reported FY2024 net sales of 49 billion yen (105.9% YoY) and an operating profit of 2 billion yen (226.8% YoY).
• The Digital Contents unit incurred a loss of approximately 2.5 billion yen in FY2024 due to one-time expenses from closing five mobile game titles and increased R&D investment in console gaming.
• The TCG unit remains the company's primary revenue driver, accounting for 46.8% of total net sales in FY2024.

Bushiroad FY2024 3Q Financial Results Briefing Material

Bushiroad’s financial performance for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 reflects a period of significant transition characterized by declining sales and profits.

• Bushiroad has revised its full-year earnings forecast downward due to persistent losses within its Digital Contents Unit.
• The company is restructuring its digital strategy by terminating underperforming mobile titles and shifting focus toward console game development.
• The Trading Card Game (TCG) segment remains a stable revenue pillar, anchored by core titles Weiẞ Schwarz and Cardfight!! Vanguard, and expanded by the new Dream Order professional baseball card game.

The Pokémon EIC Shocks with 1.2M Hours Watched

The 2024 Pokémon Europe International Championships (EUIC) served as a significant barometer for the health of the Pokémon esports ecosystem, demonstrating substantial growth in audience engagement.

• The 2024 Pokémon Europe International Championships (EUIC) generated 1.2 million hours watched, marking a 185% increase in total viewership compared to the 2023 event.
• Pokémon VGC remains the most popular competitive title, accounting for 575,000 hours watched (46.8% of total event viewership) and primarily attracting audiences via Twitch.
• Co-streaming is a critical driver for VGC engagement, accounting for 70.5% of its total viewership, with streamer knekro alone contributing 275,000 hours watched.

How Strategy & Card Games are Surviving Post-IDFA

The mobile strategy and card game industry, which generated $11 billion in 2022, is undergoing a profound structural transformation driven by the deprecation of IDFA, global inflation, and a post-pandemic market correction.

• Post-IDFA, 4X strategy games are increasingly utilizing 'genre-mashing'—integrating hypercasual, match-3, or puzzle minigames into their core loops—to lower CPIs and improve user acquisition efficiency.
• The 4X subgenre remains the primary driver of revenue trends for the broader strategy and card game market, despite facing significant headwinds in the post-IDFA landscape.
• Supercell is struggling to replicate its past success, having failed to release a new 'billion-dollar unicorn' hit since Brawl Stars, leading to a steady downward revenue trend from its 2014-2016 peaks.

Bushiroad FY2023 Full-Year Financial Results Briefing Material

Bushiroad achieved record-high net sales during the 2023 fiscal year, underpinned by the robust performance of its Trading Card Game unit and a notable recovery in live event attendance.