Gardenscapes
Documents about Gardenscapes
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Episode #4: Nintendo's mobile growth, Summer Game Fest, Skate 3 rumours
The gaming industry is undergoing a fundamental structural transformation, characterized by a move away from centralized trade shows like E3 toward decentralized, digital-first publisher showcases.
- Playrix has reached a market inflection point with its portfolio, led by Gardenscapes and Homescapes, which have collectively surpassed 1.1 billion downloads to challenge the dominance of Candy Crush Saga.
- Nintendo maintains a conservative mobile strategy where mobile revenue accounts for only 4% of its total earnings, relying on established titles like Mario Kart Tour and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp rather than aggressive expansion.
- The gaming industry is shifting from centralized trade shows like E3 toward decentralized, digital-first publisher showcases to maintain direct control over marketing narratives.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide for April 2020 by Downloads
The mobile gaming industry experienced significant shifts in user acquisition during April 2020, driven largely by the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.
- Save The Girl by Lion Studios was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in April 2020, recording 50.2 million installs.
- Gardenscapes by Playrix secured the second position with 37.7 million installs, marking a 4x increase compared to April 2019.
- Ludo King experienced a significant surge due to COVID-19 lockdowns, reaching 26.8 million downloads in April, a 142% increase from February 2020.
Top Games by Downloads and Revenue: April 2020
This analysis examines the mobile gaming landscape for April 2020, utilizing data from AppMagic to identify trends in global downloads and revenue.
- Lion Studios' hyper-casual title 'Save the Girl' dominated April 2020 downloads, securing 41.8 million total installs and ranking 1st on both Google Play (32 million) and iOS (9.8 million).
- The mobile download charts saw a significant reshuffle with multiple newcomers, while Voodoo—previously responsible for a third of the top ten—failed to place any new projects in the top ten for April.
- Rollic Games' 'Go Knots 3D' showed strong momentum, reaching 19 million total downloads and securing the 2nd spot on iOS with 9.4 million installs.
Match3: Meta Layers and Matching Types
The Match3 genre remains a dominant force in mobile gaming, particularly within Western markets, where it accounts for over 20% of total IAP revenue on US iOS.
- The Match3 genre remains a dominant force in the US iOS market, generating over 20% of total IAP revenues.
- While traditional swapping mechanics remain the most common (59% of top 500 games), there is a clear trend toward collapse/blasting mechanics in newer successful titles.
- Market entry has become increasingly difficult, with only five Match3 games released in the two years prior to March 2020 managing to reach the top 200 grossing list.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide: January 2020
The mobile gaming landscape in January 2020 was defined by high-volume installs across global markets, with Johnny Trigger leading the industry as the most downloaded title, securing 44.5 million installs.
- Johnny Trigger by SayGames was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in January 2020, reaching 44.5 million installs.
- Brain Out by Eyewind secured the second position with over 41.5 million installs, driven primarily by users in Indonesia and Vietnam.
- Playrix titles saw significant growth, with Gardenscapes achieving its best month ever for downloads at 20.9 million and record revenue of $67.6 million.
Battle Pass is a Hot Trend in Mobile Games
The mobile gaming industry has experienced a significant shift in monetization strategies, with Battle Pass systems evolving from a niche feature in Battle Royale titles to a widespread standard across diverse genres.
- Battle Pass adoption in the US iOS top-grossing 100 games grew from a few percent at the start of 2019 to 21% by December 2019.
- The Battle Pass model has expanded beyond the Battle Royale genre into diverse categories, including Build & Battle (Clash of Clans), Match3 (Gardenscapes), and Idle games (Idle Miner Tycoon).
- Most mobile Battle Pass implementations, such as those in Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Gardenscapes, and Mario Kart Tour, utilize a $4.99 monthly price point.
Black Friday Spurs Mobile Game Revenue to Single-Day Record of $70 Million: USA
Black Friday 2019 served as a record-breaking day for the United States mobile gaming industry, with consumer spending reaching an estimated $69.7 million across the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- U.S. mobile game revenue reached a single-day record of $69.7 million on Black Friday 2019, representing a 25% year-over-year increase.
- App Store spending accounted for 60% of the total revenue at $42.1 million, while Google Play generated $27.6 million.
- Google Play experienced a 34% year-over-year growth in game spending, significantly outpacing the App Store's 20% growth.
Top Mobile Games by Worldwide Revenue: November 2019
The mobile gaming landscape in November 2019 was characterized by significant revenue growth among top-tier titles, with Tencent maintaining a dominant market position.
- PUBG Mobile was the highest-grossing mobile game worldwide in November 2019, generating approximately $158 million in user spending, a 5x increase compared to November 2018.
- Honor of Kings ranked second with nearly $120 million in gross revenue, maintaining a 94% revenue concentration within the Chinese market.
- Coin Master achieved its best-ever monthly revenue performance in November 2019, earning more than $63 million.
Playrix Annual Revenue to Surpass $1 Billion for First Time in 2019
The mobile game publisher Playrix is projected to surpass $1 billion in annual revenue from in-app purchases for the first time in 2019.
- Playrix is projected to surpass $1 billion in annual mobile revenue from in-app purchases for the first time in 2019.
- The company's core revenue is driven by four titles—Homescapes, Gardenscapes, Township, and Fishdom—each generating over $10 million monthly.
- Gardenscapes and Homescapes have achieved lifetime revenue milestones of $1.4 billion and $1 billion, respectively.
Top Mobile Games by Worldwide Revenue: October 2019
The mobile gaming industry experienced significant revenue shifts in October 2019, characterized by the dominance of established titles and the rapid ascent of new market entrants.
- PUBG Mobile by Tencent was the highest-earning mobile game in October 2019, generating $153.9 million in worldwide revenue, a 7x increase compared to October 2018.
- Honor of Kings, also from Tencent, ranked second with $116.2 million in gross revenue, with 92% of its earnings originating from the Chinese market.
- Moon Active’s Coin Master entered the top 10 global revenue rankings for the first time in October 2019, generating $63.1 million.
Playrix Games Have Better Average Session Length Than Social Media and Messengers Do
Playrix mobile games demonstrate superior user engagement compared to major social media platforms and messaging applications, specifically regarding average session length.
- Playrix games Gardenscapes and Homescapes achieve higher average daily session lengths than major social media and messaging apps, with users spending 46 and 41 minutes per day respectively.
- While social media and messaging apps maintain higher overall daily and monthly active user counts, Playrix titles capture more time from the 12–64 age demographic in cities with populations over 100,000.
- Gardenscapes and Homescapes generated approximately $45 million in in-app purchases over a one-month period, accounting for 67% of Playrix's total revenue.
Casual Games are “Guilding Up”
Social features have become a cornerstone of mobile game design, with guild mechanics emerging as a primary method for fostering community and driving player retention.
- Casual mobile games are increasingly adopting guild mechanics—traditionally reserved for midcore genres—to drive player retention and loyalty through communal engagement.
- Top-grossing casual titles, including Playrix’s Homescapes, Gardenscapes, and Fishdom, are leading this trend by integrating guild features to foster social communities.
- Developers typically follow a two-stage rollout: launching with a simple foundation (chat and gifting/lives) before introducing deeper co-op tasks or competitive tournaments months later.