Project Makeover

Match-3 Genre Snapshot Report: May 2021

This report provides a snapshot of the Match-3 puzzle genre in May 2021, analyzing top-performing titles, emerging trends, and player motivations.

• Candy Crush Saga remains the market leader with a 16.74% share and a revenue per download (Rev/DL) of $11.27 as of Q1 2021.
• Project Makeover demonstrates the most aggressive growth in the sector, capturing a 10.57% market share with a high-premium monetization strategy yielding a $45.51 Rev/DL.
• Modern match-3 success is driven by fast-paced core loops, quick animations, and progression systems integrated with home or makeover themes, as seen in titles like Royal Match and Project Makeover.

Endure, Join Them, or Leave? Suffering Women in Mobile Game Advertising

Free-to-play mobile games, particularly titles such as Project Makeover and Matchington Mansion, increasingly utilize provocative and misleading advertising strategies that rely on the systematic depiction of women as helpless, suffering, or physically unattractive.

Casual Gaming Trends Snapshot Report

GameRefinery's March 2022 analysis of the US casual mobile market argues that competition is intense and that success increasingly depends on meta layers built around core gameplay.

• Every top-100 casual game released in the last two years now incorporates renovation elements to drive visual progression and player satisfaction.
• The integration of construction mechanics in top Match3 games has surged from 7% to 49% over the past six years.
• 70% of top-grossing Match3 titles currently utilize hybrid designs that blend core puzzle mechanics with complex meta-layers like RPG elements or collectibles.

State of Mobile: Germany 2022

App Annie's analysis of Germany's 2021 mobile market, set against global benchmarks, shows a market growing steadily in usage and especially in monetization.

• The German mobile market reached $4.0 billion in consumer spending in 2021, marking a 72% increase over two years.
• Gaming remains the primary economic driver, generating $2.8 billion in revenue and accounting for over 70% of total app spending, led by titles like Genshin Impact and Coin Master.
• Daily mobile engagement reached 3.4 hours per user, with social and video applications capturing 60% of that time.

Casual Puzzle Category Review 2021

Casual Puzzle is a large, still-expanding mobile category, and the 2021 review traces how fresh entrants and decoration-based metagames are reshaping it.

• The Puzzle & Decorate sub-genre has overtaken Classic Match-3 as the primary revenue driver, led by titles like Project Makeover and Royal Match that utilize narrative-driven 3D customization.
• The Merge sub-genre is the fastest-growing segment, achieving a 498% four-year compound annual growth rate and a 44% revenue increase over 18 months.
• Market consolidation remains high in the Puzzle & Decorate segment, where Playrix and AppLovin control 88% of total downloads and revenue.

Match3 Genre Snapshot: US iOS (May 2021)

Match3 remains the largest subgenre in the US iOS market, generating roughly 16% of revenue (bubble shooters excluded) as of Q1 2021.

• As of May 2021, the Match3 subgenre accounts for approximately 16% of total US iOS mobile gaming revenue.
• No new Match3 titles entering the top 500 grossing rankings over the last 18 months utilize standard swapping mechanics, indicating a shift toward gameplay diversification.
• Modern Match3 success is increasingly driven by meta-layers, specifically decoration and customization features seen in titles like Royal Match and Project Makeover.

Market Snapshot: Q1 2021 US, China & Japan

GameRefinery's Q1 2021 mobile market snapshot compares iOS performance in the US, Japan and China against Q4 2020, covering genre share, publisher rankings, soft-launch titles, trending features and player motivations.

• In Q1 2021, mobile gaming genre preferences diverged globally: US markets favored simulation games, Japan saw a shift from RPGs to sports titles led by Cygames’ Uma Musume Pretty Derby, and China moved toward shooter games.
• Roblox Corporation established itself as the top-grossing publisher in the US market during Q1 2021.
• Monetization strategies varied by region, with collectible albums appearing in over 70% of top-grossing US games, battle passes in over 25% of top-grossing Japanese titles, and special gacha mechanics in 30% of top-grossing Chinese games.

Q1 2021: Store Intelligence Data Digest

Sensor Tower's Q1 2021 data digest examines worldwide mobile app and game downloads across the App Store and Google Play, with regional views of Asia, Europe, and the U.S.

• Global mobile app downloads rose 8.7% year-over-year to 36.6 billion in Q1 2021, driven by a 15.3% surge on Google Play that offset an 8.6% decline on the App Store.
• Hypercasual games dominated the U.S. market, accounting for 80% of the top 20 titles, with Join Clash 3D ranking as the most downloaded game globally.
• Finance category downloads in the U.S. and Europe grew by 34%, fueled by retail investing and cryptocurrency platforms like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Binance.