Utilizing its Game Taxonomy and Game Intelligence tools, which segments games into relevant genres and subgenres to support publishers in efficiently identifying key trends, Sensor Tower, a relevant market intelligence and performance metrics firm in the mobile app ecosystem, analyzed the Strategy genre to see how it has performed over the last year.
In this regard, player spending in mobile Strategy games in the United States rose by 23.5% between November 1st, 2020 and October 31st, 2021 to USD 4.2 billion. The top Strategy genre game by player spending in the U.S. was Lords Mobile, from IGG, which is part of the 4X Strategy subgenre and generated USD 330.3 million. The No. 2 grossing Strategy title was Clash of Clans (Supercell), part of the Build & Battle subgenre, followed by State of Survival (FunPlus), part of the 4X Strategy subgenre.
When it comes to downloads, Strategy games picked up 145.4 million installs during the past year, an increase of 3.6%. The top title for installs was Pokémon Unite (The Pokémon Company), part of the MOBA subgenre, accumulating 8.3 million downloads. Then, there were Top War (Topwar Studio), and State of Survival.
REVENUE PER SUBCATEGORIES
The 4X Strategy subgenre was the clear No. 1 revenue generator of the seven Strategy subcategories during the period, with player spending increasing by 32.5% year-over-year to USD 2.9 billion. The fastest-growing subgenre by revenue was MOBA, with player spending rising by more than 50% Y-o-Y to USD 168.4 million. It should be noted, however, that each subgenre consists of a different number of titles. 4X Strategy was also the No. 1 subgenre for downloads, accumulating 53.3 million installs. The fastest-growing subcategory for downloads, meanwhile, was MOBA, with installs rising by 133.3% Y-o-Y to 19.4 million. Analyzing revenue per download, 4X Strategy is once again the leader, generating approximately USD 54 per download during the last year. Build & Battle ranked No. 2, while Empire Simulation was No. 3.
Strategy was the No. 3 revenue generating mobile game genre in the U.S. across the App Store and Google Play over the past year, behind Puzzle at No. 1 and Casino at No. 2. Again, 4X Strategy is the clear driving force behind the genre’s success, accumulating more than two-thirds of all player spending, while also picking up the most downloads.
However, growth in the MOBA subgenre has been the catalyst for download growth for the entire category, thanks in particular to the high-profile launches such as Pokémon Unite and League of Legends: Wild Rift, from Riot Games, during the past year. Most other categories, except for Empire Simulation, which saw approximately 42% growth Y-o-Y, saw declines in yearly installs, in part due to the surge in downloads across all categories during the first wave of lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.