Hearthstone's Kobolds and Catacombs Expansion Doubled the Game's Mobile Revenue—But It Could Have Been Bigger

Blizzard's hit digital card game Hearthstone has doubled its mobile revenue since its seventh content expansion, Kobolds and Catacombs, launched on December 7, grossing an estimated $5.2 million worldwide within five days on the App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data.

We analyzed the launch of Hearthstone's expansions to date to see where its latest offering stands in terms of total revenue and revenue impact. Keep reading for the results.

Kobold's Success Is Rare, But Not Quite Legendary

As shown in the chart below, Kobolds and Catacombs ranks fourth in terms of worldwide gross revenue during its first five days of availability, behind Journey to Un'goro ($5.5 million), Whispers of the Old Gods ($5.7 million), and the No. 1 expansion in our analysis, Knights of the Frozen Throne ($6.6 million). Note that these totals are estimated player spend on the App Store and Google Play excluding China.

To look at this data from another perspective that accounts for the game's increasing player base since its first expansion launched in 2014, we compared revenue growth for the first five days of availability to the five days leading up to release. By this measure, Kobolds and Catacombs ranks fifth at 119 percent, after Journey to Un'goro (171 percent), Knights of the Frozen Throne (176 percent), Mean Streets of Gadgetzan (311 percent), and the very first Hearthstone expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes, at 416 percent growth.

Blizzard Is Playing the Long Game

While grossing more than $1 million per day is a metric many mobile gaming publishers would be happy to claim, the figures above reveal that — despite an impressive amount of pre-launch marketing — this expansion hasn't quite gripped player's wallets in the same way as the two other 2017 releases. That said, Blizzard clearly still has a strong grasp on what will make players continue to spend in a game that averages more than $8 million per month on mobile worldwide and isn't showing any signs of slowing.