Q1 2024 saw a modest revival in major APAC mobile game markets, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Tencent's portfolio experienced strong growth, achieving top ranks on the China App Store's top-grossing and download charts. Strategy and puzzle games like Last War: Survival Game and Royal Match drove the upswing in Japan and South Korea, while the idle RPG Legend of Mushroom grew in these markets, bucking the declining RPG trend.

This report examines mobile game revenue and downloads across popular APAC markets such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia in 2024, highlighting revenue and download shifts by genre and standout performances from top titles. It also includes a case study on the success of the hit game Legend of Mushroom in the South Korean and Japanese markets. Click "Download Free Report" to access the full report.

Note: This report only includes estimated IAP revenues from app stores and excludes ad revenues and revenues from third-party Android channels in China.

Tencent's Lineup Drives Robust Growth, Dominates China App Store Top Grossing and Download Charts

Propelled by the standout growth of titles like Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite, Battle of Golden Spatula, CrossFire, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Yuan Meng Star, Tencent's lineup secured top positions on top grossing and download charts of China App Store market. Honor of Kings saw a 16% revenue increase, defending its #1 spot on the top grossing chart, while CrossFire's revenues soared nearly threefold, catapulting it to #4 on the revenue chart.

Fueled by the strong launch of Tencent's Yuan Meng Star and the significant growth of NetEase's Eggy Party during the Lunar New Year period, arcade game downloads and revenue on the China App Store experienced a 12% and 13% quarter-over-quarter increase, respectively, in January to April 2024. Yuan Meng Star quickly rose to the top of China App Store overall downloads chart on launch day and maintained its position for several weeks, also securing the top spot on the China App Store games downloads chart. Meanwhile, Eggy Party demonstrated outstanding revenue performance, marking its fifth consecutive quarter as the top-grossing arcade game on the China App Store.

At launch, Paper Games' interactive story game Love & Deepspace quickly soared to the top of the China App Store's mobile games downloads chart. By late April, it had grossed over $100 million globally, with 65% of the revenue coming from the China App Store. This success drove a remarkable surge of 167% in revenue and 85% in downloads for the lifestyle genre.

Strategy and Puzzle Titles Drive Modest Uptick in Japan's Mobile Game Market

Q1 2024 saw a 6% and 2% quarter-over-quarter increase in mobile game downloads and revenue, respectively, in the Japanese market. Driven by the growth of strategy titles like Whiteout Survival and Last War: Survival Game, as well as puzzle games like Fatgoose Gym and Royal Match, the market's overall revenue rebounded to $2.9 billion.

Shortly after its late February launch in the Japanese market, Joy Net Games' idle RPG Legend of Mushroom rapidly topped the overall download charts on both the Japan App Store and Google Play. Over the subsequent two-plus months, it grossed nearly $80 million, emerging as Japan's fastest-growing mobile game by revenue. It ranked seventh on the top-grossing chart and second on the download chart.

Legend of Mushroom Dethrones Classic MMORPGs to Top South Korean Mobile Game Revenue and Download Rankings

Defying the declining trend in RPG mobile game revenue and downloads in the South Korean market, the idle RPG Legend of Mushroom achieved stellar growth. In Jan-Apr 2024, it grossed nearly $100 million in IAP revenue, surpassing classic domestic MMORPGs like Lineage M and ODIN: Valhalla Rising to claim the top spot on both the top-grossing and downloads charts.

Strategy mobile game revenue in South Korea surged 40% quarter-over-quarter in Jan-Apr 2024. FirstFun 4X's strategy game, Last War: Survival Game, made a significant contribution, with its revenue in South Korea skyrocketing nearly thirteenfold quarter-over-quarter, propelling it to second on both the top-grossing and downloads charts.

Free Fire Retains the Crown in the Southeast Asian Mobile Game Downloads Chart, with Impressive Growth in the Indonesian Market

Driven by outstanding growth in the Indonesian market, Free Fire's downloads in Southeast Asia surged by 70% quarter-on-quarter. This growth helped Free Fire maintain its position at the top of the region's mobile game downloads chart and contributed to a 20% increase in shooter game downloads.

As of April 2024, Moonton's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has generated nearly $1.8 billion in global revenue, with 47% coming from the Southeast Asian market. From January to April 2024, the game raked in $45 million in the Southeast Asian market, firmly holding the top spot in the top-grossing chart.

Legend of Mushroom Achieves $270M in Global IAP Revenue, with Nearly 70% Coming from South Korea and Japan

Since November 2023, Legend of Mushroom has been successively launched in markets including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Mainland China, Southeast Asia, and Europe/North America. Leveraging its casual and entertaining idle gameplay, adorable and diverse mushroom characters, rewarding mechanics, and localized marketing strategies, the game has topped the App Store games downloads charts in multiple markets, including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

As of the end of April 2024, Legend of Mushroom's global cumulative IAP revenue has reached $270M, with South Korea and Japan contributing 39.4% and 30%, respectively. Amid the shrinking RPG mobile games market in South Korea and Japan, Legend of Mushroom has surpassed local games to claim the revenue crown.

In the South Korean and Japanese markets, Legend of Mushroom's user base is predominantly male, accounting for over 80%. Core gamers constitute the primary user group, while its cute art style and light idle gameplay also appeal to hypercasual and casual players. Looking ahead, the game's strategy is noteworthy for mid-core mobile games aiming to attract users.