Revenue from arena and adventure games is expected to surpass $4.7B 

Both arena and adventure games are expected to reach $4.7 billion in revenue according to Sensor Tower’s report. Globally, these two genres generate the most revenue from in-app purchases, per the report.

Between January and July 2023, ultra-casual games with no narrative received 2.3 billion installs. Board game titles came in second place with 2.1 billion. 

From January to July, the hypercasual, space, and post-apocalyptic genres saw significant sales growth. The game Eggy Party, featured in NetEase’s portfolio, played a key role in the game show genre’s income skyrocketing 18 times compared to the previous year, reaching over $270 million. This game was specifically emphasized in the study.

Chinese developers have achieved remarkable success in the larger doomsday genre, which comprises post-apocalyptic and zombie games. From January to July, all of the top ten highest-grossing and top-growing games were developed by Chinese developers. 

The post-apocalyptic genre experienced an 81% year-on-year increase in downloads, thanks to games like Whiteout Survival and Frozen City, which demonstrated the genre’s strong market potential. This upswing is partly driven by the worldwide popularity of HBO’s The Last of Us.

Whiteout Survival, an influential game within the Doomsday genre, earned over $100 million from January to July, making it a standout performer among the top 100 Chinese mobile games by overseas revenue. The Doomsday genre contributed 16% of the total revenue in this category. 

Meanwhile, the weapons genre experienced the highest growth, with a remarkable 200% increase in downloads year-on-year. Devil M, an adventure title, achieved significant success, generating $36 million in the analyzed period and earning a place among the top mobile games overseas. However, the top-performing adventure title in terms of revenue was Yuan Shen, topping the genre’s charts according to Sensor Tower.