Fate/Grand Order, from Sony's Aniplex, has surpassed $4 billion in lifetime player spending, making it one of the world's most lucrative mobile games since its 2015 release. The majority of revenue (81.5%) comes from Japan, totaling nearly $3.3 billion, followed by China ($416 million) and the US ($151.8 million). The App Store contributed 57.1% of revenue.
The game has 13.8 million downloads globally, with Japan leading at 48.7%. Average revenue per download is $291, rising to $487 in Japan. It has achieved over $1 billion in annual revenue in 2018 and 2019, and became the top-grossing mobile game in Japan in 2020, displacing Monster Strike.
In 2019, users spent $83.5 billion globally on apps and mobile games, up 17% from 2018. App Store revenue hit $54.2 billion, while Google Play reached $29.3 billion. Games accounted for 74% of spending. First-time installs totaled 114.9 billion, with Google Play leading growth.
TikTok had its best month in February 2020 with nearly 113 million downloads, 96% Y/Y growth. India led with 46.6M installs, followed by Brazil and US. Revenue hit $50.4M, up 784% Y/Y, mostly from China.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang reached $502.5 million lifetime gross revenue, driven by $214.1 million in 2019 (up 36% YoY). Asia contributed 61% of revenue, with Malaysia ($87.5M) and Indonesia ($69.2M) as top markets. Google Play accounted for 68% of revenue and 89% of 281.3 million downloads. First-mover advantage helped it surpass Honor of Kings outside China.
TikTok surpasses 1.5 billion downloads, ranking 3rd most downloaded non-gaming app in 2019. India leads with 31% of installs, China 11.5%, US 8.2%. Revenue hits $175M, mainly from China (48.3%) and US (35.7%).
TikTok surpasses 2 billion downloads globally, with India leading at 30.3%. Q1 2020 saw record 315 million installs amid COVID-19. User spending hits $456.7 million, 72.3% from China.
TikTok hit 738M downloads and $177M revenue in 2019, growing 5x from 2018. India led downloads (44%). China topped revenue (69%). Q4 was best quarter. App faces privacy challenges but growth persists.
AppsFlyer’s 2026 creative data shows video and static image ads reward opposite creative qualities, so ad ops teams should plan, budget, and test them separately. Video spend is concentrating: gaming’s top 2% of video creatives captured 60.7% of spend, up from 53.5%, while image spend spread out. Top spenders are testing far more variations, widening the testing gap. Action/Strategy and Puzzle/Lifestyle show format-specific tone and social-proof reversals; Finance is the exception. Teams should use AI-assisted variation, analyze video winners deeply, keep broad image testing, and measure performance at attribute level.
September mobile gaming softened overall but delivered clear live-ops wins. Global consumer spending hit $6.13B, down 7% MoM, with the US at 28.7%, China iOS 15.7%, and Japan 12.4%. Downloads reached 3.56B, down 5.2%, led by India at 16.2%. ROBLOX topped downloads and revenue growth; Honor of Kings stayed strong via seasonal content; Candy Crush and Pokémon GO used music, celebrity, and event-driven engagement. For ad ops, prioritize event-aligned UA/retargeting, IP collaborations, seasonal battle passes, and localized creatives for US/India/Brazil. Monitor launch spikes from Bus Fever Party!, Honor of Kings Chess, and Brain Puzzle 3 to time bids and creative refreshes.
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