Data Insights: World Cup Impact, DTC Market Growth, and More

A recent survey by GDC and Appcharge highlights that the direct-to-consumer (DTC) monetization segment accounts for about 15% of the mobile gaming in-app purchase market, valued at $113.3 billion, translating to an estimated $17 billion for DTC. Among the surveyed developers and publishers, 42% are currently exploring DTC methods, while 25% report that they are either scaling or have reached a mature stage of DTC implementation. However, 45% noted that less than 10% of their revenue derives from DTC, and 25% anticipate flat or declining growth in DTC revenue for the year.

Epic Games has reported that creators using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) have collectively earned over $1 billion since its launch in March 2023. UEFN allows users to create custom games and experiences, which have accounted for 47% of all Fortnite player hours in May, a rise from 38% the previous year. With Fortnite now available on Google Play and the App Store globally, mobile playtime in UEFN games has more than doubled in the past year, contributing to Fortnite's active user base of over 75 million.

In advertising, Vita Mahjong topped the iOS mobile game ad charts in May, surpassing Oakever’s Tile Explorer, which was the most advertised game in March. The iOS top five also included Bingo Voyage, Match Villains, and Zen Word. On Android, Zen Word retained its top position for a second consecutive month, with Vita Mahjong and Tile Explorer following. Oakever titles occupied a significant share of the ad charts, holding over a third of the top 10 positions across both platforms.

My.Games announced that its flagship title Rush Royale has generated $500 million in lifetime revenue since its 2020 launch, alongside surpassing 105 million downloads. Meanwhile, Kinoa, an AI-driven platform aimed at enhancing user engagement and monetization for game developers, has secured $10 million in funding, led by Transcend Fund.

In security news, almost 2.2 million apps were removed from Google Play and the App Store last year due to security violations, according to Surfshark's research. Google removed over 2 million apps, marking a 48.5% decrease from the previous year, while Apple’s removals more than doubled to nearly 167,000. Games represented 18% of App Store removals, with data protection and privacy violations leading the reasons for app removals on Google Play.

Hypercasual game Dessert DIY has reached 150 million downloads, according to publisher CrazyLabs. Originally launched in India in late 2021 and globally in May 2022, it became the second most downloaded game for CrazyLabs that year. The game transitioned to Nintendo Switch and PS4 in 2023 and achieved 100 million downloads by March 2024.