Data.ai’s monthly gaming pulse rounds up analysis on the latest releases and highlights the breakout hits of tomorrow. And in advance of the official release PocketGamer.biz have got an early look at all the latest facts, figures and finds.
The data covers trends and movement in the top charts across the leading gaming markets and compares how each game (and their publishers) are faring and makes predictions for the months ahead.
November 2023 kicked off Q4 with notable new releases for anime-based games, popular franchises returning and games moving from PC to mobile. Let’s start with November 2023’s breakout games by download (aka which games saw the greatest growth in November)
November 2023 breakout games by download
The mobile game debut for popular TV anime series Black Clover M hit the number one spot both for both most downloaded game and top breakout game by downloads. More remarkable is that it was able to pull off this feat - garnering 21 million downloads - in the three short days following its release that are included in this month’s sample time.
Western markets drove downloads with top markets including Brazil, the United States, Mexico, France and Spain, respectively.
Another breakout RPG game from Asia, Soul Knight Prequel, took the number four spot for top breakout games by worldwide downloads. Published by ChillyRoom, headquartered in China, the roguelike ARPG has seen strong traction across the Americas and Asia (Brazil, China, Mexico, the US and South Korea), but Asian markets drove the most initial consumer spend (China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, the US).
Tencent’s Popular Music Game Rhythm Master made a return in November after a year-long break since its debut more than a decade ago. The action/music/rhythm game re-debuted at the number 10 spot for breakout games by downloads fueled almost entirely by the Chinese market. Since its relaunch, the game has been downloaded an additional 4.2 million times adding up to a lifetime downloads of 71 million.
November 2023 top games by downloads
While the rising stars offer the best view into high growth sectors, the familar top charts showcase current consumer demand with plenty of old favourites putting in appearances.
In November 2023, Roblox ranked number four globally, approaching the 1 billion download milestone with 977 million downloads to date.
Spider Fighting: Rope Game was another standout at number seven by global downloads. The open-world action game launched just two months ago and has already seen 19 million downloads globally with strong momentum in emerging markets including India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey and it topped download charts in Argentina.
November 2023 top breakout games by consumer spend
So how did successful launches, monetization mechanics and timely re-engagement campaigns shape the breakout games by consumer spend charts?
It was a big month for anime series-turned games. The hit anime series Jujutsu Kaisen debuted as an RPG game 呪術廻戦 ファントムパレード (Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade), topping the global breakout spend chart. Published by Sumzap (part of CyberAgent group), headquartered in Japan, the game focuses predominantly on the domestic market. With over four million downloads, generating an out-sized $59 million. This works out that the average consumer spend per download clocked in at close to $15.
Warcraft Rumble claimed the number three spot in the breakout games by global consumer spend chart, moving up a whopping 364 places. Since its launch, the game has been downloaded nearly seven million million times globally with the largest base of users coming from the US, Brazil, Germany, France, and Taiwan, and generating nearly $27 million in consumer spend to date. In the US, a $19.99 in-app purchase of the Arclight Booster drove around 46% of all revenue during November.
Longstanding favorite from 2014, Marvel Contest of Champions moved up 93 places to comfortably claim the number six rank for breakout consumer spend. The game has seen 214 million lifetime downloads and $2.1billion in consumer spend over the last nine years, with the recent surge from its Baron Zemo’s Underground Market sale event held during the last week of November. The game’s most lucrative markets have been the US, UK, Germany, Canada and France.
November 2023 top games by consumer spend
The top charts for consumer spend are more stable than breakout charts with player loyalty playing a huge role in the staying power of top games. Thus no breakout stars were able to crack the consumer spend top 10 this month but doubtless they’ll find their place in time.
Royal Match and Monopoly GO retained the number one and two slots for consumer spend while Genshin Impact saw a sizable boost in spend in November - climbing six slots to number five, driven by new events, storylines and character releases following its third Anniversary celebration.
Genshin Impact has surpassed $4.9 billion in spend to date and shows no signs of slowing down as it approaches its $5 billion milestone. Data.ai predict that Genshin Impact will surpass $6.3 billion by this time next year.
Gardenscapes by Playrix, another longtime standing member in the top grossing games, took
the number seven spot for top games by global consumer spend in November 2023, up two places from the prior period.
Similar to Genshin Impact, the game has surpassed $4.9 billion to date. Multiple sale events were held in November, including one which coincides with the Black Friday shopping season.
