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.

February 2024 breakout rankings underscored the enduring appeal of hypercasual games, especially within the Puzzle subgenre, with three of the top ten titles from this category. data.ai's recent State of Mobile Gaming 2024 report shows how this particular subgenre not only topped the charts in terms of downloads but also emerged as the most competitive subgenre.

This month, core games based on licensed anime and sports franchises defied trends by securing top positions in the competitive realm of casual games, indicating a shift in mobile gaming preferences and an evolving audience taste. 

Let’s start with February's 2024’s breakout games by download (aka which games saw the greatest growth in February).

February 2024 breakout games by download

One Punch Man: World, an action RPG from Crunchyroll Games, dominated global download charts since its January 2024 release, approaching 45 million downloads worldwide. Building upon its predecessor, One Punch Man: The Strongest from 2020, World introduces open-world exploration and real-time combat. It ranked number one in both downloads and monetization charts, earning over $2.7 million. With top rankings in nine markets including the US, UK, and Germany, the game's success extends globally.

NBA Infinite: The simulation sports game from Tencent, secured the number four spot in breakout games by worldwide downloads. Offering real-time PvP play, team customization, and regular roster updates, it provides diverse game modes for competitive engagement. Released on February 15 to coincide with the peak of the 2024 NBA All-Star season, it has garnered nearly 5.4 million downloads globally, spanning countries such as Brazil, the US, Italy, the Philippines and France.

Hero Clash: Save The Dog took the number seven spot for top breakout games up an amazing 213 places the from prior period. Published by Glacier Inc, headquartered in China, the game is classified under the idle RPG subgenre, and ranked number one by downloads among its peers. The game has been available for downloads globally since November, 2022 being downloaded around 19.21 million times globally. 

February 2024 top games by downloads

 

While the rising stars offer the best view into high growth sectors, top charts showcase current consumer demand.

Once again, breakout title One Punch Man: World also ranked number one globally, showcasing the worldwide popularity of the anime series upon which it is based.

Coming at number two was old favourite, Garena's Free Fire, approaching the 1.5 billion download milestone at 1.49 billion downloads, led by India, Brazil and Indonesia, as its top three markets. The game has also done well in monetization and is poised to surpass its milestone of $3 billion in global consumer spending by the first half of 2024.

Simulation hypercasual title Pizza Ready by Supercent, out of South Korea, moved up eight positions to number 10 this month. Since launch, the game has been downloaded around 40.7 million times globally with principle markets being India, United States, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. 

February 2024 top breakout games by consumer spend

 

Let's take a look at which games saw the greatest growth in February 2024. How did successful launches, monetization mechanics, and timely re-engagement campaigns shape our Breakout Games by Consumer Spend charts?

Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, the RPG game published by Bandai Namco surged to the number one spot in worldwide consumer spending in February 2024, climbing 42 places from the previous period. It also ranked number nine in the top 10 for consumer spending globally. Since its launch in January 2015, the game has amassed approximately 95.7 million downloads worldwide, with a strong presence in Japan, the US, Brazil, Mexico and France. With a staggering global consumer spend of over $4.2 billion, it dominated the monetization charts, particularly in Japan and to mark its ninth anniversary, a fan event in Tokyo and Osaka introduced new characters and events, leading to spikes in in-app purchases.

And the breakout downloads hit from January 2024 Love and Deepspace took the number six spot for top breakout games by global consumer spend in February 2024, up an amazing 76 places from the prior period. Published by Nikki Inc, headquartered in China, the game is classified under the dating subgenre and ranked number one by consumer spend among its peers. Since its launch in January 2024 the game has been downloaded around 12.2 million times globally. Downloads came from China, the US, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The game has also done well in monetization, where it surpassed $47.2 million in consumer spend globally with it's leading markets being China, Japan, the US, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

February 2024 top games by consumer spend

 

Consumer spending top charts are more stable than breakout charts, with player loyalty being crucial for the longevity of leading games. In February we saw a few notable titles break into the top 10, occupying ranks eight through ten.

Dream Games' Royal Match retained the number one rank for consumer spend once more, driven by innovative match gameplay and the engaging fantasy meta themes woven throughout the game.

Old favourite, Niantic's Pokémon Go entered the top 10 chart for spend this month after climbing ten positions, due to the success of its Road to Sinnoh event where players could access event-exclusive content and items, triggering spikes in consumption.

Zombie survival-themed strategy game, Last War: Survival Game from First Fun took the number 10 spot for global consumer spend after climbing up 16 places from the prior period. Published by Onefun, headquartered in China, the game is classified under the 4X March-Battle subgenre and ranked number two by consumer spend among its peers. 

Want more from data.ai? Download data.ai's State of Mobile Gaming 2024 report here.