After spending months or years of your life developing a mobile game, it's natural to think that it'll be appreciated by the world and instantly recognised for its genius.
But time and again, great games launch onto the App Store and spend weeks struggling to break into the Top 10.
Trademob's taken a good hard look at what it takes to achieve a Top 10 rank in the App Store, and the results are surprising.
According to its data, Trademob states that an app "must achieve a high number of downloads within 72 hours" to crack the Top 10 - with the last 24 of those 72 hours being the most significant.
Further, it's estimated that you'd need 80,000 installs to break into the US Top 10. The UK follows next with 26,000 installs, with Germany in third place with 15,000 installs required.
Swings and roundabouts
The good news is that to actually hit the mark, you only need to splash out on half as many installs.
Trademob identifies a "100 percent organic uplift" for game apps, which translates to 1 additional organic install during the first three days of an app's launch.
In other words, for every install you pay for (via app marketing campaigns) in the first three days, you'll actually receive two installs.
In the US, the cost per install (CPI) is $1.40, while in the UK it's closer to $1.20. In Germany, the CPI is 60c.
Thus, if you're interested in cracking the Top 10 with a boosted launch, it will cost you an estimated $56,000 in the US, $31,200 in the UK, or $9,000 in Germany.
Click for full scale image
Data & Research
US Correspondent
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.
Related Articles
Top Stories
News
Mar 18th, 2024
SuperScale's ebook serves organic growth tips, making mobile games more sustainable
News
Mar 18th, 2024
Copyright doesn’t exist for generative AI-created content in the US but it remains the "Wild West"
Feature
Mar 18th, 2024
Hot Five: Monopoly GO’s next-level UA, Supercell’s psychological analysis, and AI use for NPC dialogue
Feature
Mar 15th, 2024
Under the hood: Deconstructing Monopoly GO! as it passes $2 billion in revenue
Events
MIX & Kinda Funny Showcase 2024 | North America | Mar 14th |
Game Developers Conference 2024 | North America | Mar 18th |
#notGDC 2024 | Mar 18th | |
Day of the Devs: San Francisco | North America | Mar 18th |
Nvidia GTC 2024 | North America | Mar 18th |
Game Connection America 2024 | Europe | Mar 18th |
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2024 | North America | Mar 18th |
European Game Showcase 2024 | North America | Mar 19th |
Popular Stories
Interview
Mar 12th, 2024
Supercell’s Head of Live Games Sara Bach talks company changes, world-beating live ops, and how to get back on top
News
Mar 13th, 2024
Monopoly GO makes $2 billion in 10 months with "less than a quarter" of that spent on UA
News
Mar 15th, 2024