The casino genre's average growth stands at 11% per quarter, surpassing Sports & Racing (+8%), Lifestyle & Puzzle (+4%), and Action & Strategy (-9%) titles. Casino games have now emerged as frontrunners, experiencing a consistent YoY increase in in-app purchase (IAP) bookings.
According to the latest report from Sensor Tower, Scopely's Monopoly Go has positioned itself as the ‘Temu' of games in 2023, securing a substantial market share (~21% of IAP bookings) in the Social Casino space. This success has allowed Scopely to overshadow leading players, including Moon Active, Playtika, Pixel United, Netmarble, DoubleU, and Light and Wonder.
Market shifts
DoubleU witnessed a decline in its share of IAP bookings from 8% in the third quarter of 2022 to 4% in the third quarter of 2023, potentially losing ground to industry giants like Scopely. Konami maintained its leadership in the Sports & Racing category in Q3 2023, commanding 32% of IAP bookings (up from 30% in Q3 2022). However, the broader space experienced a shakeup with the rising popularity of new titles from EA (23%) and NetEase (17%).
In the Sports & Racing genre, Take-Two faced a share decline, yielding ground to publishers with breakout hits in the genre. The IAP bookings for Take-Two's Sports & Racing portfolio also declined by an average of 10% YoY per quarter from Q1 2023 to Q3 2023, aligning with declines in its broader mobile portfolio.
Roblox triumphs
Roblox demonstrated impressive performance, surpassing Q3 2023 estimates for reported earnings per share (EPS) and revenue. Daily active users (DAUs) for Roblox in Q3 2023 increased by 29% YoY, consistent with the company's reported global DAUs growth of 20% YoY. In addition, Roblox's mobile user engagement saw a significant boost, with a 30% YoY increase in user hours engaged per day in Q3 2023, in line with the reported growth across all platforms.
Insights into US users during Q3 2023 suggest that Roblox has ample opportunities to collaborate with major brands across Sports Games, Racing Games, and Graphics & Design apps. This collaboration could lead to in-game events and activations, fostering consumer engagement as well as brand awareness.
