Match-3 downloads are down 23% but Royal Match revenue coins it in

• In H1 2024, the merge-2 genre saw a 20% increase in downloads and an impressive 107% increase in revenue
• An incredible 96% of the idle tycoon genre's revenue is controlled by just three games…

In the first half of 2024, the Tier-1 West casual gaming market saw revenue increase by 11% year-on-year, rising from $6.5 billion in H1 2023 to $7.2 billion in H1 2024. Despite some stagnation or decline in various genres, merge-2, match-3, match 3D, sort puzzle, and casual casino genres all experienced notable growth. 

That's according to the new Casual Gaming in H1 2024 report by AppMagic which also shows that match-3 games, despite a sizable 23% drop in downloads, enjoyed a 9% increase in revenue, largely driven by the powerhouse that is Royal Match, which surged 69% in revenue year-on-year.

The top four games in the genre - Royal Match, Gardenscapes, Homescapes, and Project Makeover - dominate an incredible 84% of the match-3 genre's revenue. A new addition, Truck Star, emerged as the most successful newcomer of H1 2024, generating over $1.2 million in monthly revenue by August 2024.

In H1 2024, the merge-2 genre saw a 20% increase in downloads and an impressive 107% increase in revenue, effectively doubling its income and highlighting improved monetisation throughout. Among the new titles, only Merge Prison: Hidden Puzzle by Blue Ultra Game met the $50K per month success criterion. 

Some shine, others struggle

Another title, Merge Adventure: Travel Games by Green Pixel, initially met the criteria but has since dropped to $40K per month. Match 3D also experienced significant growth, with revenue more than doubling and a 66% increase in downloads, indicating strong monetisation improvements. 

Happy Match Cafe by Kings Fortune, the second-best revenue-growing newcomer continued its growth and surpassed $44M in global lifetime revenue. The only new release in H1 2024 to meet the $50K per month benchmark is Match Rush 3D: ASMR Care.

Notably the top ten casual games feature almost zero movement with the first seven places remaining practically unchanged from 2023 to 2024.

Idle Tycoons

The Idle Tycoon genre saw a 19% year-over-year decline in revenue and a 20% drop in downloads in H1 2024. While in the casual casino genre, star player Monopoly GO! dominated with 63% of the revenue, followed by Coin Master at 24% and Dice Dreams at 9%. 

This concentration means that 96% of the genre's revenue is controlled by just three games. Due to this intense competition, only 11 new games were released in the genre in H1 2024, none of which achieved the $50K/month success benchmark.

You can read the full report here.