It’s only one more week until Monster Hunter Now’s six-month anniversary, and just in time the geolocation giant has reached another mammoth milestone: $150 million in app store revenues.
According to AppMagic data, Japan is far and away the highest-spending audience in-game with 71% of Now’s revenue, or $106.5 million, coming from this region alone. The Japanese playerbase is disproportionate to this spending too - only representing for 35% of downloads - showcasing just how valuable loyal Japanese players can be.
Japan does account for Now’s biggest regional audience, but not by so great a margin as its revenues suggest. At 35% of the playerbase, Japan makes up just over a third of the audience but nearly three quarters of all spending. Meanwhile, the US comes second for downloads at 15% but has only accounted for 6% of revenue across Now’s first six months. This equates to roughly $9 million in spending from the US, placing it in fourth behind Hong Kong’s $13.5 million and Taiwan’s $10.5 million.
South Korea ranks fifth in spending at approximately $1.4 million.
A beast in the East
It’s clear from the data that Monster Hunter Now’s audience is overwhelmingly based in the East, with Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea comprising four of its five biggest spenders, and having four of its five biggest install bases also.
Taiwan’s total install numbers account for 12% of Now’s audience while Hong Kong makes up 5%, lower than the US’s though their spending is higher. Then, matching its fifth place ranking for spending, South Korea comes fifth in downloads with 3% of the total.
$150 million from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store alone is certainly an impressive sum, but it does mark a stark decrease in momentum from the game’s initial launch period. After all, Monster Hunter Now generated $31.44 million in its first month and picked up the pace from there, reaching $100 million in just under three.
Comparing this to its next three months, Now has only generated half that again - an additional $50 million. Fuurthermore, the US has fallen from third to fourth biggest spender and Now’s audience hasn’t grown significantly beyond its initial 10 million.
While the road ahead isn't exactly clear, Now is undeniably still a successful game, and the six-month anniversary presents Now with the chance to pick up speed once again. The game is benefitting from the Monster Hunter franchise’s 20th anniversary this March with additional in-game events to celebrate, extra bundles to buy and more monsters to hunt.
The slew of new content is bound to bring in new and returning players over the coming weeks, but only time will tell if this will mean a return to course for Niantic’s second-biggest hit.
According to Monster Hunter creator Capcom’s latest financial report, Monster Hunter Now has driven "wider recognition of the brand" and played an important role in the company’s 33% year-on-year net sales increase. This has also enabled Capcom to increase employee salaries.
