Dream Games surpasses $3 billion in player spending

• Royal Match's 2023 success is attributed to several factors such as celebrity marketing collaborations, effective LiveOps events, and impactful ad campaigns.

Mobile games company Dream Games has surpassed $3 billion in user spending with nearly 100% of its revenue coming from tile-matching game Royal Match.

That's according to AppMagic’s latest report, which goes in deep on the title and the state of its match-3 market competition.

AppMagic writes: "To calculate user spending, we have revised the revenue metric displayed on the app’s page by adding back store fees and inclusive taxes that stores in some countries have to settle before making their payment to a publisher."

The match-3 market has seen slight changes over an extended period, with the most popular games losing market share. Candy Crush Saga dropped 11% year-over-year (YoY), and Homescapes fell 13% YoY. 

Conversely, Gardenscapes increased by 22% YoY while Royal Match outperformed significantly with an 84% YoY revenue increase.

Multiple success factors 

The games success has been attributed to several factors such as celebrity marketing collaborations, effective LiveOps events, and impactful ad campaigns. These strategies led to significant revenue spikes and maintained its market position, unlike other leading match-3 games.

The top 5 revenue-makers in the match-3 market also reflect high entry barriers typical of the industry. In 2023, newcomers Chrome Valley Customs and Forza Customs - Restore Cars targeted a male audience. Despite early success, their revenues are now over 40 times lower than that of leading titles. 

Royal Match has been a major success in the match-3 market, surpassing long-time leading games through effective marketing. However, it has now plateaued along with other top and second-tier games while new entrants lag behind.