GungHo Online hasn't revealed how many users the title has worldwide, but in Japan alone the game is consistently attracting one million new players every 2-3 weeks.
The developer has proven adept at monetising those users, too. In fact, many commentators believe Puzzle & Dragons is the most lucrative mobile game in the world right now.
Puzzling
According to GungHo CEO Kazuki Morishita, the game's success "has a lot to do with luck."
SoftBank Mobile, however, clearly thinks there's more to it than that, as the Japanese telecoms firm is spending $265 million to acquire a majority share in the developer.
Last month, GungHo Online reported that it had generated $106 million in sales. According to Tokyo-based mobile games consultant Dr Serkan Toto, Puzzle & Dragons likely accounts for between somewhere between 59 and 81 percent of that figure.
In other words, Toto believes that Puzzle & Dragons grossed between $62 million and $86 million in February 2013.
| No. of Japanese players (millions) | No. of days since | |
| 20/2/2012 | 0 | N/A |
| 15/7/2012 | 1 | 146 |
| 17/10/2012 | 2 | 94 |
| 5/11/2012 | 3 | 19 |
| 22/11/2012 | 4 | 17 |
| 12/12/2012 | 5 | 20 |
| 31/12/2012 | 6 | 19 |
| 18/1/2013 | 7 | 18 |
| 30/1/2013 | 8 | 12 |
| 18/2/2013 | 9 | 19 |
| 9/3/2013 | 10 | 19 |
| 25/3/2013 | 11 | 16 |
| 9/4/2013 | 12 | 15 |
Chart showing the user growth of Puzzle & Dragons
[source: Serkan Toto]
