Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond surpasses $20m in first week

Cygames’ latest mobile card game Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond has surpassed $20 million in gross player spending in its first week.

The Shadowverse sequel launched on June 17th, 2025 and has generated a total of $21.7m between Google Play and the App Store, according to AppMagic estimates.

Daily spending climbed until the game’s current peak on June 21st, at $3.9m. This marked a 45% increase from launch day spending of $2.7m.

Building a brand-worthy deck

The original Shadowverse card game released on mobile on June 17th, 2016 and generated approximately $5m in its first week. Worlds Beyond’s first week was over four times more lucrative, therefore, perhaps partially a result of the growing mobile games industry but also likely benefiting from brand identity.

After all, since the original’s release, the series has expanded to PC, Nintendo Switch and a physical TCG release, and also spawned multiple anime seasons. The mobile game alone has generated $576.2m to date and is Cygames’ fourth most-lucrative mobile game.

Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond launched nine years to the day after the original and has targeted seasoned players as well as series newcomers, with one free card pack available in-game every day and new "super-evolved" cards giving decks a power boost.

Cygames has also aimed to tempt players of the original Shadowverse by offering in-game bonuses for those who link Worlds Beyond to their previous account.

Like the original, the majority of that audience has come from Japan so far, with the country representing 69% of global downloads. Japanese players have also topped spending charts over Worlds Beyond’s first week, having contributed 91% of revenue or $20m.

Over nine years, 90% of the original Shadowverse’s player spending has come from Japan, equating to $521.9m.

Taiwan and the US are currently the second and third-biggest spenders in Worlds Beyond, though naturally far behind Japan’s contribution at approximately 2% each.

Notably, the game saw a global launch where Cygames’ flagship mobile revenue generator, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, has remained exclusive to Japan for over four years. The horse girl racer is finally expected to compete on the global stage on June 26th this year.