Intellectual Property in the Mobile Games Market 2021

Dec, 2021 Intellectual Property
in the Mobile Games
Market 2021
—
An Analysis of IPs in U.S. Mobile Gaming

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents
03 – Introduction
04 – IP Games in the United States
08 – IP Types
11 – Top Games by IP Type
16 – IP Revenue by Genre
20 – Conclusion

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
This report analyzes the relevance of Intellectual Property in the U.S.
mobile games market, delving into the performance of non-IP games
vs. licensed titles, the most successful IP-based games, and IP
performance across genres.
Using Sensor Tower’s Game Taxonomy IP classifications, this report
contains information on licenses, IP types, operators, and
corporate parents.
Inclusion Criteria
Sensor Tower’s definition of Intellectual Property covers multi-
platform IPs that are licensed to mobile game studios, originating
from films, books, television, toys, celebrities, sports, board games,
video games, comics, and manga and have dedicated mobile games.
Video game IPs that only have direct mobile ports or are internal to
the brand owners themselves have been excluded.
Introduction
3

—
An Overview of IP-Based Mobile Games in the U.S.
IP Games:
United States

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Roblox .
Candy Crush Saga .
Coin Master .
Pokémon GO .
Gardenscapes .
Homescapes .
Clash of Clans .
Slotomania .
PUBG Mobile .
Call of Duty: Mobile .
Bingo Blitz .
Toon Blast .
Candy Crush Soda Saga .
MARVEL Strike Force .
Fishdom .
Garena Free Fire .
Jackpot Party .
DoubleDown .
Rise of Kingdoms .
DBZ Dokkan Battle .
$0 $100M $200M $300M $400M $500M $600M $700M $800M
No-IP IP Games
IP Games
5
During 2020, three out of the top 10 revenue
generating mobile games in the United States
used a license: Pokémon GO, PUBG Mobile, and
Call of Duty: Mobile.
An additional two licensed titles appeared in the
top 20, Marvel Strike Force and Dragon Ball Z:
Dokkan Battle.
Pokémon GO remained the most successful
licensed mobile game, generating
approximately $480 million in U.S. player
spending in 2020.
Two out of the top three mobile games
utilizing an IP belonged to the Shooter genre.
Three IP Games Rank Among the Top 10 by Revenue
Top 20 grossing mobile games in 2020 on the U.S. App Store and Google Play

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
The top 10 revenue generating games saw
similar year-over-year growth of 33.8 percent
for both IP and non-IP titles in 2020.
Installs for the top 10 grossing IP games
increased by 31.1 percent year-over-year in
2020, compared to the 3.9 percent decline in
downloads for the top 10 non-IP titles. IP
growth was led by Call of Duty: Mobile.
While 2019 saw the launch of two major IP-
based mobile games with Call of Duty: Mobile
and Mario Kart Tour, which both broke 100
million downloads within their first month,
launching in Q3/Q4 meant that they did not rank
in the top 10 by revenue that year.
IP-based games continued to be launched in
2021, with Crash Bandicoot: On the Run
generating 23.6 million downloads in its first
week. Other licensed titles on the horizon
include Diablo Immortal and Apex Legends.
6
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
2018 2019 2020
No-IP IP Games
IP vs. Non-IP Games: Revenue & Download Growth
Top 10 grossing IP and non-IP games by annual U.S. player spending and download growth
Downloads
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2018 2019 2020
No-IP IP Games
Revenue
Note Regarding Downloads Growth Chart
On both charts the selection criteria is the top 10 games with and
without an IP based on revenue. This approach was taken to
avoid the population of Hypercasual titles.
IP Games 33.8% 27.6% 23.7% 33.8% 22.5% -5% 31.1% -6.1% -10.2% -3.9% -10.7% 50.9%

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Overall market share of IP games in the U.S. in 2020
IP Vs. Non-IP Games: Revenue & Download Share
7
In 2020, 23 percent of overall U.S. mobile
game player spending was generated by IP-
based titles. The market share of IP-based
games for downloads was smaller, making up 17
percent of all installs.
The overall market share of IP has remained
stable for both revenue and downloads over the
last two years.
The share of downloads and revenue for mobile
games is outsized from the number of IP-based
mobile games on the market. While only 9
percent of games used an IP, these games
accounted for nearly a quarter of revenue.
No IP
IP
Revenue Downloads
IP Games 23% 77% 17% 83%

—
A Look at the Most Popular IP Types in the U.S.
IP Types:
United States

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
9
Video game IPs accounted for a third of the
U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile
games in 2020, more than double the share
from any other IP type.
While Manga ranks as the No. 2 IP type by player
spending, it is the fastest-growing for revenue
growth, increasing by 54 percent year-over-year
in 2020.
Although IP may stem from mediums such as
Comics, which accounted for 10 percent of
revenue in 2020, licenses such as Marvel are also
popular across platforms such as TV and Film.
Videogame
Manga
Television
Comics
Other
Revenue
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Manga Comics Videogame Other Television
Revenue Growth
IP Types
U.S. market share and revenue growth by IP type in 2020
One-Third of IP Game Revenue is from Video Game IPs Other 31% Comics 10% Television 12% Manga 13% Videogame 34% 24% 29% 36% 44% 54%

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Black
Desert
Mobile
1%
Note Regarding Chart
Please refer to the interactive chart in our blog post for more
detail. Games with less than $12 million in U.S. net revenue in
2020 were excluded.
10
Video Game IPs from non-mobile platforms,
such as Pokémon GO, PUBG Mobile, and Call of
Duty: Mobile, have successfully translated their
core experiences to mobile, in turn generating
significant revenue.
Manga is dominated by Japanese IPs like Dragon
Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and The Seven Deadly Sins,
which are popular with U.S. audiences.
The Marvel IP accounts for the vast majority of
player spending in Comics-based mobile games
Television licenses accounted for 12 percent of
player spending, double that of Film.
IPs that perceived as the largest do not
always generate the greatest revenue.
U.S. market share by IP type and game in 2020
Share of U.S. Revenue by IP Type and Game
IP Types
PUBG Mobile
7%
Fire
Emblem
Heroes
1%
Mario
Kart Tour
1%
SimCity
BuildIt
1%
The Sims
FreePlay
1%
Animal
Crossing
0.5%
The Sims
Mobile 1% FF Brave
Exvius
0.5%
Game of Thrones:
Conquest
4%
Game of
Thrones Slots
1%
Property
Brothers Home
Design 1%
GSN Casino
1%
Walking
Dead: Road
to Survival
1%
Wheel of
Fortune
0.4%
Star Trek: Fleet
Command
4%
MARVEL Strike
Force
5%
MARVEL
Contest of
Champions
4%
MARVEL Future Fight 1%
Star Wars:
Galaxy of Heroes
4%
Wizard of
Oz: Casino
Slots
2%
Willy
Wonka
Slots
1%
The Wizard
of Oz Magic
Match 3
1%
Call of Duty:
Mobile
6%
Dragon Ball
Z Dokkan
Battle
4%
The Seven
Deadly Sins
3%
Fate/
Grand
Order
2%
Dragon
Ball
Legends
2%
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel Links
1%
0.5%0.5%0.5%0.5%
0.5%
World Series of
Poker
3%
Caesars
Casino
2%
My
KONAMI
1%
Yahtzee
with
Buddies
2%
Bingo Bash
1%
Mono-
poly
Slots
1%
Phase
10:
World
Tour
1%
MLB Tap
Sports
Baseball
2%
WWE
Champions
2021
1%
Madden NFL
Mobile
1%
WWE SuperCard
1%
Madden
NFL 21
1%
MLB 9
Innings
1%
FIFA Soccer
1%
Disney
Emoji
Blitz
1%
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery 1%
Kim
Karda
shian
1%
Disney
Sorcerer’s Arena
1%

—
Top Grossing Games By IP Type
Top IP Games:
United States

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Pokémon GO Leads Video Game IPs on Mobile
12
1
2
3
4
5
–
-1
+4
–
NEW
–
+2
–
–
-2
Top Grossing Games with IPs from Video Games in the U.S.
Top IP Games by Type: Video Games
Pokémon GO
Niantic
Final Fantasy XV
Epic Action
Fire Emblem
Heroes
Nintendo
Minecra!
Microso!
PUBG Mobile
Tencent
Pokémon GO
Niantic
PUBG Mobile
Tencent
Final Fantasy XV
Epic Action
Minecra!
Microso!
Call of Duty:
Mobile
Activision Blizzard
Pokémon GO
Niantic
PUBG Mobile
Tencent
Call of Duty:
Mobile
Activision Blizzard
Minecra!
Microso!
Final Fantasy XV
Epic Action
1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5
2020 2019 2018
Video game IPs accounted for 34 percent of
the U.S. revenue generated by licensed
mobile games in 2020.
Pokémon GO led the Video Game IP type for
third year on a row in 2020.
After a successful global launch in 2019,
Activision title Call of Duty: Mobile moved up
two positions to rank No. 3 in 2020.
Note Regarding Chart
The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings
from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to
the top five rankings in the given year.

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
13
1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5
2020 2019 2018
Note Regarding Chart
The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings
from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to
the top five rankings in the given year.
Top Grossing Games with IPs from Manga in the U.S.
Dragon Ball Z is Consistently the Top Manga Game IP
Top IP Games by Type: Manga
-1
+1
–
–
–
-1
-1
NEW
–
-1
Dragon Ball Z
Dokkan Battle
Bandai Namco
Fate/Grand Order
Aniplex
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel Links
Konami
Dragon Ball
Legends
Bandai Namco
Bleach Brave
Souls
KLab
Dragon Ball Z
Dokkan Battle
Bandai Namco
Fate/Grand Order
Aniplex
Dragon Ball
Legends
Bandai Namco
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel Links
Konami
Bleach Brave
Souls
KLab
Dragon Ball Z
Dokkan Battle
Bandai Namco
The Seven
Deadly Sins
Netmarble
Fate/Grand Order
Aniplex
Dragon Ball
Legends
Bandai Namco
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel Links
Konami
Manga IPs accounted for 13 percent of the
U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile
games in 2020.
This type is dominated by Japanese IPs that are
popular among U.S. audiences, such as The
Seven Deadly Sins and Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragon Ball Z
stands out with two games among the top five.

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
NEW
+2
-1
+1
-1
14
1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5
2020 2019 2018
Note Regarding Chart
The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings
from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to
the top five rankings in the given year.
Television IPs accounted for 12 percent of the
U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile
games in 2020.
After the Game of Thrones finale in 2019, Star
Trek Fleet Command became the biggest
licensed game in the U.S. in 2020.
Scopely stands out as a publisher and operates a
very diversified portfolio of IPs: Marvel, Wheel of
Fortune, Walking Dead, and Star Trek.
Some companies license their IPs to game
publishers with more experience in a specific
domain. For example, Warner Media licensed the
Game of Thrones IP to Zynga, who has had
previous success publishing slots mobile games.
Top Grossing Games with IPs from Television in the U.S.
Star Trek Took the Top Spot After Game of Thrones Finale
Top IP Games by Type: Television
-1
-1
NEW
–
NEW
Game of Thrones:
Conquest
Warner Bros
Walking Dead:
Road to Survival
Scopely
GSN Casino
Game Show Network
Wheel of Fortune
Scopely
Star Trek
Timelines
Tilting Point
Game of Thrones:
Conquest
Warner Bros
Star Trek Fleet
Command
Scopely
Walking Dead:
Road to Survival
Scopely
GSN Casino
Game Show Network
Game of Thrones
Slots
Zynga
Star Trek Fleet
Command
Scopely
Game of Thrones:
Conquest
Warner Bros
Game of Thrones
Slots
Zynga
Property Brothers
Home Design
Storm8
GSN Casino
Game Show Network

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
15
1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5 1
2
3
4
5
2020 2019 2018
Note Regarding Chart
The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings
from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to
the top five rankings in the given year.
Top Grossing Games with IPs from Comics in the U.S.
Marvel Dominates the Comics IP Type in the U.S.
Top IP Games by Type: Comics
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
-1
+1
–
Marvel Contest of
Champions
Kabam
Marvel Strike
Force
Scopely
Marvel Future
Fight
Netmarble
Marvel Puzzle
Quest
D3 Go
Injustice 2
Warner Bros
Marvel Contest of
Champions
Kabam
Marvel Strike
Force
Scopely
Marvel Future
Fight
Netmarble
Marvel Puzzle
Quest
D3 Go
Injustice 2
Warner Bros
Marvel Strike
Force
Scopely
Marvel Contest of
Champions
Kabam
Marvel Future
Fight
Netmarble
Marvel Puzzle
Quest
D3 Go
Injustice 2
Warner Bros
Comic IPs accounted for 10 percent of the U.S.
revenue generated by licensed mobile games
in 2020.
Four of the top five games rely on the Marvel IP.
Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that Marvel
has licensed its IPs to different publishers:
Scopely, Kabam, Netmarble, and D3 Go.

—
Revenue from IP Games by Genre
IP Games by Genre:
United States

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Geolocation AR
Action
RPG
Shooter
Sports
Racing
Tabletop
Simulation
Strategy
Arcade
Casino
Lifestyle
Puzzle
Hypercasual
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
IP Games by Genre
17
The mobile Geolocation AR genre is comprised
almost entirely of licensed IP, including
Pokémon GO, Jurassic World Alive, and Harry
Potter: Wizards Unite.
Action is an outlier, with 64.4 percent of player
revenue coming from licensed IP, led by Marvel
Contest of Champions and Dragon Ball Legends.
Outside of Geolocation AR and Action, there
were two genres where more than 40 percent of
player spending comes from IPs: RPG and
Shooter.
Genres with the highest percentage of
revenue from licensed games are typically
associated with mid-core audiences.
Revenue Share for IP Games by U.S. Revenue Per Genre in 2020
IP is More Popular with Mid-Core Audiences 0.3% 4.9% 7.4% 11.7% 13.1% 17.1% 17.5% 27.4% 29.6% 35.3% 44.9% 47.1% 64.4% 99.9%

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
RPG
Strategy
Casino
Geolocation AR
Shooter
Action
Simulation
Sports
Puzzle
Tabletop
Racing
Lifestyle
Arcade
Hypercasual
$200M $400M $600M $800M $1.0B $1.2B
Top 1 Other IPs
18
The RPG genre ranks No. 1 for IP-based player
spending, generating more than $1.1 billion
in 2020.
Licensed mobile games in the Shooter genre
generated more than $500 million in 2020. PUBG
Mobile accounts for 53 percent of genre revenue
from IPs, while Call of Duty: Mobile accounts for
47 percent.
Simulation games that use licenses generated
more than $300 million in revenue during 2020,
including a diverse lineup from Minecraft and
The Sims to Harry Potter and Animal Crossing.
While some genres, such as Geolocation AR, are
dominated by one or two IPs, other categories
are much more diversified and offer a potential
opportunity for newcomers.
Pokémon GO
PUBG Mobile
MARVEL Strike Force
Marvel Contest of Champions
Star Trek Fleet Command
World Series of Poker
Minecraft
MLB Tap Sports Baseball
Disney Emoji Blitz
Kim Kardashian
Mario Kart Tour
Trailer Park Boys Greasy Money
6ix9ine Runner
IP Games by Genre
Overall IP Revenue and Top IP Game by Genre in the U.S. during 2020
RPG is the Top Genre for IP Games
Yahtzee with Buddies

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Revenue Growth
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
% of Revenue From IP Titles
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
19
Core game genres such as Shooter, RPG and
Action had the largest proportion of IP while
also experiencing the fastest average growth.
The Puzzle genre is one of the largest categories
in the U.S., but only 5 percent of its revenue
comes from IP titles.
IP accounted for 35 percent of the revenue in the
Sports genre.
IP Games by Genre
Year-over-Year Revenue Growth vs. IP Proportion by Genre in the U.S. during 2020
Action, Shooter, and RPG Show Potential for IP Games
Simulation
Arcade
Lifestyle
Puzzle
Strategy
Tabletop
Shooter
Racing
Sports
Action
Median IP
Revenue Proportion
Median Revenue Growth
RPG
Casino
Size = Revenue

Conclusion

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
Conclusion
21
●While IP-based games only accounted
for 9 percent of the U.S. mobile games
market, they took an outsized market
share for revenue and downloads,
generating 23 percent of player
spending and 17 of installs in 2020.
● Video game IPs accounted for a third
of the revenue generated by licensed
mobile games in 2020. This was
followed by Manga at 13 percent, and
Television at 12 percent. However,
some of the top franchises, such as
Marvel, extend beyond their original
medium and into other sectors such as
TV and film.
● Genres with the highest percentage of
revenue from licensed games are
associated with mid-core audiences:
Action, RPG, and Shooter. Meanwhile,
the Puzzle genre is one of the biggest
markets in the U.S. but only 5 percent
of its revenue comes from IP titles. ●
With a shift in the marketing
landscape post-IDFA, popular IPs
could become more important in
building awareness and acquiring
players. Crash Bandicoot: On the Run
launched in March 2021, accumulating
23.6 million downloads in its first week.
● Other licensed titles on the horizon
include Diablo Immortal, Apex
Legends, and Battlefield. These
launches emphasize the current trend
of strong growth seen among Shooter
and RPG titles utilizing licensed IP.
Conclusion

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
22
Sensor Tower
Solutions
Store
Intelligence
Make strategic
decisions with the industry’s most
accurate estimates.
App
Intelligence
Drive organic growth
with the leading App Store Optimization platform.
Ad
Intelligence
Develop winning
User acquisition campaigns with crucial mobile
advertising insights.
Usage
Intelligence
Benchmark app
usage, engagement, and demographics.
App
Teardown
Evaluate which SDKs apps are using and measure SDK
adoption across
market segments.
Consumer
Intelligence
Access unfiltered
mobile user
engagement for
financial analysis.

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
This report and all original content contained within are
wholly owned by Sensor Tower, Inc. © 2021.
Modification, republication, distribution, or other
unauthorized usage violate this copyright, unless express
permission has been granted.
App icons, images, and other branding assets are property of
their respective publishers and are used expressly for the
purpose of editorial commentary.
23
Sensor Tower
Terms of Use
LOOKING FOR MORE
INSIGHTS?
Download our latest Store
Intelligence Data Digest report
on the mobile market at
sensortower.com/reports

© 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. – All Rights Reserved
24
About Us
Sensor Tower is the leading solution for mobile
marketers, app developers, and industry
analysts who demand competitive insights on
the mobile economy. Sensor Tower’s product
suite includes: Top Charts, App Intelligence,
Store Intelligence, Ad Intelligence, Usage
Intelligence, and Consumer Intelligence.
Office Locations:
San Francisco, London, Shanghai, Seoul
Contact Info:
sensortower.com
sales@sensortower.com
@sensortower

25