State of the market: Puzzle Games Q1 2023
Download PDFApr, 2023 State of the market: Puzzle Games
Q1 2023
The purpose of this study is to analyse the puzzle category of mobile
gaming in Q1 2023.
All data presented in this report has been collected from Apptica
platform.
Puzzle category is defined by a stores’ tag and our own taxonomy.
The basis of this analysis is made up of data from the Apptica’s Store, Ad
and Market Intelligence sections.
We collect data only from App Store and Google Play, we do not cover
other alternative stores.
To obtain accurate results, we have analysed data on 35 countries
collected from January 01 to March 31, 2023.
We have not used additional information from other analytical services or
resources without mentioning them.
Methodology
Top apps | downloadsDownloadsiOSEmoji Puzzle18,8 M6.Fishdom19 M5.Candy Crush Saga49,2 M1.Block Blast Adventure Master5,3 M5.3 AndroidDownloads Save the Doge14,9 M8. Gardenscapes19,4 M4. Thief Puzzle: to pass a level22,6 M2. Block Blast Adventure Master21,8 M3. Candy Manor – Home Design13,7 M9. Royal Match15,8 M7. Bubble Shooter Rainbow13,3 M10. Woodoku – Wood Block Puzzle3,6 M10. Candy Crush Saga5,4 M4. Tap Away 3D4,5 M6. Homescapes4,3 M8. Fishdom4,4 M7. Parking Jam 3D7,3 M3. Gardenscapes10,8 M1. Royal Match8,5 M2. Project Makeover3,9 M9.
Top apps | revenue Revenue (USD)iOSCandy Crush Soda Saga27,9 M8.Royal Match59, 7 M2.パズル&ドラゴンズ30,6 M6.Homescapes62,9 M3.4 AndroidRevenue (USD) Fishdom33,7 M5. Candy Crush Saga109,9 M1. Toon Blast20,8 M9. Triple Match 3D19,9 M10. Homescapes39,7 M4. Gardenscapes49,1 M3. Empires & Puzzles: Match 3 RPG29,6 M7. Fishdom43,4 M6. Candy Crush Soda Saga29,3 M8. Toon Blast30,2 M7. Project Makeover20, 9 M10. Candy Crush Saga46,4 M5. Empires & Puzzles: Match 3 RPG23,4 M9. Gardenscapes73,6 M2. Royal Match 75,7 M1. パズル&ドラゴンズ48 M4.
Top advertisers in Q1 2023 in terms of traffic shareShare (%)CreativesiOSMatch the Number – 2048 Game2,81%14 9838.Matchington Mansion26,5%13091.Matchington Mansion4,38%4255.5 AndroidCreativesShare (%) Ball Sort – Color Puzzle Game3,09%16947. Blockudoku: block puzzle game6,14%26522. 2248 – Number Puzzle Game2,58%11 25210. Homescapes2,69%35769. Candy Crush Saga4,76%37 0635. Fishdom5,38%22 2054. Woodoku – Block Puzzle Games4,34%30856. Gardenscapes5,53%11 7933. Water Sort Puzzle4,57%54084. Travel Town – Merge Adventure3,94%40606. Parking Jam 3D3,37%6298. Block Blast Adventure Master3,67%44897. Match 3D2,67%22210. Wordscapes5,16%3333. Royal Match7,77%97 4161. Gardenscapes5,95%45342. Woodoku – Wood Block Puzzles2,71%9339.
6D&R share and Ad State on iOS and Android
The Puzzle category covers around 20% of all downloads within gaming and around 14%
in regards to revenue on iOS. For Android: around 11% for downloads and 7,5% for
revenue. 13,81%19,89%1,9%1,14%RevenueDownloads0100 %11,19%7,49%52,43%30,15%1,9%Advertising traffic share
Share of creatives’
number 0100 %31,98%37,35%
The Puzzle category covers more than a half of ad traffic on iOS (52,5%) and more than 1/3
on Android (37,4%). However, in regards to creatives number, on iOS there are less
creatives running (30,2%) than on Android (32%).
Top countries | Downloads Share | Q1 2023 | Puzzle67
Top countries | Revenue Share* | Q1 2023 | Puzzle*Revenue covers in-app purchases and do not include other revenue sources8
Distribution of subgenres | Downloads | Top 15 countries
C Match 3 has predominantly the biggest share (on average 1/3 of all downloads), followed by Trivia*
C In India and Pakistan bubble shooter category has a strong position (20% and 18% correspondingly).&
C Merge puzzle games take 21% in Japan, that is the biggest share among top 15 countries*
C Hidden object and Action categories are the least popular.
9
Distribution of subgenres | Revenue | Top 15 countries
@ Match 3 generates the biggest part of revenue (from 56% to 86%)
@ Trivia, Merge and Word games split the positions depending on the market: Merge is
more profitable in Japan than Trivia, Word game – in China.:
@ Bubble shooter shares position with Merge in Thailand
10
Distribution of subgenres | DownloadsDistribution of subgenres | Revenue
Match 3 takes a leading position in terms
of Downloads (36%) & Revenue (65%)
followed by Trivia, Merge and Word
games. Bubble shooter has a bigger share
of downloads (10%), but a less profitable
position (2%) compared to Hidden object
(3% of D&R). 11
Distribution of gaming genres | DownloadsDistribution of gaming genres | Revenue
Match 3 cover 6% of all downloads in
gaming category lagging behind only
MMORPG (8%) and Lifestyle simulator (7%).
As for revenue, Match 3 shares the second
position with 4X Strategy (9%) while the
first position is taken by MMORPG (22%) . 12
Downloads ShareRevenue SharePlatform distribution | Q1 2023 | Puzzle
Disparity between Android and iOS for downloads is 4 times (80% vs
20%), however, iOS covers 56% of revenue vs 44% coming from Android.13
Key Takeaways
Candy Crush Saga is a leader in revenue for both platforms combined (156,3 M USD).
Royal Match generates the biggest share on iOS (75,7 M).
Regarding downloads, Gardenscapes takes a top position on iOS (10,8 M), whereas
Candy Crush Saga – on Android (49,2 M). For both platforms combined, Candy Crush
Saga enjoys a leading position (54,6 M).
Matchington Mansion takes the biggest ad traffic share on Android (26,5%), whereas
Royal Match – on iOS (7,77%).
The Puzzle category covers around 20% of all downloads within gaming and around
14% in regards to revenue on iOS. For Android: around 11% for downloads and 7,5% for
revenue.
The Puzzle category covers more than a half of ad traffic on iOS (52,5%) and more
than 1/3 on Android (37,4%). However, in regards to creatives number, on iOS there are
less creatives running (30,2%) than on Android (32%).
Within Puzzle category Match 3 has predominantly the biggest share (on average 1/3
of all downloads), followed by Trivia. Hidden object and Action categories are the
least popular.
14
Top 5 countries in terms of downloads: US, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia;
Top 5 countries in terms of revenue: US, Japan, Germany, UK, France.
In India and Pakistan bubble shooter category has a strong position (20% and 18%
correspondingly). Merge puzzle games take 21% in Japan, that is the biggest share
among top 15 countries.
Match 3 generates the biggest part of revenue (from 56% to 86%). Trivia, Merge and
Word games split the positions depending on the market: Merge is more profitable
in Japan than Trivia. Bubble shooter shares position with Merge in Thailand.
Match 3 takes a leading position in terms of Downloads (36%) & Revenue (65%)
followed by Trivia, Merge and Word games. Bubble shooter has a bigger share of
downloads (10%), but a less profitable position (2%) compared to Hidden object (3% of
D&R).
Match 3 cover 6% of all downloads in gaming category lagging behind only
MMORPG (8%) and Lifestyle simulator (7%). As for revenue, Match 3 shares the
second position with 4X Strategy (9%), while the first position is taken by MMORPG
(22%).
Disparity between Android and iOS for downloads is 4 times (80% vs 20%), however,
iOS covers 56% of revenue vs 44% coming from Android.
Key Takeaways15
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