Data digest: Monopoly Go’s booming webstore, Pokemon Go spikes, Love and Deepspace revenue crashes, more
Every Wednesday we break down the latest data, research and financial results into digestible chunks. Read on for the numbers you need to know about without the fluff. This column is sponsored by Xsolla, which can help you to quickly launch your branded web shop to boost revenue and expedite your marketing...
Every Wednesday we break down the latest data, research and financial results into digestible chunks.
Read on for the numbers you need to know about without the fluff.
This column is sponsored by Xsolla, which can help you to quickly launch your branded web shop to boost revenue and expedite your marketing ROI. Get started here.
Monopoly Go tops Sensor Tower’s US webshop revenue chartMonopoly Go generated $143m in total US revenue in June across App Store, Google Play and its own webstore, according to Sensor Tower estimates. $52.6m of that revenue (over a third) came through the webstore alone, up 41% across H1 2026 even as store IAP fell 25%.
The rest of the top five earners by webshop revenue comprised of Pokémon Go ($34.3m), Disney Solitaire ($28.7m), Raid: Shadow Legends ($26.4m) and Slotomania Slots ($18.0m).
Webstores are thought to now account for well over a third of purchase revenue in the social casino genre specifically, a jump from roughly a tenth two years ago, and six of the top 10 US webstore earners are casino titles.
A similar pattern is showing up in mid-core: Mihoyo has seen a sizeable chunk of its US app store revenue migrate to webstores over the past two years, even as its overall US purchase revenue kept growing.
Raid: Shadow Legends players now do most of their US spending outside app stores entirely, says Sensor Tower, with total revenue up over 50% year-on-year as a result.
Pokémon Go’s 10th anniversary event drives revenue jumpPokémon Go added $73.7m month-on-month in July, a 230% jump, as its 10th-anniversary campaign drove one of its strongest lifts in years, per Sensor Tower estimates. Among publishers,
Tencent led H1 mobile revenue at $5.03bn (934m downloads), ahead of Century Games ($1.93bn), Scopely ($1.53bn), Microsoft ($1.36bn) and Dream Games ($1.23bn).
Love and Deepspace’s revenue crashes after Valko backlashSensor Tower estimates suggest Love and Deepspace generated just over $10m in iOS and Google Play revenue in July, down from around $38m in June.
Papergames cancelled the planned sixth love interest after backlash, withdrew the game from Bilibili World 2026, and drew criticism from Chinese state media and the Ministry of Public Security over Valko’s controversial promotional material.
Bandai Namco posts record Q1 net sales, but Digital segment profit falls 31%Bandai Namco posted record first-quarter net sales of $2bn (¥328.4bn), up 9.3% year-on-year, led by its Toys and Hobby and Amusement segments.
Its Digital segment (home console and mobile games) fell 15.6% to $573m (¥90.9bn) in net sales and 30.9% to $94.5m (¥15bn) in operating profit, which the company attributed to a quieter release schedule (6.9m home console units across two titles, against 10.8m units and 15 titles a year earlier).
Bandai Namco said its core mobile apps “remained popular” over the quarter and has raised its half-year Digital segment forecast 10% to $1.2bn (¥200bn) – though that’s still a 31.5% year-on-year decline.
SciPlay revenue fell 9% to $182m as social casino market cooled in Q2SciPlay’s revenue fell 9% year-on-year to $182m in Q2, according to parent company Light & Wonder’s latest earnings, as the wider social casino free-to-play market softened. Adjusted EBITDA dropped 3% to $72m, though margin still expanded 300 basis points to 40%.
Direct-to-consumer revenue kept growing, reaching $53m (29% of SciPlay’s total quarterly revenue) against $35m (17.5%) a year earlier.
Average monthly revenue per paying user rose 4% year-on-year to $133.80 even as the average number of paying users fell to 447,000 from 512,000. The results follow SciPlay’s recent round of layoffs at its Israeli development hub.
Pixel Flow tops AppMagic’s H1 hybridcasual puzzle chart with $104mPixel Flow pulled in $104m in worldwide IAP revenue in H1 2026 – that’s 20m downloads – leading the hybridcasual puzzle market roughly a year after it launched, according to new estimates from AppMagic. Screwdom, the top Screw-genre title, made $44m (7m downloads), and Color Block Jam, the leading Block puzzle, made $42m (12m downloads, down two places from the prior ranking).
The rest of the top 10 splits across the same three subgenres. Sort: Yarn Loop ($21m), Marble Sort ($15m) and Knit Out ($8m, up four places). Screw: Happy Screw Trip 3D ($13m) and Yarn Fever ($10m). Block: Gecko Out ($16m) and Hexa Away ($10m).
Niko Partners forecasts Southeast Asia’s games market will surpass $7bn by 2030Southeast Asia’s games market will surpass $7bn in revenue by 2030, up from over $5.6bn in 2025. High-population markets Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are being driven by rising smartphone and internet access, while more mature markets Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are growing through localised content and esports engagement.
A companion player-behaviour report from Niko found 31.4% of SEA-6 players prefer to pay for in-game content outside the app, via webstores, third-party stores or top-up cards, ranging from 19.2% in the Philippines to 35.2% in Thailand, echoing the webstore shift seen above in the US market.
India’s games market crosses $1bn for the first timeIndia’s games market surpassed $1bn for the first time in 2025, reaching $1.04bn, up 14.8% year-on-year. That makes it the fastest-growing market the firm tracks across Asia and the MENA region.
Marmalade Game Studio revenue climbs to $17.2m as EBITDA more than doublesBoard-game licensor Marmalade Game Studio posted FY25 revenue of $17.2m (£12.7m), up from $14.5m (£10.7m), with adjusted EBITDA more than doubling to $7m (£5.2m). Growth is attributed in part to a 2025 Amazon Luna distribution deal, and the company forecasts that EBITDA will almost double again in FY26.
Communix raises $20m in UA financing for Pokerface from PvX Partners
Tel Aviv-based social gaming studio Communix has secured $20m in user-acquisition financing from PvX Partners. The funding will go toward global growth for Pokerface, Communix’s group video-chat poker game.
Reigns series passes 4m lifetime players as it hits 10th anniversaryReigns has attracted over 4m players since launching in August 2016. To mark the swipe-based strategy series’ 10th anniversary, the original game is getting a free update across PC and mobile, adding more than 190 new cards and a new secret ending.
Original reporting appears on the publisher’s site.
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