Sensor Tower: authors of word games should look at emerging markets
The Words genre is rapidly increasing revenue and downloads. According to the Sensor Tower forecast, in Google Play alone, the revenue of word games will grow by 22% this year.
By incomein the App Store, the revenue of word games in 2020 will grow by 18% compared to 2019;
- in Google Play — by 22%.
The growth will occur despite the decline in interest in such games from American players. The decrease in their spending will be offset by revenue growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Last year, verbal titles earned $57 million in it. This year, the amount may grow by 63% — up to 93 million.
Analysts note that this is far from the level of casual, role-playing or action games. But Word category projects have an advantage: such games, especially top-end ones, make good money on advertising.
By downloads
- In the App Store, annual word game installations will grow by 7% in 2020;
- in Google Play — by 31% at once.
Market Leaders
Analysts called Wordscapes the dominant title in the genre. Despite the name, it is not affiliated with Playrix, the company that created Gardenscapes and Wildscapes. The word game was developed by PeopleFun, introducing successful IAP mechanics into it. The game receives the most revenue from users from the USA.
Nevertheless, there are still niches for other companies in the market. Word games are well received in developing countries. Localization can also play a role. An example here is Words of Wonders from Fugo Games. Its key markets are Russia and Turkey. Localization of the game for these countries made it possible to quickly increase installations to 60 million.
However, in China, India and Brazil, according to Sensor Tower, word games in English will also be more popular.
