Sensor Tower: Half of the highest-grossing mobile games of 2021 have a season pass

Sensor Tower has published a large report on the monetization of mobile games by the end of 2021. According to analysts, one of the most effective models was the seasonal pass. There is also an increase in NFT titles in the world, although this market segment is just beginning to develop.There is a season pass in half of the highest-grossing mobile games in the world.

• Among them are PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact and Honor of Kings.Often this method of monetization is found in midcore and hardcore genres like RPG and shooters.
• However, recently, casual game developers have begun to actively introduce seasonal passes.Top 10 games with a season pass by revenue for 2021

One of the most striking examples is Gardenscapes.

• After the season pass appeared in the game, its revenue for the week increased by 85.5% — from $ 9.7 million to $18.1 million.Gardenscapes revenue growth after the introduction of the seasonal pass

Disabling ads remains the most popular type of monetization.

• The main driver here are casual titles, which make up 90% of all games with the ability to disable ads.In second place in popularity are titles with gacha.
• This type of monetization is most often used in Asian midcore projects — they make up 82% of all games with this mechanic.The most common types of monetization and the genres of games in which they are used

In the top ten highest-grossing gacha games in the USA, half are based on existing IP.

• At the same time, the leaders in the person of Genshin Impact and RAID: Shadow Legends are completely independent brands.Top 10 highest-grossing Gacha games in the USA for 2021

Separately, Sensor Tower talked about games with NFT.

• Now developers are actively experimenting with a new type of monetization, introducing blockchain technologies into games of various genres. Thus, they strive to find the most suitable audience.Although the share of NFT titles in the mobile market is still extremely small, the first successful projects are already appearing in this segment.
• Among them is ByteDance‘s Mobile Legends Bang Bang, which has generated over 81 million downloads.However, the market itself is still extremely unstable.
• Only five of the ten most downloaded crypto games in 2021 exceeded the mark of 1 million downloads.Top 10 most downloaded NFT games for 2021