AppMagic: The Most Downloaded and Highest-Grossing Mobile Games of May 2024
Based on data from AppMagic, the App2Top editorial team prepared a report on the most downloaded and highest-grossing mobile games of the past month — Solo Leveling: Arise, Wuthering Waves, Dungeon & Fighter Mobile, and Squad Busters.
Most Downloaded Games of May
In May, the free game charts underwent significant changes:
- The Polish simulator, Supermarket Manager Simulator, previously among the top 3 free apps on both Google Play and the App Store, disappeared from the charts;
- Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile vanished, with its monthly downloads dropping from 6.3 million in April to 2.1 million in May;
- Brawl Stars strengthened its position in the charts, entering the cumulative download top for the first time in a long time, with 11.6 million downloads in May.
Additionally, May saw the release of four notable new games, each aiming for blockbuster status (including revenue-wise). Let's go into more detail about these games.
Solo Leveling: Arise
Publisher: Netmarble
About the Game: A single-player third-person RPG with action combat and hero collection (gacha). A key difference from Genshin Impact is the lack of an open world. There's a small hub from which players access various battle missions in different modes.
Observation: The game debuted at third place in the overall and Android charts. However, it has already become clear that maintaining high download rates has been challenging for the publishers. While over 12 million downloads were recorded in the first week following its global release (May 6-12), the figures dropped to 656,000 by the month following (June 3-9).
There are four possible reasons for the decline in popularity (based on available reviews):
- extremely aggressive monetization;
- limited content;
- lack of interaction with other players;
- frequent load times that can last several minutes (including when accessing menus and after loading levels/hubs).
Metrics:
- total downloads in May — 18 million;
- downloads from Google Play in May — 15 million;
- downloads from the App Store in May — 3 million.
Wuthering Waves
Publisher: Kuro Games
About the Game: A spiritual successor to Genshin Impact, featuring an open world full of activities, combat waifu collection, and a storyline centered around saving the world. The two standout differences are a complex combat system inspired by Souls games and an unusual fantasy post-apocalypse setting.
Observation: Considering both May and June results, Wuthering Waves is faring much better than Solo Leveling: Arise. Despite its later global release (May 22 vs. May 6), Wuthering Waves shows higher revenue and a smaller download decline.
Metrics:
- total downloads in May — 7.6 million;
- downloads from Google Play in May — 3.3 million;
- downloads from the App Store in May — 4.3 million.
Important: According to Kuro Games, total downloads of Wuthering Waves on all platforms (including PC, available via Epic Games Store and as a standalone distributable from the official website) surpassed 30 million in its first month after launch.
Dungeon & Fighter Mobile (地下城与勇士：起源)
Publisher: Tencent
About the Game: A mobile version of a legendary free-to-play 2D beat ’em up, which has generated over $18 billion on PC (possibly more; Nexon's annual report, the IP holder, indicates the franchise earned $22 billion). The release is China-exclusive. The game launched in South Korea in 2022 but faced licensing issues before appearing in China.
Observation: We'll discuss the game's commercial success separately below, but it's reportedly astronomical.
Metrics:
- total downloads in May — 3.4 million (iOS only).
Squad Busters
Publisher: Supercell
About the Game: An isometric battle royale with unique core mechanics. Ten players find themselves on one map, each starting with one hero. Players earn coins and gems by killing NPCs. Heroes are purchased immediately from chests using coins, and the player who collects the most gems wins.
Observation: Despite launching on May 29, the game entered the top 10 most downloaded iOS games of the month. It's likely to rank among the top 5 most downloaded games across all platforms by the end of June.
Metrics:
- total downloads in May — 15.6 million;
- downloads from Google Play in May — 12.3 million;
- downloads from the App Store in May — 3.3 million.
Most Profitable Games of May
Two of the three new entrants in the free charts also appeared in the revenue charts.
Solo Leveling: Arise earned $39.6 million, with the majority coming from Google Play ($19.6 million). Notably, $26 million came from Japan and South Korea. Given the sharp drop in downloads and significant daily revenue decline, the game may no longer appear in next month's charts.
Revenue Dynamics of Solo Leveling: Arise
Dungeon & Fighter Mobile (地下城与勇士：起源) earned $63 million in May from 3.4 million installs on the Chinese App Store. Furthermore, according to AppMagic, the game earned even more during the first half of June — $69 million. But that's not all. Analysts at Niko Partners estimate that with Chinese Android stores included, Dungeon & Fighter Mobile could have earned $140 million in May.
Revenue Dynamics of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile
Important: Due to the audience's interest in Solo Leveling: Arise and Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact vanished from the revenue charts, and Honkai: Star Rail dropped in ranking. This is a temporary phenomenon, especially considering Genshin Impact regained momentum in June thanks to an event. However, it can't be ruled out that miHoYo might need to increase its traffic acquisition amidst new competition.
Comparison of Revenue Dynamics among Solo Leveling: Arise, Wuthering Waves, Honkai: Star Rail, and Genshin Impact
