Goddess of Victory: NIKKE hits $600 million in revenue, strengthening Tencent's position as top mobile publisher

Goddess of Victory: NIKKE has been a huge success for developer Shift Up and Tencent’s publishing label Level Infinite. Here is how much money the game has generated on mobile in its first year.

• According to a new report from Sensor Tower, Goddess of Victory: NIKKE surpassed $600 million in player spending from its launch on November 4, 2022 to November 10, 2023.
• 60% of the total came from Japan, followed by the US (16%), and South Korea (12%). These three countries combined account for nearly 90% of the game’s lifetime revenue.
• NIKKE’s popularity in Japan is not surprsing given its gacha-based monetization system. It currentky ranks 5th in mobile revenue in the country and is the only title from a foreign publisher in the top 5, which is occupied by evergreen local hits like Monster Strike, Uma Musume Pretty Derby, and Fate/Grand Order.
• When it comes to NIKKE’s top 3 markets, Japan has the highest MAU and the highest share of organic downloads (67.7%), while South Korea has the highest share of ad installs (31.7%).
• In the US, the game is especially popular among players under the age of 25, with this demographic group accounting for 43.5% of the total audience.
• Sensor Tower didn’t disclose the number of NIKKE’s downloads, but AppMagic data puts it at 11.2 million. Japan accounts for 30% of total installs, followed by the US (15%), and South Korea (11%).

Developed by South Korean studio Shift Up, Goddess of Victory: NIKKE is also one of the key titles in Tencent’s publishing portfolio. In the third quarter of 2023, the Chinese tech giant cited it as one of the mian drivers of its International Games segment’s 7% revenue growth.

Following NIKKE’s successful launch last year, Tencent also acquired a 20% stake in Shift Up. In October 2023, it increased its stake to over 24% by buying $53.9 worth of shares from WeMade Entertainemnt through its subsidiary Aceville. Given that WeMade originally acquired its stake in Shift Up for $7.4 million in 2018, the studio’s valuation has increased eightfold over the past five years.

The investment allowed Tencent to solidify its position as the top mobile publisher globally. Goddess of Victory: NIKKE is now the third highest-grossing title in the company’s catalog, behind only PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings.

Shift Up’s game is also available on PC, but its revenue from the platform remains undisclosed.