Distimo: role-playing games bring the most money

In March, new game subcategories appeared on Google Play. Distimo decided to find out how these changes affected app downloads and revenue.  

So, until March 18, there were only six subcategories in the official Android app store: Arcade & Action, Brain & Puzzle, Cards & Casino, Casual, Racing and Sports.

Now there are much more of them – as many as 18 pieces. 

Impact on downloads

In February 2014, most downloads within the Games category were in the Arcade & Action, Casual, and Brain & Puzzle sub-categories.

Google Play, global downloads, February 2014

In April, of course, the situation changed radically due to the change of subcategories. 

Google Play, Global downloads, April 2014

The dominance of games from the Casual category (with a significant loss in share) is explained by the distribution of projects previously belonging to other popular subcategories according to the new genres proposed by Google.

Impact on income

In February 2014, most of the revenue also came from the Arcade & Action, Casual, and Brain & Puzzle sub-categories.

Google Play, Global Revenue, February 2014

In April, the situation changed, but in a completely different way than it happened with downloads. The dominant income sub-category turned out to be Role Playing. Considering that most Japanese butlers belong to this particular subcategory, there is nothing to be surprised about.

Google Play, Global Revenue, April 2014

Impact on the turnover of the game category on Google Play

The introduction of new subcategories increased the revenue of the gaming category by 15% in two months. The last comparable jump was last observed in December 2013. 

Revenue dynamics of the Google Play gaming category (January 2013 — April 2014)

Impact on developer revenue

The additional segmentation of games has had an expected effect on improving the visibility of applications. Two things played out here. First, users have the opportunity to choose exactly what they want. Secondly, there is more space in the window. This allowed a number of applications to get to the top. 

The distribution from the old subcategories to the new ones was as follows:

The emergence of the Family subcategory has led to the fact that a number of applications have left Casual. This had a positive effect on their performance. 

A source: http://www.distimo.com/