Compared to the global 68%, Korea is a game-changer
The number of downloads is rather negative… 6% ▼
Prefer old games to new games
[Seoul Economy]
Mobile games accounted for 87% of app spending in Korea last year. Compared to the global average of 68%, this shows that the Korean app ecosystem is focused on mobile games.
According to the ‘State of Mobile Games in 2022’ report released by data and analysis platform Dataai on the 22nd, consumer spending on mobile games in Korea amounted to $5.78 billion, up 15% from the previous year. South Korea’s gaming app spending has been growing steadily since 2018, at $3.8 billion, accounting for 87% of total app spending in Korea at $6.61 billion.
However, the number of downloads decreased. Last year, the number of mobile game downloads in Korea reached 580 million, a 6% decline from the previous year. According to the report, the number of downloads in Korea has generally been on the decline since 2018. It recorded an 8% increase in 2020, when strong distancing and quarantine guidelines were implemented in the aftermath of the corona virus, but turned to negative growth the following year. According to the report, “Korean mobile gamers enjoy playing the existing game as it is, rather than downloading a new game.”
In the mobile market in Korea, the role-playing game genre was strong in downloads and consumer spending. Five hyper-casual genres in the major game genre charts based on downloads settled and surpassed the RPG genre, but hyper-casual games did not settle in the top 10 in the top game charts by download. On the other hand, RPG genre games occupy 8 of the top 10, including 1st place Cookie Run: Kingdom, 2nd place Second Country, 4th place One Punch Man: The Strongest Man, and 5th place Blue Archive. did.
In consumer spending in Korea, multi-role games and team battles overtook the 4X March-battle strategy genre to take first and second places. Five RPG genres were included in the top 10 of the major game genre charts. The genre also showed a great presence in the top game charts. Odin: Valhalla Rising and Lineage W of the MMORPG genre took the 1st and 2nd places in mobile games in the consumer spending category in Korea, followed by Cookie Run: Kingdom in 3rd place, and Second country in 4th place. , followed by Genshin in 5th place, and a whopping 8 RPG genre games in the top 10.
David Kim, Head of Dataai Asia, said, “The global mobile game market is breaking new records every year as mobile games can provide graphic quality and play experience close to console games.” “In 2021, 174 mobile games were released. Having recorded more than $100 million in sales, it is important to continue exploring new opportunities through various attempts in order to continue this growth momentum.”
