Hot Five: AFK Journey hits China, The Sunday Times Gaming Rich List and the Gamescom Party Guide
Hot Five: AFK Journey hits China, The Sunday Times Gaming Rich List and the Gamescom Party Guide
- To help get you primed and ready for another week in mobile gaming, we’ve curated the biggest stories you need to know from the last seven days
Start your week right with our quick take on the stories that are impacting the mobile industry right now.
To help get you primed and ready for another week in mobile gaming, we’ve curated the biggest stories you need to know from the last seven days.
1) China spends $5.1 million on Lilith’s AFK Journey in first five days
Four months after its launch in the West, the Chinese game has ‘come home’ to a tumultuous welcome. Lilith Games’ AFK Journey expanded its rollout to Asia last week, and China has already grown to become its second-biggest market.
The game earned over $5 million gross in just five days. That’s more than quintuple the $2.4 million generated in its first five days in the West and serves as just one more example of the popularlity of the RPG genre in the East.
2) Playrix founders put mobile on top of The Sunday Times’ first ever Gaming Rich List
UK newspaper The Sunday Times compiles an annual rich list in which it describes the wealth of UK residents and ranks them in order. It’s a cheeky little pry into how the other half live and just which footballer/actor/business person is earning more than who in the last year.
The year things get even more interesting with the advent of the first Gaming Rich List – like the rich list… But for games. And it’s no surprise to see that mobile features prominently throughout with Playrix co-founders topping the chart. Full list in the link above.
3) The Gamescom 2024 party guide: Where to go and when
With Devcom then Gamescom kicking off this week it’s no surprise to see that our guide to where to be seen, who to meet and where the free drinks are ranked so highly in last week’s clicks!
Highlight of the show has to be The Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight – The winners will be revealed at a gala VIP event on August 20th. And our legendary Pocket Gamer Connects Party with drinking, dancing, and networking galore will be making a return on August 21st!
4) Candy Crush lands on alternative app stores
Is there anyone in the world who hasn’t tried Candy Crush yet? Well, just in case there is this multi-billion earner is setting off to app stores new via a deal with Flexion that will put it front and centre on Huawei’s App Gallery, the Samsung Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps and on ONE store.
5) Consumer spending in mobile games projected to reach $109.3 billion in 2024 up 3.3% YoY
After the wobble of the previous couple of years it’s always nice to see a projection for a growth and some graphs moving upwards just like they used to…
Mobile games are projected to generate $109.3 billion in 2024, up 3.3% year-on-year according to data platform Aldora’s latest report.
This means mobile’s continued domination among interactive entertainment categories, with the Interactive Entertainment 2025 Global Market Sizing & Forecast report noting its “resilience and innovation” as a segment.
Full datablast in the link above.